CAD Conversion Services
Converting PDF, scanned and legacy drawings into editable, native CAD files — DWG, DGN and other formats — ready for design and documentation work.
Legacy drawings — old PDFs, scanned paper drawings, superseded file formats — are common on long-running projects, but they're not directly usable for design changes, quoting or documentation. Redrawing them manually eats time that's better spent on the current project, and the temptation to just trace over a raster image rather than properly reconstruct the drawing produces a file that looks right but is barely more usable than the original scan.
What This Service Covers
We convert PDF, scanned, DGN and other legacy drawing formats into clean, editable CAD files in the format your team works in — typically DWG, but also other CAD-native formats on request.
This includes 2D-to-3D conversion where a project needs a 3D model built from an existing 2D drawing set, and general CAD migration between platforms and formats.
A Proper Reconstruction, Not a Raster Trace
Conversion isn't a raster trace — drawings are redrawn as proper vector CAD data with correct layers, line weights and text, so the result is genuinely usable for further design work, not just a picture that looks like a drawing. This distinction matters more than it sounds: a traced drawing can look identical to a properly reconstructed one at first glance, but falls apart the moment someone tries to actually edit it.
Text and dimensions are rebuilt as native, editable CAD entities rather than exploded geometry, so a dimension that needs to change because a design changed can actually be updated, rather than requiring the whole drawing to be redrawn again from scratch.
Handling Errors and Inconsistencies Honestly
Where a source drawing is known to contain errors or out-of-date information, we flag this rather than silently correcting or silently preserving it — the client decides whether the conversion should faithfully reproduce the original or incorporate known corrections, and we document which approach was taken.
For larger drawing sets or full archive digitisation projects, we agree a consistent layer standard and naming convention upfront, so the converted archive is internally consistent rather than a collection of individually-converted files that each made slightly different formatting decisions.
A common but avoidable failure in conversion work is treating every source drawing in a batch as equally reliable. Older drawings in a long-running archive often include sheets that were never fully updated after a design change, or that contradict a newer sheet covering the same area — we flag these inconsistencies as they're found rather than silently picking one version to trust.
Building an Archive That Lasts
Where a converted archive will be actively used and maintained going forward, we think about long-term usability as part of the conversion itself — sensible file naming, a logical folder or sheet numbering structure, and layer conventions that will still make sense to someone opening the archive in several years, not just to whoever is using it immediately after delivery.
What You Get
- Editable DWG files from PDF or scanned drawings
- DGN / MicroStation format conversion
- 2D to 3D model conversion
- Vector conversion of raster/scanned drawings
- CAD platform migration
- Legacy drawing digitisation
- Batch conversion for full drawing archives
- Layer standard and naming convention set-up for converted archives
Where This Is Used
- Legacy drawing digitisation
- As-built documentation from scanned records
- CAD platform migration
- Preparing existing drawings for design changes
- Archiving and drawing register clean-up
- Full drawing archive digitisation projects
How It Works
- 01
File intake
Source files supplied — PDF, scans, DGN or other legacy formats — along with any known errors or out-of-date information in the source.
- 02
Scope & quote
Output format, layer standard and turnaround confirmed before starting, with pricing based on drawing complexity rather than a flat per-file rate.
- 03
Conversion
Drawings redrawn as clean, layered vector CAD data, with text and dimensions rebuilt as native, editable entities.
- 04
Quality check
Converted files checked against the source for dimensional accuracy before delivery.
- 05
Delivery
Editable CAD files delivered in the agreed format, with a consistent layer standard across the full batch.
Software We Use
Industries We Support
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View projectFrequently Asked Questions
- Yes — see our dedicated PDF to CAD service for converting PDF drawings into editable, native CAD files.
- Proper vector CAD data — drawings are redrawn with correct layers, line weights and text, not just traced as a raster image, which is why the result is actually usable for further design work.
- Common formats include PDF, scanned images, DWG and DGN, with delivery in your required native CAD format.
- Yes, 2D to 3D conversion is available where a project needs a 3D model built from existing 2D documentation.
- We flag this rather than silently correcting or preserving it, and agree with you which approach to take — faithful reproduction of the original, or incorporation of known corrections.
- Yes, batch conversion with a consistent layer standard and naming convention across the whole archive is a common project type, and pricing scales with the number and complexity of drawings.
- We flag the inconsistency as it's found rather than silently picking one version to trust, since deciding which sheet is actually correct is a judgement only your team can make with full project context.
- Yes, for an archive that will be actively maintained going forward, we set up file naming, folder structure and layer conventions with an eye to whether they'll still make sense to someone opening the archive years from now.
- Yes, migrating a drawing set from one CAD platform's native format to another — beyond a simple file format conversion — is available where a team is changing its standard software environment.
- Yes, we preserve the original dimensioning system faithfully during conversion, and can also produce a converted version in a different unit system if that's specifically required for your project.
- Yes, handwritten notes and markups on a source drawing are incorporated into the converted file as instructed, and we confirm with you how these should be represented — as native text, or as a reference note pointing back to the original markup.
- This depends on the drawing's complexity and whether it's a vector or scanned source, and is confirmed as part of your quote — a simple single-sheet drawing converts considerably faster than a dense, multi-layer assembly drawing.
- Yes, an ongoing arrangement where drawings are converted as they're identified and prioritised, rather than as a single fixed batch, is a common way this service is used by teams digitising a large archive over time.
- Yes, converting 2D isometric piping drawings into editable CAD, or into a 3D model where the project needs one, is available depending on the source material and intended use.
- Yes, a summary noting which drawings were converted, any flagged inconsistencies found, and the final layer standard applied is a useful reference document for a larger digitisation project.
- Yes, confidentiality and file-handling requirements are agreed with you before any sensitive material is shared or processed.
- In many cases, yes — get in touch with the specific format and we can advise whether it can be converted directly or needs an intermediate export step.
- Yes, provided a usable digital scan of the microfilm or aperture card content exists, we can convert it the same way as any other scanned drawing source, with the same accuracy caveats around scan quality.
- Yes, for larger archive conversion projects we can provide an index cross-referencing drawing number, title and converted file name, making the digitised archive easier to navigate than a folder of similarly-named files.
- Yes, where you can specify the required file naming and folder structure for your document management system, we deliver converted files ready to import directly.
- Yes, prioritising specific drawings within a larger conversion batch is a common and straightforward request, letting your team get the most urgently needed files first while the rest of the batch continues.
- Yes, this is one of the most common reasons drawings get converted in the first place — a clean, editable base is exactly what a design team needs to start a new iteration confidently.
- Pricing for larger batches is confirmed against the actual volume and complexity involved during scoping, and larger, well-defined projects can generally be quoted more efficiently per drawing than a series of small one-off requests.
- Yes, we note any cross-references to drawings outside the supplied batch so your team is aware of what's still missing from the fully converted set, rather than presenting the batch as complete when related sheets are absent.
- Yes, for larger projects we agree a check-in cadence so you can review progress and flag priority changes before the whole batch is complete.
Get a Quote for CAD Conversion
Tell us what you need and our team can review the project requirements.