Scan to CAD

Paper archives into files you can actually edit.

Plenty of working geometry still lives on paper: shop drawings from before CAD, plans for buildings that are still standing, part drawings for tooling still in use. Scanning them produces an image of a drawing, which is not the same as a drawing. You cannot dimension it, modify it or cut from it.

Scanned linework is also where the double-line problem hurts most. Every printed line has width, so tracing its boundary returns two lines per line and doubles the work of cleaning up. Thinning strokes to a centerline first is what makes a scan convert into something you would actually want to edit.

Who this is for

  • Manufacturers digitising legacy drawings

    Decades of paper that has to become files for modern workflows.

  • Anyone maintaining equipment older than its CAD

    The drawing exists, on paper, and the part still needs making.

  • Architects and surveyors working from printed plans

    Plans that predate the software everyone now uses.

Try it on your own image

Converting is free and unlimited, no account needed, and no charge for retuning until the result is right. You only pay when you download.

Output format

What are you converting?

Redraws rather than measures, so detail can shift. Check the preview.

Drop an image here or click to browse

PNG, JPG, or WebP · Max 10 MB

How to do it

  1. 1

    Scan as cleanly as you can

    Flat on the glass, 300 dpi or better, high contrast. A good scan does more for the result than any conversion setting.

  2. 2

    Use AI Drawing for degraded originals

    Foxed, faded or low-contrast scans convert better after being redrawn as clean linework. Crisp, high-contrast scans can go through Precise Outline directly.

  3. 3

    Calibrate against a dimensioned feature

    Most drawings are dimensioned, which makes this the easy case: drag across a feature whose dimension is printed, and type that number.

  4. 4

    Check the result against the drawing's own dimensions

    Measure a second, different dimensioned feature in CAD and compare it to what the drawing says. If those agree, the scale is right everywhere.

Which format to take

DXF, for editing in CAD. Take the SVG as well if any of it is headed for a cutter.

Image to DXFImage to SVG

What to check before you rely on it

  • Dimension text, title blocks and annotations are traced as shapes, not read as text or values.
  • Old drawings often are not to scale, and a photocopied one may not be to a consistent scale. Verify against a second dimension.
  • Foxing, creases, fold lines and scan noise trace like any other mark. Clean scans matter.
  • Hatching and section fill trace as many small paths and may need pruning.
  • You get geometry, not a layered, constrained CAD model. Layers and constraints are rebuilt by you.

Common questions

Does it read the dimension text on my drawing?
No. Text is traced as shapes rather than recognised as numbers, so the scale comes from the calibration step. Since most drawings are dimensioned, this is straightforward. Drag across a feature whose dimension is printed and type that value.
My scan is old and faded. Will it work?
Often, in AI Drawing mode, which redraws degraded linework before tracing. Rescanning at higher contrast and at least 300 dpi is usually the bigger win, conversion quality tracks scan quality closely.
Will I get layers back?
No. The scan has no layer information in it, so the output is geometry on a single layer. Layering is rebuilt in CAD, and is generally quicker than retracing the geometry would have been.

Read next

Paper archives into files you can actually edit.

Convert an image