3D CAD Conversion Services
We provide a 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) conversion service to individuals and small businesses whereby we take 2D input in various forms, from hand sketches to complex multi-sheet 2D drawings and then convert to 3D CAD.
Our SolidWorks, Pro/ENGINEER and CREO CAD tools produce neutral file formats such as STEP and IGES that are standard across the industry. These files are able to be exchanged with other CAD systems or imported directly into Computer Aided Machining (CAM) or Rapid Prototyping (RP) tools.
Manufacturing directly from 3D has been a preferred way of working for some 20+ years. Modern CNC machines feature software that interrogates the 3D files and produces optimized tool paths with minimal operator programming. The result of this automation is that it is less work to manufacture from 3D files than it does for a programmer to program from a 2D drawing, thus saving time and cost at every stage of the quoting and manufacturing cycle.
This does not negate the need for a 2D drawing of suitable quality though – it is still required to provide information such as material, finish, geometric tolerances, torque settings, installation instruction and any other information that is generally contained within the notes section of a drawing. The key thing is that the drawing is accompanied by a 3D file that is considered to be the “master” and the source of the dimensional information.
The ability to remove dimensions from the drawing brings us another huge benefit and opportunity for on-going cost reduction: we have policy of only adding dimensions that are considered to be critical and therefore only those that require on-going inspection. This brings further opportunity for repeated cost reduction through not having all dimensions inspected unnecessarily.
We have had demand for these services from foundries who have been producing castings for years from patterns that now need replacing, where the original parts are complex and documented across multiple sheets of a 2D drawing.