ServicesScan-to-CAD
PDF to CAD and CAD to BIM Conversion Services
Older buildings are usually documented on paper, as scanned PDFs or in 2D CAD files. We convert those documents into the formats a project runs on today: scanned plans and PDFs redrawn as editable DWG files, and 2D drawing sets rebuilt as Revit models. The conversion reproduces its source and says where the source itself is uncertain; when the question is whether the building still matches the drawings, the answer is a scan.
PDF and paper to CAD
A PDF plan comes in two kinds. A vector PDF, plotted from a CAD file, still holds its lines as geometry, and its conversion to DWG is a matter of recovering or re-assigning the layers, setting the scale and the line types, and cleaning what the plot usually flattened: text that became outlines and dimensions that no longer measure. A raster PDF, a scan of a paper sheet or a photograph of a plan, holds only pixels, and it is redrawn: the walls, openings and annotations are drafted over the image to scale, with the dimensions written on the original used to set that scale and to check it. We do not run an automatic tracer and hand over the result, because a traced raster comes back as broken polylines and text turned into outlines, and cleaning that usually takes longer than redrawing the sheet. The new DWG carries the layers, the title block and the sheet numbering of your office standard or of the United States National CAD Standard, and it is delivered with its PDF plot, as described on the drafting page.
CAD to BIM
A 2D set in DWG becomes a Revit model when the project needs a model and no scan is in scope: the walls, floors, roofs, openings, stairs and the systems the drawings show are modeled from the sheets, at LOD 200 when the set is schematic and at LOD 300 when it is a construction set with dimensions. The BIMForum Level of Development Specification defines LOD 300 as "The Model Element, as designed, is graphically represented within the Model such that its quantity, size, shape, location, and orientation can be measured", and its note on the 2022 definitions says that LOD 100 to 400 address as-designed elements; a model from drawings is the building as the drawings designed it. The model is delivered in Revit, in IFC, the open standard ISO 16739-1:2024, or as an ArchiCAD file, with the sheets cut from it when drawings are needed too. Where the drawings are inconsistent with each other, a plan that does not match its section, the model follows the dimensioned sheet and flags the other; where the set shows an element but gives it no size or detail, it is modeled as a generic placeholder at LOD 200 and listed; what the set does not show is listed, not modeled.
What a conversion can and cannot tell you
A conversion carries the age and the errors of its source. The DWG redrawn from a 1978 permit set is the building as it was permitted in 1978, with every later tenant's changes missing, and the Revit model built from a set of construction drawings is the building as it was designed, not as it was built. The BIMForum specification keeps a separate level, LOD 500, for elements "developed through a combination of observation, field verification, or interpolation", and requires that their accuracy be stated; a model from drawings is not LOD 500, because none of its geometry was observed. For a renovation or any work that will be built against the existing walls, the drawings are a starting point and the laser scan is the record: the scan is overlaid on the converted drawings, and the set or the model is corrected where the building differs. That combination, the archive converted and the scan checked against it, is what we propose when a client sends old drawings and a renovation at the same time; a full as-built set from the scan is the alternative when the old drawings are too far gone. The Scan-to-BIM page describes the model built from a scan instead.
Price and time
A PDF to CAD conversion is quoted on the number of sheets and the condition of the source: a clean vector PDF is a short job, a faded raster scan of a hand-drawn sheet is a redraw. A CAD to BIM conversion is quoted on the sheet set and the LOD of the model. The exact price comes in a quote within one business day of your sending the files and saying what the result is for. A sheet usually takes a few days, a set one to two weeks, and a model one to three weeks depending on the LOD. When a scan is added to check the drawings, it is scheduled as soon as the project needs it, in all 50 states.
Frequently asked questions about CAD conversion
What is PDF to CAD conversion?
Turning a PDF or a scanned paper plan into an editable DWG file. A vector PDF is converted and cleaned; a raster scan is redrawn to scale over the image, with the original dimensions used to set and check the scale.
What is CAD to BIM conversion?
Building a Revit model from a 2D drawing set, at LOD 200 for a schematic set and LOD 300 for a dimensioned construction set. The model shows the building as the drawings designed it; it is not verified against the building unless a scan is added.
Is the converted drawing accurate?
It is as accurate as its source. In a redraw the lines are placed to the dimensions written on the original, and inconsistencies in the source are flagged. For the building as it stands today, a laser scan is the measured record.
Which formats do you deliver?
DWG with PDF plots for drawings, in the AutoCAD version your office uses; Revit, IFC or ArchiCAD for models.
Can you check the old drawings against the building?
Yes. A laser scan is overlaid on the converted drawings or the model, and the set is corrected where the building differs. When the old drawings are too far gone, a full as-built set from the scan is the alternative.
How much does conversion cost?
It is quoted on the number of sheets and the condition of the source for PDF to CAD, and on the sheet set and the LOD for CAD to BIM. The quote arrives within one business day.
How long does it take?
A sheet usually takes a few days, a set one to two weeks, and a Revit model one to three weeks depending on the LOD.