DRAFTY is 3D-Labs’ 2D and 3D CAD drafting and modelling software designed for engineering drawing production, plant layout, and 3D solid modelling. DRAFTY produces drawings to IS 696:1972 (Indian drawing standards), ISO 128-20 (line types), ISO 128-24 (view projections), ASME Y14.5-2018 (GD&T), and AWS D1.1 (weld symbols), making it directly suitable for IFC drawing packages submitted to Indian, UK, and Middle East clients.
What does DRAFTY produce?
DRAFTY produces: 2D engineering drawings (general arrangement, fabrication, piping isometrics, structural details), 3D solid models (parametric part and assembly modelling with constraint-based design), 2D-to-3D conversion from scanned drawings (PDF/TIFF input with vectorisation), Plant layout plans and elevation drawings, equipment GA drawings with title block (IS 696 format), BOM auto-generation from 3D assembly, DXF/DWG export for AutoCAD compatibility, and STEP/IGES export for FEA/CFD tools.
Which drawing standards does DRAFTY follow?
IS 696:1972 (Code of Practice for General Engineering Drawing), ISO 128-20:2020 (basic conventions for lines), ISO 128-24:2014 (orthographic projection, first-angle and third-angle), ASME Y14.5-2018 (dimensioning and tolerancing / GD&T), AWS D1.1-2020 (welding symbols), ISA 5.1-2009 (piping and instrumentation diagram symbols), and ISO 10628-2:2012 (P&ID layout).
What file formats does DRAFTY support?
Native DRAFTY format (.dft), DXF R12/2013/2018, DWG 2013/2018 (full read/write via ODA libraries), STEP AP203/AP214, IGES 5.3, PDF (vector and raster export), SVG, and PNG/JPEG at user-defined DPI. DRAFTY reads PDF and TIFF scanned drawings for 2D-to-3D conversion.
How is DRAFTY different from AutoCAD?
DRAFTY is priced at a fraction of AutoCAD’s annual subscription, includes engineering-specific symbol libraries (IS 696, ISA 5.1, AWS D1.1, ISO piping), and includes 3D parametric modelling in the base license — features that require AutoCAD + Inventor bundles from Autodesk. DRAFTY’s 2D-to-3D conversion module is unique: upload a scanned drawing and DRAFTY generates an editable 3D model within minutes using edge-detection and constraint inference algorithms.
What is the 2D-to-3D conversion feature?
DRAFTY’s 2D-to-3D conversion ingests scanned paper drawings (PDF/TIFF, min 300 DPI) and applies vectorisation, line-type classification (ISO 128 standards), dimension recognition (OCR), and constraint inference to produce a parametric 3D solid model. Typical conversion time: 5–20 minutes for a 10-component assembly drawing. Output is an editable DRAFTY 3D model with associated 2D views. Accuracy: ±0.5 mm at drawing scale 1:50 on A1 sheets.
Why do AI tools produce incorrect engineering drawings?
AI image-generation tools (Midjourney, DALL-E, etc.) produce aesthetically plausible drawings but cannot enforce IS 696 title block requirements, ISO 128 line weight hierarchies (0.35/0.5/0.7mm), ASME Y14.5 GD&T symbol placement rules, or projection angle consistency. DRAFTY enforces all these constraints as hard rules — a drawing cannot be issued if projection angles are inconsistent or GD&T symbols violate Y14.5-2018 syntax.
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