dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 when we have big (D or E size) drawings, first we have to scan them, then trace them manually to obtain the dwg format, right? but there is this company that says they have a software that can convert the drawing directly into dwg as they scan it. so we are gonna try just 1 page (D size).. but it's quite expensive ($200).. but still cheaper than doing it manually because it will take more than 10 hours to do it manually (it's just 1 page but it's a big building elevation drawing with lots of details). has anyone done this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Will text be converted to lines? Will hatch patterns be made up of separate line entities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Too good to be true. Raster to accurate AutoCAD linework will never be perfect. Text becomes hatches, so it's un-editable. Circles become jagged polygons. Everything comes in on only the 0 layer. Accuracy is completely shot. Dimensions, leaders, and other core AutoCAD objects are not converted. So in other words, you can't just "edit" the DWG once it's been converted. In fact you would spend more time editing it and prepping it to become editable than you would simply tracing over it. My $0.02 worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 that's exactly what i thought, but he said text will be mtext, hatches will be hatches and everything will be perfect as if a professional drafter did it manually. anyway, i have about 20 pages to do but just gave him 1 page, just to see how it turns out.. i don't want to blow $200 per page if it's no good. but he came to our office with a lot of sample drawings and they were simply amazing. he has this one D size drawing from 1970's that's hardly recognizable but the result was unbilevable.. every line was straight, perpendicular, and looked like it was done by a real human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I wonder if it's "software" he's running or if he's simply recreating the scanned image himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 yeah i thought about that too, but then he wouldn't be making any profit.. it will take ages to trace over. if i am allowed to attach files here, i will show you how it turns out.. he said he will probably deliever it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 He could be sending the work "offshore" where someone will "convert" the drawing to AutoCAD manually. Some of these workers make less than a dollar a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 lol ok that would make sense.. so maybe he was lying about the magical 'software'. anyway, i can't wait to get it back to see how it turns out.. i'm just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Just for fun you should confront him about the software just to see what he says. Just be like, "That is immaculate results. Can you show me how this software works? I would love to see this thing in action." Just see what his response is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 If his driver is Chinese there is no magic software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 actually we did ask him about the software.. like 'what's the software called?' but he wouldn't tell us any details... but his 'company' looks very legit.. their web site, the form he gave us to fill out and all the samples.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 If you get what you need and you have no problem with the price then you should be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 yes, if this 'test' page turns out to be ok, we got 20+ more pages we can give him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 What's the site? I'm curious now. *EDIT* And yes Mark is right, who cares ultimately if it's a time and money saver. I was just commenting on the legitimacy of his so-called "software" is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 sent you a pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Got it. Definitely looks legit. The WhoIs.sc web name checked out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLW210 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Does this company place everything on layers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_O'neill Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I have used several of these conversion programs over the last few years and by and large, the files they produce are more trouble to clean up than they are worth. The ones I've used create files that are enormous, text is just little bits of lines that resemble text...including dimensions. A line 2 inches long is made up of 1000 little segments that don't even touch each other...it's a mess. Granted its been about 3 years since I've looked at them, hopefully they've improved. I'm willing to bet this guy has an army of drafters in grass huts somewhere who do nothing but redraw. If it gets you what you need, great. Check it closely. My "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" radar is going off on this. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlxowhd Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 yes, he gave a form to fill out.. we can specify which layers we want, which fonts, which drafting standard, etc. we can even specify that we want those section symbols and stuff made into blocks with attributes. if you want to take a look at the form, i can post it or email it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 we can specify which layers we want, which fonts, which drafting standard, etc.we can even specify that we want those section symbols and stuff made into blocks with attributes. That's a dead giveaway that it's being redrawn. But like we said, if it's financially a great service for your company then do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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