A 3D drafting rate says little until it is clear what checking lies behind it. With us, every model and every sheet passes through at least three layers before it leaves our office. A drafter models, a second team member checks that work, then Sam, our team leader, reviews the technical side and Barry, our project manager, takes a final look.
That structure costs hours, and we simply include those hours in the price. We do this because an error in a 3D model multiplies: a badly built component can appear in fifty places in the project after a single day's work.
Correcting it in the drawing office is still cheap at that point. Correcting it after the derived drawings have been circulated is anything but. In practice, this way of working keeps the number of errors to a minimum. Sam has more than fifteen years of background in architecture and still works as an engineer himself, so he quickly spots where a model does not add up. Below you can read what we deliver and how a project like this runs.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
The 3D drafting we deliver
Our 3D drafting consists of modelling in Revit and Rhino, supplemented by Inventor where parts are involved. From those models we derive the 2D set the client needs: floor plans, sections, elevations, detail sheets and the material schedules linked to the model. A large part of our work lies in parametric Revit families, in other words smart components. A component like that adapts to a new situation or a different size, so the drafter builds it once and then places it everywhere. The material schedule updates along with it: if the component changes, the schedule changes automatically.
We see the strongest application of this in greenhouse construction, where a valve in 90 and in 110 would otherwise have to be redrawn by hand in a piping diagram every time. With a smart family it is placed in a single action, and in that kind of work this saves at least seventy per cent of the time. We also build 3D models from existing 2D sets, and we produce as-built models and revisions to them. We can clean up existing families and templates or rebuild them from scratch; which is wiser depends on the state of the set.
We use Grasshopper for parametric set-ups that lend themselves to automation, and Dynamo and Vault to a limited extent. The output goes back in Revit formats, DWG, DXF or STEP, and in any other common CAD format. What we do not do is engineering. Calculations, structural advice and permits stay with the client or their own consultant. We draft and model, and we keep that boundary sharp.
The process from input to delivery
It starts with a conversation. Barry picks up the request, asks the questions that determine the scope and remains your fixed point of contact from then on. Sam then takes over the technical side as team leader and decides how many modellers are assigned to the job. The client supplies the details and usually the existing drawings or models that need revising. We start as soon as enough information is available.
On a 3D project, we first assess the templates and families before stacking dozens of sheets on top of them. A set that is messy on the inside costs more time further down the line than cleaning it up at the start, and we present that trade-off, with our estimate, to your project lead. We then deliver in parts, collect feedback, make adjustments and carry on. That rhythm differs per client: a check-in every two days or weekly, depending on how fast things need to move. On larger projects, such as greenhouse construction projects, we work with software the client can log into to follow their project.
For standalone AutoCAD work, delivery is by email. Day-to-day contact is by email, phone and meetings; we come to you or you come to us. The work itself stays remote, from our own office and with our own licences. If a modeller comes across something in the input that does not add up, we would rather sort it out ourselves than keep calling the client about it. Once a request comes in, we respond within 1 to 2 working days.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
When outsourcing 3D drafting makes sense
Outsourcing pays off mainly with volume and repetition. If the drawing office has a peak, if there is a revision round on hundreds of existing sheets, or if a family set needs rebuilding, that work is easy to define and easy to hand over. And when a deadline cannot move and your own team simply cannot make it, bringing in extra capacity makes more sense than recruiting. Finding and onboarding an experienced drafter takes longer than most deadlines allow. We deploy people who are already in place, all with more than ten years of CAD experience. There are also situations where your own team is better off keeping the work in-house. Work that is tied to design decisions every day, where a modeller walks into the structural engineer's office every hour, is hard to organise remotely. The same goes for projects where the client is still shifting the starting points; the scope then changes faster than coordination can keep up.
And work that takes a single afternoon is usually not worth the handover. For a client's 3D drafting rate, that distinction matters more than the hourly figure itself, because a poorly chosen assignment costs time on both sides. That is why we sometimes say that something is better kept in-house. Whatever does lend itself to outsourcing, we are glad to take on, and a short first assignment is a good way to test that. We ask for no minimum order and do not work with prepaid hour bundles. If you are happy with our speed and accuracy, we then scale up with more modellers from our large, flexible team.
How we differ from a freelancer and a fixed rate
Hiring a single freelancer looks similar to what we do, but the set-up differs on a few points that show up in the costs. A freelancer is one person. If they drop out through illness or another job, the work stops. We replace someone and the project carries on. A freelancer also delivers their own work without a second pair of eyes, whereas with us every sheet passes through at least three layers of review.
They cannot scale up either: our large, variable team scales with each project, with the same point of contact. Compared with a new permanent employee, the main difference is that the client bears no ongoing salary costs.
No recruitment, no onboarding period, no holiday days and no idle time in months when there is little work. You pay for the hours we spend on your work, and we only bill pure working hours. A five-minute coffee break means the clock stops immediately. A fixed 3D drafting rate per project is also possible with us when the scope is clear; we charge by the hour or per project, by agreement. What we do not offer is prepaid hour bundles or a monthly hours subscription.
The intellectual property of everything we model belongs to the client, including the families we build along the way. We are open to an NDA, even though no client has asked for one so far. We respond to a new request within 1 to 2 working days, after which we go through the project in a conversation and Sam picks up the technical side.
Frequently asked questions about our 3D drafting rate
Hand your 3D drafting over to us
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.