Use cases · AutoCAD (DWG) to BoQ
AutoCAD (DWG) to BoQ: a bill of quantities you can defend.
detumble reads the whole structural set - framing plans, schedules, sections, notes, RC and steel, foundations to roof - and builds the quantities from a 3D structural model of what is drawn, not from a count on a plan. Every line carries its evidence: the sheet, the schedule row, the note.
Who it is for
- Quantity surveyors pricing a tender from a DWG set
- Contractors checking a consultant's BoQ before they sign
- Developers who want an independent number before the tender goes out
The steps
- 01
Read the set
Every sheet and layer is named, the schedules are read, every reading is checked against the drawing, and the project brief is written. You confirm it before anything is modelled.
Ask in your own words, or type /ingest
- 02
Build and measure
Every element is placed from the confirmed reading by repeatable arithmetic, ten checks grade the model before you see it, and the material take-off comes out of the model: concrete, formwork, excavation and steel per element.
Ask in your own words, or type /takeoff
- 03
Map the bill
The accepted take-off becomes a bill of quantities: each take-off line is mapped to a bill item from a code library, and the mapping is shown line by line.
Ask in your own words, or type /boq
What you get
- Material take-off workbook (concrete, formwork, excavation, steel per element, with totals)
- Bill of quantities mapped to the take-off
- The 3D model (IFC) the quantities were measured on
- A query register: every assumption and what closes it
The proof
- Evidence per line
- sheet, schedule row, note
- Numbers typed by a model
- none
- Paid runs quoted before they spend
- every one
Every figure names its scope; none is a promise for every drawing set.
Questions
- How do I get a BoQ from AutoCAD drawings?
- Zip the structural DWG or DXF sheets and upload them to a project. Ask for the reading, then the take-off, then the bill: the set is read, measured, and the accepted take-off is mapped to a bill of quantities. There is no AutoCAD add-on to install.
- What do I upload?
- A zip of DWG or DXF files, one per sheet. Structural sets work best: framing plans, schedules, sections and general notes.
- Can it work from PDF drawings?
- Not for a take-off today. detumble reads AutoCAD DWG and DXF sets, or a zip of either; PDF sets are on the roadmap.
- How is it priced?
- Every step is quoted before it runs, from the size of your drawings, and settled on what it used; the bill of quantities uses no credits. A failed run charges nothing; a run you cancel is charged only for the work already done.
- Can I check a number?
- Every line links to its evidence. Accept, correct or reject each item at the review gate; nothing advances without an engineer's acceptance.