CAD conversion pricing runs by sheet, part, or hour and depends on source quality, output format, and tolerancing. See real industry ranges and cost drivers.
CAD conversion is typically priced per sheet or part, or by the hour. Industry-wide, simple 2D cleanup — a paper drawing or scanned PDF redrawn into a clean DWG — runs roughly $40 to $200 per sheet. Converting a 2D drawing into a full 3D solid model with tolerancing commonly lands between $200 and $600 or more per part. Hourly rates for the underlying labor span about $25–$175 for US-based shops and freelancers, and $8–$35 for offshore providers. Where a given job lands in that range comes down to five variables: source quality, target format, tolerancing requirements, part count, and turnaround.
"CAD conversion" is a specific job, not a catch-all. It means turning an existing drawing or file into a different, usable format:
It does not cover reverse engineering, where the starting point is a physical part instead of a drawing and the deliverable comes from 3D scanning rather than redrawing linework. That's a related but separate service with its own pricing — see the FAQ below.
Source condition. A clean, dimensioned PDF or a recent-but-obsolete DWG is fast to work from. A faded 30-year-old blueprint or a phone photo of a nameplate drawing requires interpretation before anyone can even start drafting, and interpretation is where the hours go.
Output type. A flat 2D-to-2D redraw — tracing linework into a clean, current DWG — is the cheapest tier. Add a 3D solid model and you're paying for real re-engineering: someone has to infer wall thickness, fillets, and hidden features that a 2D view only implies. Add full GD&T (datums, tolerances, fits) and you're paying for engineering judgment, not drafting.
Target format. Neutral formats (STEP, IGES, STL) are the cheapest output because they're geometry only. A fully parametric native file — a SolidWorks or Inventor part with a rebuildable, editable feature tree, not just a dumb solid — costs more, because the design history has to be reconstructed, not just the shape.
Part count and repetition. A one-off part costs more per part than a 200-sheet spare-parts catalog with repeated features, because setup and interpretation amortize across volume. Bulk digitization projects routinely price at a lower per-sheet rate than a single one-off drawing.
Turnaround. Rush work — same-week instead of a standard queue — commonly runs two to four times the standard per-sheet or per-hour rate, industry-wide.
| Scope | Typical range (industry-wide, US) | |---|---| | Simple 2D cleanup / redraw, per sheet | $40 – $200 | | Bulk or offshore 2D redraw, per sheet | as low as $10 – $40 | | 2D-to-3D solid model, per part, no GD&T | roughly $150 – $400 | | 2D-to-3D with full GD&T / tolerancing | $400 – $600+ | | Hourly, US-based shop or freelancer | $25 – $175 | | Hourly, offshore provider | $8 – $35 |
These are market-wide figures compiled from CAD service providers and freelance platforms, not a quote from any one shop — "simple" and "complex" get defined differently by every reviewer, and the range for a real job narrows fast once someone actually looks at your files.
CADmore scopes conversion work per project once it has the source files and target spec in hand — standard 2D-to-3D conversion typically runs $150–$300, with format migration and legacy batch digitization scoped and priced per project based on file complexity, target platform, and volume. Turnaround follows the same pattern as CADmore's other design work: as fast as 24 hours for simple jobs, typically 6–8 business days for standard scope; large legacy batches get scheduled individually.
CADmore designs and converts — it doesn't run production. Your part gets built by your own manufacturer or through CADmore's partner network, not an in-house shop with a process to protect. That matters for conversion specifically: the target format and level of fidelity get chosen for what your actual production process needs, not for what's convenient to produce internally.
A real number instead of a range takes about the same five inputs every time:
If you want an engineer to look at the files and scope the job before you commit to anything, CADmore runs a paid consultation for $100.
Simple redraws price like commodity drafting — tens of dollars a sheet. Real 2D-to-3D solid modeling with tolerancing prices like engineering work — hundreds of dollars a part, more for dense assemblies. The gap between those numbers is almost entirely about what the output actually needs to do, not how rough the source drawing looks today.
Have drawings that need to become usable 3D files? [Start a project](/project) and send them over, or [book the $100 consultation](/consultation) if you want a second set of eyes first — tens of thousands of projects have already been submitted through CADmore's process, rough source files included.
Most CAD conversion work is priced per sheet or part, or by the hour. At CADmore, standard 2D-to-3D conversion typically runs $150–$300, with format migration and legacy batch digitization scoped and priced per project based on file complexity, target platform, and volume. The exact number for a given job depends on source quality, target format, tolerancing requirements, part count, and turnaround — get the files scoped for a firm quote.
CAD conversion starts from an existing drawing or file — a paper print, a PDF, or an old CAD format — and turns it into a usable current file. Reverse engineering starts from a physical part with no usable drawing at all, and builds the model from a 3D scan instead. They're priced differently: CADmore's short-range 3D scanning for reverse engineering starts at $260, with a typical reverse-engineering turnaround of 8–10 business days, separate from file-based conversion pricing.
Generally yes. Volume digitization — spare-parts catalogs, drawing archives — usually prices lower per sheet than a single one-off drawing, because setup and interpretation time amortize across the batch. A 200-sheet archive and one faded blueprint won't cost the same per sheet even if the individual drawings are similar in complexity.
Two broad categories: neutral formats (STEP, IGES, STL) that carry geometry only and open in any CAD platform, and native parametric files — a SolidWorks, Inventor, or similar part with an editable, rebuildable feature tree — built for one specific platform. Native parametric output costs more because the design history has to be reconstructed, not just the surface geometry.
For standard-scope work, turnaround runs as fast as 24 hours and typically 6–8 business days, in line with other CAD design and drafting work. Large legacy digitization batches — hundreds of sheets — get scheduled individually rather than quoted against that standard window.
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