I need a 2D floor plan or 2D drawings. Do you produce these?

The Short Answer

Scan To CAD offers both 3D CAD/BIM models as well as 2D drawings. These can be purchased on their own at $0.10/sqft or as an add-on to 3D orders. Alternatively, you can also create 2D floor plans or drawings from either Scan To CAD's other 3D output formats or from the 3D scan itself. 

The Long Answer

Scan To CAD can produce the following possible output bundles:

  • SketchUp (3D model): Includes .skp, .dwg, and .dae (all in 3D)
  • Revit (3D model): Includes .rvt, .dwg, and .ifc (all in 3D)
  • Chief Architect (3D model): Includes .plan, .dwg, and .dae (all in 3D)
  • 2020 (3D model): Includes .kit, .dwg, and .dae (all in 3D)
  • 2D Floor Plan (2D drawing): Includes .pdf (with annotated dimensions), .rvt, and .dwg (all in 2D)

The easiest way to generate a 2D drawing is by choosing the 2D Floor Plan option when checking out for your Scan To CAD order, which you can see below:

In this case, we process your 3D scan data directly into a 2D floor plan:

You can download several sample 2D PDFs as well as CAD files in our Sample Data Package here.

Please note that 2D floor plan orders do not by default include any 3D information (e.g., they are not elevations) and 3D outputs  do not include 2D floor plans. If you would like to get a 3D model and a 2D floor plan for an order, please email support@canvas.io. You can merge scans at no additional cost.

If you already have a 3D CAD file, you can generate 2D floor plans on your own, outlined below:

SketchUp

  1. Open the .skp file in SketchUp.
  2. Using SketchUp's instructions here, use the slicing plane to slice through the model horizontally: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/slicing-model-peer-inside
  3. Go to Camera --> Standard Views --> Top
  4. Go to Camera --> check "Parallel Projection" instead of Perspective
  5. Go to Tools --> Dimensions, and then touch the points for which you want measurements displayed. Repeat until you have annotated all the important measurements.
  6. Take a screenshot or export as a 2D graphic.

Revit

  1. Open the .rvt file in Revit
  2. Go to Project Browser and expand the Views tab
  3. Expand the Floor Plan section under Views
  4. Double click on the floor plan level you want to display

Chief Architect

  1. Open the .plan file in Chief Architect.
  2. Position 2D plan the way you'd like to see it on the page
  3. Go to File --> Export --> Export Current View and save the drawing as a DWG

2020 

  1. DesignOpen the .kit file in 2020 Design.
  2. Position 2D plan the way you'd like to see it on the page.
  3. Go to File --> Export --> Other Formats --> save the drawing as a DWG
  4. For 2D Plan choose in "Shape Selection" dialog  - "Floor plan shapes"

AutoCAD

1. Open the .dwg file in AutoCAD.

2. Hit the top-down button in the top right corner.

3. Annotate the dimensions you need (there are multiple ways to do this in AutoCAD)

4. Go to File --> Export and save the drawing as a PDF.

Using the scan in the Canvas app

1. Open the Canvas app on your iPad or iPhone.

2. Open the scan of the space for which you are looking to generate a floor plan.

3. Extract the measurements one by one that are important for your floor plan. 

4. Draw the plan using the tool of your choice manually.

Since measuring precise points on the 3D mesh can sometimes be difficult, we try to help speed up certain measurements. If you touch two opposing walls, the measure tool will "snap" to the straight, perpendicular distance between those two walls even if you didn't touch the exact right points. If you touch anywhere on the floor and then anywhere on the ceiling, the same thing will happen. For more complicated measurements, you can always use the normal point to point measurement feature.

You can learn more about Scan To CAD's compatibility with various architecture and design programs in general here:  What file formats and programs does Scan To CAD export?

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