When clients turn to our AutoCAD drawing service, the situation is usually quite specific. There is a folder of DWG files that has already passed through several hands. Layers have been added that nobody recognises any more, blocks exist twice under slightly different names, and the title block has been filled in differently on each drawing.
On top of that, a change is in the pipeline that has to be carried through the entire set.
Your own drafting team knows exactly what needs to happen; the hours just are not there. That is usually when our phone rings. We take over the set, put it in order and carry through the changes according to the drawing conventions that apply within your company. We draft and model; we do not do engineering, so design decisions stay with you. The work runs remotely from our own office, with our own licences and the latest software versions.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
How our AutoCAD drawing service works
With us, our AutoCAD drawing service starts with a conversation. In it, we go through what is already there, exactly what needs to be done and which date is fixed. You then supply the details, usually together with the existing drawings that need revising. We go through all that material first, before anything is drawn. If a dimension is missing, a detail is illegible or two drawings contradict each other, that comes to light at this stage rather than halfway through the work. Next, we agree on the order of delivery.
That is because we deliver in parts, not all at once at the end. You receive a first piece, give feedback, we process it and move on to the next part. That rhythm keeps the correction loop short and prevents a misunderstood convention from spreading across a hundred drawings. How often we consult depends on the pressure on the project. With a tight schedule we sit down together every two days; on calmer projects weekly is enough. In between, contact runs through email and phone, because most questions can be dealt with in a few lines.
Before a drawing goes out, it has passed through at least three review layers: the drafter, a second team member, Sam as team leader and finally Barry as project manager. That keeps the number of errors minimal in practice, and you do not have to check the entire set yourself. Your time then goes into assessing choices, not hunting for typos in dimensions or layer names.
Software, versions and formats in our AutoCAD drawing service
Clients who use our AutoCAD drawing service usually work in AutoCAD themselves, and then fitting in with their files matters more than our own preference. We always work with the latest versions. If an older version is in use at the receiving end, we adjust the exchange format accordingly. We deliver in DWG and DXF, and where the project calls for it in Revit formats or STEP files; in practice we can handle any common CAD format. Alongside AutoCAD, we use Revit and Rhino as our main tools, supplemented by Inventor, Grasshopper and, to a limited extent, Dynamo and Vault.
That combination is useful, because AutoCAD is not the handiest package for everything. For example, it is not smart at building components such as valves in piping systems. If you need a valve in 90 and then in 110 there, you redraw it by hand each time. With a smart family in Revit, such a component is in place in a single action, which saves at least seventy per cent of the time in that kind of work. Whether that step makes sense depends on the project, because for a clearly defined revision round AutoCAD often remains the logical choice.
We also work to your layer structure, naming and title blocks. You provide them, usually in the form of a sample drawing from which we read the conventions. We present what we derive from it for confirmation with the first delivered part, so a wrongly adopted convention is corrected straight away instead of running through the rest of the set.
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.
Scaling up capacity for AutoCAD drafting
A revision round on a large DWG set is rarely difficult work, but it is a lot of work. That is exactly where a full drawing office gets stuck. With our large, variable team we scale with each project, deploying as many drafters as the work requires. The team is already there, so we do not have to recruit first and simply deploy what the job needs. When something is urgent, we add people to the running set straight away. How many drafters make sense depends on how the work is structured. A set neatly divided into sheets can be split up well; if everything is interlinked, an extra drafter mainly adds coordination and little speed. We make that assessment together with the project leader and adjust it as soon as the pace calls for it. If someone on our side drops out through illness or holiday, we replace them and the work carries on.
That is possible because several people know the set and the agreements made, and the review structure ensures in any case that no single person is the only one who knows how something fits together. You pay no ongoing payroll costs and are not left with surplus capacity once the peak is over. Everyone involved has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the core of the team has around twenty-five years of experience combined. Managing the work takes little time, because all questions come in through one point of contact rather than four separate drafters. That leaves your project leader time for the work that should stay with them.
Getting started with our AutoCAD drawing service
Getting started with our AutoCAD drawing service takes less preparation on your part than you might expect. We need the details, the existing drawings and the drawing conventions that apply within your organisation. A sample drawing from a previous project is more valuable than a written guideline, because it shows how layers, blocks and title blocks are actually used.
It also helps to know which date is fixed and which part is needed first. As soon as there is enough information, we can begin. If something essential is missing, we say so straight away, because starting with gaps in the material costs more time later than filling those gaps up front.
We get back to you on a request within 1 to 2 working days. This is followed by a conversation in which we go through the project. Barry is usually the first point of contact, after which Sam takes over the technical side and leads the CAD team. Sam has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design practice in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer. A short job is fine, and we often recommend a small first job so you can judge our speed and accuracy before a large package is handed over.
We charge by the hour or per project at a fixed price, and agree on the model in advance. You can reach us by phone or through the contact form on the site. That first contact leads to a conversation in which we go through the project and it becomes clear whether our way of working fits your drawing office.
Frequently asked questions about our AutoCAD drawing service
Let us handle your AutoCAD drawings
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.