Scan-to-CAD - Precision in 2D

3D Scan Viewer (Scene2Go by FARO Technologies)

Creating as-builts of a space can be difficult to do by hand.

Even with the extensive training that professionals receive in the architecture, engineering, and construction space to perform this task, there is a statistically high likelihood of making mistakes on as-built drawings. These mistakes can lead to repeated site visits or perhaps even inaccurate design decisions that can certainly create headaches for design teams that need this critical information.

Through consistent client feedback, we at ToPa 3D have found that 3D laser scanning workflows result in the fastest and most cost-effective technology available on the commercial construction and remodel market for delivering accurate as-builts for complex building spaces. Something important to note, however; delivering 3D point clouds is not always needed, nor is the somewhat costly 3D BIM model deliverable that so commonly follows in our industry. In fact, many clients we've worked with only need a 2D CAD drawing.

3D point clouds by themselves - a data-type that is produced from 3D laser scanners - can be cumbersome to use in CAD software since the files are quite large and require pretty close to a gaming computer to really navigate in CAD or BIM software platforms.

Enter 2D CAD drawings from 3D laser scans...

It's a common service for our team to generate 2D drawings from 3D point cloud data. In fact, this deliverable is quite fast and accurate, usually resulting in a CAD drawing that is on average within 1/4 - 3/8" in precision to real-world conditions.

From "Scan-To-CAD" we can deliver simple architectural drawings on a 20k sqft space in less than a week in most cases with the tolerances listed above. That means you would receive a drawing that reflects the floorplan of a building as it really is; something that you can actually design from. Wouldn't that be refreshing? To eliminate the need to work out the as-built problems via multiple iterations and site visits? We also might mention that our costs are comparable to the process of creating as-builts by hand and often are less expensive...

Working with ToPa 3D is always easy—they're timely and accurate. Having a building scan saves us and our clients' money, time, and prevents headaches when working on complex, older buildings. - Daniel Bramske, NCARB, Associate at EMA Architecture

In tandem with the CAD drawings, and for high-precision or complex visual investigation requirements, we pair our CAD deliverable with a simple and free, offline software viewer that allows users to measure scan data and further evaluate the space in a photo-realistic way (see the video at the beginning of this article for a demo of this viewer).

Ultimately, 3D laser scan data is versatile and can provide a highly accurate foundation to offer 2D or 3D deliverables.

Avoid Hidden Costs

We have learned that there are a number of hidden costs when it comes to producing as-builts by hand. At first, it may seem to be a lower cost to go this route, yet in the long run, there have been cases when those seemingly lower costs have exceeded the cost of Scan-to-CAD services due to labor in the field and the time spent on quality control to ensure as-builts are accurate.

If you'd like to learn how we can successfully support your next as-built requirement, please contact us at [email protected].

We travel...

ToPa 3D~