If you are searching for how much a 3D model costs, you usually have a specific problem sitting in the drawing office. There is a set of 2D drawings, the client wants a model to go with it, and the only drafter who can do it is up to their ears in a live project. Sometimes it is a production run that has to go into 3D before the manufacturer can proceed, sometimes a building section that is correct in elevations but only shows where it clashes once it is modelled.
We create those models for companies that do not have the hours to spare themselves.
The work is done entirely remotely from our own office, with our own licences and our own people. We draft and model; we leave the engineering with you. Below we describe how a project like this runs with us, which software and formats we use, how we scale up when the volume rises and what information we need to get started. We only name a figure once we have seen the documents, because without them every estimate is a shot in the dark.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
From first conversation to partial delivery of the 3D model
Every project starts with a conversation. We want to know what the model is for, who will work with it next and which documents already exist. Usually you supply existing drawings, often with a revision still to be worked through, sometimes with a folder of sketches and a few photos from site. We go through that material and name what is missing before the first line is drawn. Then we start, and we do not deliver everything at once at the end. We split the work into parts, send over a first part and ask for feedback.
That first part sets the tone, because the structure, the level of detail and the naming are already decided in it. If that basis is right, the rest goes a good deal faster. If it is not, we correct a small part rather than a complete model. We set the meeting rhythm together with you. One client wants a quick check-in every two days because things are tight, another is happy with a weekly slot. On larger projects, for example in greenhouse construction, we use software that you can log in to and follow the progress yourself.
For looser modelling work, things simply go back and forth by email. Before any part goes out, at least three people have looked at it: a second drafter, then Sam, our team leader, and finally Barry, our project manager. We would rather an error stays with us than you coming across it in your own file. As a result, what you receive at the end is rarely a surprise.
The software and formats we use to create your 3D model
Our main software is Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino. We also work with Inventor and Grasshopper, and to a limited extent with Dynamo and Vault. Which of those packages we use depends on what you use yourself and on what the model has to do. We tackle a building model with many repeating components in Revit, because the material schedule follows the model there. Free-form work or double-curved geometry we prefer to build in Rhino.
A machine part heading for production is closer to Inventor. We always work with the latest versions, so there is no difference between what we open and what you get back. For exchange we use DXF, DWG, the Revit formats and STEP, and in practice any common CAD format. If there is any doubt about the exchange, we test it at the start on a small part rather than at the end on a complete model. We align with your existing set.
Your drawing conventions, layer structure and naming apply, even if we would do it differently ourselves. We get those conventions from you, and where they are missing we ask about them before we start. We work in our own environment with our own licences, so you do not need to arrange a workstation, an extra licence or access to your network. That saves you a lot of admin before a single line has been drawn. If you would rather supply files in a format we do not yet know, we will work it out.
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 when modelling work peaks
The team is already in place. That sounds obvious, but it is exactly the difference between waiting and starting. With our large, flexible team we scale up or down per project, depending on the workload. For urgent work we add people straight away, without first running a recruitment round. Everyone who works for us has more than ten years of CAD experience, so an extra drafter does not need to shadow someone for weeks before being useful. Combined, the core of our team has around twenty-five years of experience. Scaling up does have one condition: the model has to be divisible. For a building that means per storey or per section, for a piping system per route, for a machine per assembly. We make that division in advance, otherwise drafters get in each other's way.
Sam keeps an eye on this and allocates the tasks. If someone drops out through illness or holidays, a colleague steps in and the model simply keeps progressing. You notice nothing of this in your schedule, and you pay no ongoing payroll costs for that capacity. When the volume drops again, we scale back. No subscription keeps running and no prepaid hours card stays open. We have worked through evenings and weekends, with days of fourteen to fifteen hours, for a deadline that could not move. That work also continued during a planned holiday of Sam, our team leader. That is not standard, but it shows what we do when it really counts.
How much a 3D model costs and how we get started
Both an hourly rate and a fixed project price are possible, and we discuss which form fits. For a clearly defined model with complete documents, a fixed price is convenient, because you then do not need to follow a timesheet. For modelling work whose scope is still shifting, we charge on an hourly basis and bill genuine working hours only.
If someone steps away for five minutes for a coffee, that time does not count. We have no prepaid hours card or monthly subscription, so idle capacity never appears on the invoice. To prepare an estimate, we need a few things. We want to see the existing drawings or the existing model, in whatever format.
We want to know what level of detail the model needs to reach, because a model for coordination demands something different from a model that production drawings are generated from. We also want your drawing conventions and layer structure, or to be told that there are none. Finally, we would like to know when it needs to be finished. With that information we give a realistic estimate rather than a figure that later turns out not to hold.
When an enquiry comes in, we respond within 1 to 2 working days. Once the information is sufficient, we can start. If you would first like to get a feel for how we work, we begin with a small part. That asks little of you and gives an honest picture of our speed and accuracy. You then decide for yourself whether to hand the larger job to us.
Frequently asked questions about how much a 3D model costs
Let us create your 3D model
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.