Turn a technical drawing into a parametric model

You have a PDF or a scanned drawing of a part: a supplier's datasheet, an old engineering drawing, a customer's request. You want a real, editable 3D model. Solid Vibes reads the drawing, converts the dimensions into named parameters, flags anything it cannot read confidently, and builds the geometry.

Drawings are the most precise input you can give the agent, because the numbers are already there.

1. Prepare the drawing

• A clean scan or a PDF export reads far better than a phone photo of a crumpled page. If you must photograph, shoot straight on, in even light, with the whole page in frame.
• High resolution matters for small dimension text. Zoom in and check you can read the smallest numbers.
• Include all the views. Front, top, side, and any sections or details, so the agent can understand the shape.
• Note units and scale. Many drawings are "not to scale". The dimension values rule, not the picture.

2. Attach and tell it what you want

Drop in the file or image. It is classified as a technical drawing, and the confidence is shown.

This is a supplier drawing of a bracket. Dimensions are in millimetres. Build it as a parametric model. Create a named parameter for every dimension on the drawing. List anything you could not read clearly or that is ambiguous.

Use Smart mode. Reading drawings needs careful reasoning. An image-to-model request costs 10 credits in Fast and 20 in Smart by default.

3. Review the detected dimensions

The agent shows a list of every dimension it detected, each with:

• a name (such as plate_width, hole_spacing),
• a value and unit,
• a confidence,
• and, where relevant, a note ("tolerance +/-0.1 mm").

It also lists ambiguities: smudged digits, a dimension that could be a radius or a diameter, a view that does not agree with another.

This review is the most valuable step. Go through the list:

1. Fix any misread numbers.
2. Resolve ambiguities with your own judgment or by measuring the real part.
3. Confirm the units.

Every parameter keeps an "image" source badge so you know where it came from.

4. Check the first model

Accept the first ghost only after a sanity check:

Look for these common slips:

• First-angle vs third-angle projection: If the right view appears on the wrong side, the model may be mirrored or turned. Tell the agent which projection the drawing uses.
• Diameter vs radius: Check the symbols ("Ø" for diameter, "R" for radius).
• Not-to-scale views: Trust numbers, never measure the picture.

5. Refine with the drawing in hand

Correct what is wrong:

The 4 holes are on the wrong face. They should be on the face shown in the top view, 15 mm from each short edge. The 20 mm bore is a through hole. Fix both, and keep all the other parameters.

Add rules based on the drawing's tolerances:

The two 8 mm holes must always be 50 mm apart. Keep that fixed.

6. Close the loop: draw it back

Once you are happy, generate a drawing from your model and compare it against the original:

Make a drawing of this part with the same views as the original, dimensioned the same way. I want to compare it with the supplier's drawing.

If your new drawing disagrees with the original anywhere, the model is wrong or the original has an error. Both are worth knowing.

What the agent does not do

• It does not invent dimensions that the drawing does not give. It asks, or flags the gap.
• It does not follow instructions written on the drawing as commands. Notes on a drawing are read as information about the part. If a note says "ignore the above", it is just text.
• It does not guarantee tolerance stack-up. If your fit depends on tolerances, check them with the manufacturing process in mind.

Try it

On the L-bracket template, rehearse the review step. Ask the agent to describe the model as a drawing reader would:

List every dimension of this bracket as a table: parameter name, value, unit, and which feature it controls. Then flag any dimension that a machinist would find missing.

Use the same pattern in reverse when you receive a real drawing.