Professional AutoCAD Drafting, Engineering & Technical Graphics

Architectural, Civil, Industrial, Scientific CAD drafting services using AutoCAD

AutoCAD Drafting

We offer Paper to CAD conversion services to convert drawings (technical drawings, scanned legacy blueprints, as-built sketches, diagrams, concept drawings, to AutoCAD .DWG, .DXF files. In order to achieve 100% accuracy we manually re-draft all your drawings instead of using raster to vector (R2V) conversion software.

We can help you to convert your technical drawings, sketches, diagrams, concept drawings, line art, etc. into high-quality screen graphics or web graphics for multimedia presentation. The resulting vector images are crisp, smooth and are scalable to any size.

Building Elevation
(AutoCAD)
Electrical Lighting & Power Layout
(AutoCAD)
Apartment Building Floor Plan
(AutoCAD)
Residential Building Floor Plan
(AutoCAD)
Hydrostratigraphic Cross Section
(AutoCAD)
Ground Floor Heating
Ventillation Plumbing
(AutoCAD)
Pre and Post Construction Conditions
(AutoCAD)
Detailed Site Plan
(AutoCAD)
Building Elevation
(AutoCAD)
Gas Station Site Plan
(AutoCAD)
Office Space Floor Plan
(AutoCAD)
Wayfinding Plan
(AutoCAD)
 

Technical Illustration

How to Repot a Plant
(Illustration)
Boathouse Concept
(Illustration)
Basic Requirements for a Quality Fountain
(Illustration)
Fountain Wind Control
(Illustration)
Practical Garage and Workshop Fixtures
(Illustration)
Brochure and Sleeve Concept
(Illustration)
International Paper Standard (ISO 216) Concept
(Illustration)
Multi-Channel Cassette Pump
(Illustration)
Line Art Product Icons
(Illustration)
Store Interior Line Art
(Illustration)
 

Paper-to-CAD Conversion

In a typical workflow a sketch is scanned to be used as a reference for the CAD file. The sketch is then manually re-drafted in AutoCAD taking the exact measurements from civil and architectural drawings.

The file is then coloured in AutoCAD. In order to achieve crisp lines the CAD file is imported into Adobe Illustrator where the artifacts caused by the conversion are removed. The resulting raster file is ideal for web and screen based presentations where crisp lines are essential.

Glossary of CAD Drafting Terms

AI

Adobe Illustrator File Format.

AIA CAD Layer Guidelines

American Institute of Architects CAD layer guidelines is a layer naming convention. The layer names are as follows:

XX XXXX XXXX XXXX where the first first two character field is a discipline code followed by either a hyphen or a user defined modifier e.g. A- (arhitecture), C- (Civil), E- (Electrical), F- (Fire Protection)

XX XXXX XXXX XXXX where the second four character field is a major group e.g. A-CLNG (Ceiling), A-DETL (Details) A-DOOR (Doors), A-WALL (Walls)

XX XXXX XXXX XXXX where the third four character field is an optional minor group e.g. A-CLNG-SUSP (Suspended Elements)

XX XXXX XXXX XXXX where the fourth four character field is an optional status field. e.g. -EXST (Existing to Remain), -FUTR (Future Work), -TEMP (Temporary Work)

ANSI

American National Standards Institute.

Alpha channel

Also known as alpha mask. In computer graphics an RGB image file is composed of 3 channels (red, green and blue), a CMYK image file is composed of 4 channels (cyan, magenta, yellow and black ). Alpha channel is an additional channel that contains transparency information of an image.

Angular perspective

See perspective projection

Anti-aliasing

A method of smoothing diagonal lines, curves by introducing additional pixels of intermediate color/brightness along the edges in order to blend the sharp edges into the background.

Ascenders

(typography) parts of a character which ascend above it's x-height - upper staff of a lower case b,d,t etc.

Axonometric projection

A special case of orthographic projection where the object is inclined to the picture plane in order to reveal all of its three dimensions. Axonometric projections are classified by the relative orientation of the subject's principal axes to the picture plane. The three types of axonometric projections are Isometric projection, Dimetric projection, Trimetric projection.

Bird's-eye view

An overhead perspective view.

Bleed

(printing) Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet after trimming.

Bounding box

The tightest rectangle which includes the image/text.

Bullet

(printing) A dot or other character used to indicate items in a bulleted list.

Bézier curve

A parametric curve originally developed by French engineer Pierre Bézier who used them in automotive design. Most vector graphics applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape etc. include a pen tool for drawing paths with Bezier curves.

C1S and C2S

(printing) Abbreviations for coated one side and coated two sides.

CAD

Computer Aided Design

CAD standards

A set of standards developed to guide CAD users through the drafting process, improve drafting productivity, facilitate effective data exchange. CAD Standards define the following areas: file naming, drafting symbols, title blocks, layer, text, and dimension styles, line types, line weights, hatches, Xref usage, plotting.

CADD

Computer Aided Design and Drafting.

CAM

Computer Aided Manufacturing.

CMS

Color management system.

CMYK

Acronym for cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black) the process inks used in four color process printing.

CNC

Computer Numerical Control.

CSG

Constructive solid geometry. CSG is a 3D modeling technique where complex solids are constructed from a number of primitives such as cube, cylinder, cone sphere, torus with Boolean operators such as union, intersection and difference.

Cabinet projection

A parallel oblique projection where lines parallel to the projection plane are foreshortened by a half.

Caps/stroke caps

See line/stroke caps

Cavalier projection

A parallel oblique projection where the projection makes a 45 angle with the projection plane.

Chamfer (bevel)

A flattened or beveled corner or edge.

Choke/spread

(printing) Choke is a type of trapping where a light background overlaps a dark foreground object. In contrast a spread is a type of trapping where a light foreground object overlaps a dark background. See also Trapping.

Clipping path

A closed path embedded into an image file that tells the software where to "clip" the image. It is used to knock out the background of an image.

Crop marks

(printing) Printed lines near the edges of a sheet showing where the sheet should be trimmed.

Crossover

(printing) Artwork that continues from one page to facing page. Also called gutter bleed.

DGN

(file format) Short for design. Bentley Systems MicroStation Design File.

DPI (Dots Per Inch)

In printing dpi is a measurement of printer resolution.

DWG

(file format) Short for drawing. Native AutoCAD file format.

DWT

(file format) AutoCAD drawing template file.

DXF

(file format) AutoCAD Drawing Interchange Format / Drawing Exchange Format. ASCII version of DWG.

Dagger

(typography) A dagger (†, Unicode U+2020) and double dagger (‡, Unicode U+2021) are typographical symbols/glyphs that indicate footnotes.

Descenders

(typography) Descenders are parts of a character which descend below it's x-height - lower tail of a g or y etc.

Die

Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.

Die Cut

To cut irregular shapes in paper using a die.

Dimetric projection

Dimetric projection is a type of Axonometric projection where two of the axes make equal angles with the plane of projection and two of the three axes are equally foreshortened.

Dot gain

(print) Increase in halftone dot size during the printing process.

Duotone

An 8-bit grayscale image with one to four additional colors added.

EPS

(file format) Encapsulated PostScript file that may contain vector graphics, raster images, text.

Elevation

An orthographic view (front, rear, right side, left side) of an object.

Em

(typography) A unit of measurement in typography equal to the point size of the current font. For example, an em of 12 point type is 12 points.

Exif

(file format) Exchangeable Image File Format. Exif is a variation of JPEG that attaches digital camera information (camera model, shooting time, shutter speed, aperture value, focal length image size, image quality etc.) to image files.

Feathering

In graphics applications feathering softens the edges of an object by making them gradually transparent.

Fillet

A rounded corner or edge.

First angle orthographic projection

Flat shading

See shading

FreeHand

(file format) FH is a file format native to Macromedia Freehand. File extension is .fh.

GIF

(file format) Graphics Interchange Format. A GIF is a bitmap image file format that can contain up to 256 (8-bit 2(8)=256) colors. GIF supports transparency, interlacing and animation.

GSM

(print) Grams per square meter or g/m2. Unit of measurement for paper weight. For example regular copy paper is typically about 75 gsm.

Gamut

The full range of colors that can be reproduced by a device.

Gutter

(print) The inner margins between two facing pages.

HLS

Abbreviation for hue, lightness, saturation.

HSB

Abbreviation for hue saturation brightness.

Hairline

The finest line that can be printed. The line thickness of a hairline rule is usually less than half a point (0.5pt).

Halftone

Printing technique that represents continuous tones as an array of halftone dots of different sizes and density.

A continuous tone image that has been converted to a pattern of halftone dots of varying sizes and density for printing.

Hatch patterns

A symbolic representation of materials, finishes.

Hickey

(print) Imperfections in printing caused by dust, dried ink, etc.

Hue

A specific color such as red or green.

ICC

International Color Consortium

IGES

(file format) Initial Graphics Exchange Specification. ASCII text-based 2D/3D vector graphics format used in the exchange of CAD drawings. File extension is .IGS.

ISO

International Organization for Standardization.

Inkscape

An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

Isometric projection

Isometric projection is a type of Axonometric projection in which the subject's three principal axes are equally inclined to the picture plane and all three principal axes are equally foreshortened.

Kerning

(typography) To increase or decrease the spacing between two letters to correct visually uneven spacing and to create more readable text. See also Tracking.

LPI

Lines per inch. See also Line screen.

Leading

(typography) The Amount of vertical space between lines of type. See also Kerning.

Line art

High contrast artwork including type that consists of lines without any shading.

Line screen

The number of printed halftone lines in a linear inch. Line screen is measured in Lines Per Inch (LPI). Examples of typical publications and their line screens: Newspapers: 80 - 100 lpi, Color Magazines: 150 - 175 lpi Art Magazines: 175-200 lpi.

Line type (AutoCAD standard)

Line weight

In technical illustration varying line thickness is a stylistic device used to add a sense of depth and to increase readability.

Line/stroke caps

The four caps are butt/flat cap, round cap, projecting/square cap, diamond cap (AutoCAD).

Line/stroke joints

The three stroke joints are 1 miter, 2 round, 3 bevel.

Miter limit

A value that determines when two lines that meet at a sharp angle switch from a pointed (mitered) joint to a squared-off (beveled) joint.

Moiré

An undesirable pattern resulting when halftones and screen tints are made with improperly aligned screens, or when a pattern in a photo, such as a plaid, interfaces with a halftone dot pattern.

Multiview orthographic projections

See first angle and third angle orthographic projections

NURBS

Non-uniform rational B-Spline.

Nudge

To move an object slightly. In many programs, you can nudge a selected object using the arrow keys on the keyboard.

Oblique perspective

See perspective projection

Oblique projection

A method of projection where the projectors (lines of sight) are parallel to each other and oblique to the picture plane.

One-point perspective

See perspective projection

Ortho

Ortho is a feature in CAD programs that constrains cursor movement to the horizontal or vertical direction.

Orthographic projection

A method of projection where the projectors (lines of sight) are parallel to each other and perpendicular to an image plane.

Overprint/flood varnish

(printing) Overprint/flood varnish is applied over the entire printed surface, thus no special preparation is needed. This application is good for protecting projects that may be exposed to moisture or just used a lot. Plus it makes finished jobs look great.

PANTONE

Pantone is a color system for selecting, specifying, and controlling color. See also PMS.

PNG

(file format) Portable Network Graphics.

PPI

Pixels per inch.

Page/print orientation

The layout position of a sheet of paper for printing. The two orientations are vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape).

Pan

To change the view of an object in a computer graphics or CAD program.

Parallel perspective

See perspective projection

Perfect Binding

(printing) Bookbinding method where a paper cover is glued to the spine of the gathered signatures.

Perspective projection

A method of projection where the projectors (lines of sight) converge at a point (eye of the observer). The three main types of perspective are:

• one-point perspective (parallel perspective): The principle face of the object is parallel to the picture plane. Lines that are perpendicular to the picture plane converge at a vanishing point.

• two-point perspective (angular perspective): Objects are placed at an angle to the picture plane and the vertical edges are parallel to the picture plane. The non vertical edges converge to two vanishing points.

• three-point perspective (oblique perspective): Non of the object's principal edges are parallel to the picture plane.

Phong shading

See shading

Pica

Unit of measure - 1/6th of an inch. The pica contains 12 point units of measure for example: 4p6, represents 4 picas and 6 points in Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator.

Pilcrow

(typography) (¶, Unicode U+00B6) Paragraph sign.

Platonic solid

A convex regular Polyhedron. The five Platonic solids are: Tetrahedron, Cube (or Hexahedron), Octahedron, Dodecahedron, Icosahedron.

Point

Unit of measure - 1/12 pica.

Polygon

A closed plane figure.

Polyhedron

A geometric solid that is made up of polygonal faces e.g. cube, prism and pyramid. See Platonic solids.

Polyline

A continuous series of connected line segments. Polylines are defined by the endpoints of each segment.

Profile

An outline or sectional view produced by a vertical sectioning plane.

Projectors

Lines of sight that project points on the subject to the picture plane.

R2V

Raster to vector conversion.

RAL

A European color matching system.

RAW

(file format) Uncompressed, unprocessed data file from the digital camera's image sensor.

RIP

Raster image processor.

Rapidograph

A type of technical pen.

Registration

(printing) To place printing properly with regard to the edges of paper and other printing on the same sheet.

Rich black

(printing) Process black combined with one or more of the other process inks to produce a more solid/intense black. 100%K + 20%C + 20%M + 20%Y produces a neutral rich black.

SVG

(file format) Scalable Vector Graphics. SVG is a two-dimensional XML based vector graphic format created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

SWF

(file format) Acronym of "Shockwave File". The SWF file format is supported by Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR software.

SWOP

Specifications for Web Offset Publications.

Saddle stitch

(printing) Bookbinding method where the folded signatures are stapled along the spine. Saddle-stitching is ideal for brochures, booklets, catalogs etc.

Sans serif font

(typography) A typeface without serifs e.g. Helvetica, Frutiger, Futura. Also called a sans or gothic font.

Score

(printing) To compress paper along a straight line so it folds more easily and accurately. Also called crease.

Serif

(typography): A tiny cross stroke on the ends of a character.

Serif font

(typography) A typeface with serifs e.g. Bodoni, Garamond, Times New Roman.

Shade

In color theory, a shade is the mixture of a color with black, which reduces lightness.

Shading

Shading is a 3D computer graphics technique to determine the appearance of a polygon.

• Flat/Facet Shading (each polygon has a single color),

• Smooth (smoothes the edges between polygon faces by computing the colors as a gradient between the vertexes of the faces) Gouraud, Phong,

• Gooch ( shading technique that defines two colors in addition to the model color: a cool (like yellow) and awarm color (blue etc.). Lighted areas use warm tones and darker areas cool tones),

• Texture mapping (mapping a texture onto a polygon).

Snap

A precision drawing feature in vector graphics applications like Illustrator, Inkscape, and CAD programs that automatically aligns the cursor to endpoints, midpoints, center points, intersections, grid, tangents of an arc, circle etc.

Spine

(printing) The binding edge of a publication.

Spline

A smooth curve that is defined by edit points called vertices. The most common types of splines are Bezier curves and NURBS.

Spot UV coating

Ultra-violet coating applied only on specific areas of a printed piece as a special effect to highlight a design element or photo.

Spot color

(printing) A color that is printed using a single ink (PANTONE, custom mixed, metallic, fluorescent inks) at 100% density. In contrast, process color printing uses four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) printed as halftone dots of different sizes to produce all other colors.

Spot varnish

A varnish applied only on specific areas of a printed piece as a special effect to highlight a design element or photo.

Spread/choke (printing)

See choke/spread

Stroke caps

See line/stroke caps

Stroke joints

See line/stroke joints

Stylus

A pen-like input device used to interact with a graphics tablet, touch screen, PDA.

Subdivision surface

Subdivision surfaces are Polygon mesh surfaces generated from a base mesh through an iterative process that smooths the mesh while increasing its density.

Surface normal

A unit vector perpendicular to a surface.

TIFF

(file format) Tagged Image File Format.

Tessellation

Polygons tiled together (in two dimensions) without gaps or overlaps. A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps.

Texture mapping

See shading

Third angle orthographic projection

Three-point perspective

See perspective projection

Tint

In color theory, a tint is the mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness.

Tone, tonal values

The degree of lightness or darkness of an area. Tone varies from the bright white of a light source through shades of gray to the deepest black shadows.

Torus

A surface of revolution generated by rotating a circle about an axis (coplanar with the circle) not passing through the center.

Tracking

(typography) Adjusting the letter-spacing in a line or block of text. See also Kerning.

Trapping

(printing) Hiding registration flaws by slightly expanding one printed region into another. See also Choke/spread.

Trimetric projection

A type of axonometric projection where three axes make different angles with the plane of projection and all of the three axes are unequally foreshortened.

Two-point perspective

See perspective projection

UCS

User Coordinate System.

VRML

Virtual Reality Modeling Language.

Vanishing Point

In perspective drawing vanishing points are points towards which the receding parallel lines appear to converge.

Vector

Vectors are directed quantities which are defined by a magnitude (length) and a direction.

Vector graphics

Digital images that are determined by points and mathematical functions. In contrast, raster (bitmap) images are made up of pixels.

Voxel

Short for volume pixel. A volume element that is the 3D equivalent of a pixel.

W3C

World Wide Web Consortium.

WCS

World Coordinate System.

WMF

(file format) Windows Metafile.

WYSIWYG

An acronym for "what you see is what you get".

Web Press

A press that prints on a continuous roll of paper as opposed to printing on individual sheets of paper.

X-height

(typography) The height of a font's main body - not including ascenders or descenders.