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Legacy Exotic Conversion

Professional Outsourced Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services

We’ve worked with so many companies that thought they lost important drawings and files because the files were really old, but we helped them. For instance, we had an aerospace company which wanted to update a 30-year-old drawing made in Computervision. Modern CAD programs can’t open these files, so what are you supposed to do? 

At CAD/CAM Services, we can convert legacy and exotic CAD files into modern files that you can open, manipulate, change, and update. We can take your decades-old CAD file, like an aerospace Computervision drawing, and transform it into a 2D manufacturing drawing or 3D CAD model in your CAD program of choice.

With access to all of the major CAD software and plenty of old and obscure CAD programs, you can trust CAD/CAM Services with your legacy and exotic CAD conversion needs.

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Legacy Exotic Conversion

What Are Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services?

With our legacy and exotic CAD conversion services, your team can start using really old drawings and designs. In most cases, older companies have CAD drawings made at the beginning of their company, before CAD was popularized like it is today. Our team will open your very old files, and convert them into a file you can open and use on SolidWorks, Inventor, CATIA, CREO, and other programs. 

At CAD/CAM Services, we can rescue your legacy and exotic CAD data. We can work with old CAD programs like:

  • Micro CADAM
  • KOMPAS-3D
  • ANVIL-1000, ANVIL-CAD
  • CATIA V4
  • Computervision
  • Solid Edge
  • And Many More

Why Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services Matters

The conversion of your old drawings into new CAD formats is more difficult than you might imagine — that’s why it’s critical that you start with the right CAD team in your corner.

For starters, simply accessing old ANVIL or Solid Edge files can be a pain. Getting access to these old programs and having a license to open the files is the first roadblock you have to get over.

Next, you have to have familiarity with these old programs. How are drawings opened, how can you see dimensions, and how can you export a drawing (if it’s even possible)? This is the second big roadblock.

Finally, how can you take this old drawing and make it a new SolidWorks 3D model? This is the third and largest roadblock. It requires attention to detail, experience, and patience that you won’t find in every engineering office.

Luckily, our team at CAD/CAM Services has successfully converted old and obscure CAD files into modern 3D CAD models countless times. We have access to all of the big modern CAD programs, and most of the really old CAD programs. We know what goes into these conversions, and we have the skillset to do it for you.

When you choose CAD/CAM Services for your legacy and exotic CAD conversion, you’ll notice a lot of major benefits:

More functionality with each part.

We make sure that every converted file comes with all the data and functionality you need: design trees, part history, appearance details, and material selections are just the starters.

Access to your old library of designs.

With our help, you can start actually using your old drawings, instead of just scratching your head.

Faster turnarounds and fewer headaches.

Our mission is to convert your legacy drawings quickly, without making it your problem. This means faster turnarounds and no big headaches for you along the way.

CAD Perfect CAD Conversions®.

We are the only company in America offering CAD Perfect CAD Conversions®, and that’s something we take a lot of pride in. You’ll notice higher quality and more professionalism every step of the way.

Over 100 engineers are at your service.

Our team of over 100 engineers and draftsmen are here to help you. We work staggered shifts to offer 24/7 engineering power for your project.

What Goes into Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services from CAD/CAM Services?

Our process of converting a legacy or exotic CAD file into a modern CAD model is pretty straightforward. It starts with a consultation between you and us — tell us what you have, what you need, and what you expect. With these simple guidelines in place, send us whatever files you have, and our engineers will get to work. 

We’ll open the old file, and then start redrawing it in a modern CAD program. Most of the legacy CAD files we open don’t have a clean way of exporting into a modern NX or CREO file, so we have to redo the work from scratch.

Our engineers take all the measurements and data they need from your existing files, and they’ll start a new file in your modern CAD program of choice. We will go through the meticulous process of making sure every line, curve, and chamfer is exactly where it should be. If you want these parts to be in 3D, then we’ll happily convert every part into a 3D CAD model and assemble them together.

From there, we go through a round of quality checks. Our engineers will peer review every file, make sure the data is perfect, then we send you every file digitally through a DoD-trusted filesharing website. 

See anything you don’t like? Let us know and we’ll make corrections and send the updated CAD files to you.

Our Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services Include:

  • Legacy to 3D CAD Translation
  • 2D to 3D CAD Conversions
  • 3D Scanning and Reverse Engineering, As Needed
  • 2D Scanning, Mylar to CAD Conversions
  • Engineering, Drafting, and Iterative Designing 
  • Engineering Simulations and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
  • 3D Printing
  • Design for Manufacturing (DFM) While Upgrading Your CAD Models
  • And Much More (Including Custom Services)

More About Legacy and Exotic CAD Conversion Services

At our core, we want to help engineers like yourself. You’ll quickly learn that CAD/CAM Services is honest and transparent with every project. With that said, we’ll let you know if we don’t think we can convert your legacy or exotic CAD project. We refuse to take your money if we can’t help, so don’t worry about getting tricked or fooled when you choose CAD/CAM Services.

If we run into this issue, we’ll let you know what options you have — don’t lose hope, we can still redesign a part from scratch or reverse engineer an old assembly you have on your production floor. We’ve been in business for over 35 years, and we can always think of creative ways to solve new problems.

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Get a Quote Today

Our team at CAD/CAM Services is here to help you. We offer CAD Perfect CAD Conversions® for all of your most daunting legacy and exotic CAD projects. Allow us to transform your old designs into modern 3D CAD models. We complete projects faster, offer higher quality, and take all the stress away from your engineering team. Get a free quote today to start converting these files into usable CAD models.

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FAQ's

CAD Conversion FAQs
What do you need to provide me with an accurate quote?

We need to know source CAD and target CAD software. Since large quantity orders can be discounted by us you can provide us with the number of parts you need to be converted.

If you tell us the desired purpose of the conversion we can offer you some conversion options. We can also convert your files into vendor-neutral file types (.STEP, .STL, etc,).

Please email us even cell phone photos, and the rough size of what you wish scanned and converted [email protected].

What do I get?

You get native Cad Perfect™ files with the full-featured model tree (where applicable, since some file types have no trees), and features can be fully parametric. It all depends on your goals.  We prefer to not translate any files. Our goal is to deliver to you a file that you do not have to touch. Our work is exactly as if you had reproduced that work in-house.

Which CAD file formats do you work with?

All the CAD file formats are listed on this page but bear in mind that we also work with exotic and legacy CAD systems.  After 31 years of providing CAD Services, we have run into almost any CAD file format.


Which CAD systems do you work with?

We support all the modern CAD systems including SolidWorks, Catia, Siemens NX, PTC Creo, Inventor, Revit, AutoCAD, and many others.

I have some weird CAD files from the previous century, can you help me?

Yes, absolutely. We can perform legacy CAD conversions.  Just send us some example files, and what CAD system we need to wind up in, and let us design the best solution for you.We have worked with old Computer Vision tapes, Anvil, and many other 1980’s systems.

General CAD Questions
How do I send a sample, in order to get a quote?

Fill out our quote form, attach your files, or simply send us an email. Tell everything about your project, like the model purpose.

For smaller files < 15 MB you can simply email them to us.  For something larger, just drop them in any number of drop boxes like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and others.  Or if you would like, just contact us for a private, hardened link.

It is fine to use most any time of compression such as  *.zip, *.rar, *.tar, *.7z, *.arc, *.LBR, and even *.iso images.

A direct email is [email protected]

We also use a hardened OwnCloud web file sharing platform for unlimited file transfers. We provide unique and very private Web Storage Portals, this also supports file syncing for extreme convenience for you. Because so much of our work is DOD or weapons design work, Security – and confidentiality is very important to us.

Will CAD / CAM Services Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)?

Yes. NDAs are a common part of our business. All data is yours – not ours, and treated as proprietary data and not for public consumption or use. Probably 70% of our work is under NDA agreements. We can generally get these signed within the day.

What is the estimated delivery time?

It depends on the scope of work:

  • 2D drawings – small quantity, normally 48 hours.  We have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 4-8 drafters busy full time.
  • 3D models – complexity dependent, but smaller jobs in 2-3 days. Some models we have spent months on.  Again, we have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 6-10 3D CAD designers busy full time.

Simple jobs have a lead time of 48 hours. Larger projects are delivered and invoiced weekly.

Did you really own the trademark Cad Perfect™, Cad Perfect CAD Conversions™ and Cad / Cam Services™?

Yes, we did back in 2008. We started using Cad Perfect™ back in the early 1990s because all of our customers wanted only real Cad Perfect™ work. Back then the buzz words were terms like machine ready, or DXF Traceover and others.

The problem is, nobody wanted that. They all wanted drawings and models that they did not have to touch. Everybody wanted drawings just as if they hand redrew the work themselves.

Thus, Cad / Cam Services™ was the first company to start offering ONLY Cad Perfect™ work.

Do you support the PPD-21 Directive?

Yes we do, and have now for several years. In addition, we also support the industry specific plans as well.

Finite Element Analysis FAQs
What is the purpose of FEA?

A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a form of non-destructive testing (NDT) that shows how your part reacts to real-world loading events. A common example is running an FEA on a support bracket. The FEA will give results showing how much the bracket deflects, how much reactive force is seen, and the kind of internal stresses the bracket experiences.

FEA results will change dramatically based on the position and angle of the load, how much force is applied, the material properties of the part, and the design of the part itself.

An FEA is used to optimize a part before manufacturing begins. It allows you to find weak points within your part or assembly, and it will predict a failure before you physically make anything. This gives you an opportunity to fine-tune each part to optimize its size, strength, and cost before you start producing it.

What do you need to make an accurate simulation?

The more information we have, the more accurate the simulation results will be. It also depends on what type of simulation you want to run. For a simple FEA, we can run an accurate simulation with just a 3D CAD model and loading/force/pressure information that you want to simulate.

Don’t have a 3D model? Not a problem, our team can make one for you from scratch, and then run an FEA on it.

For a more detailed answer, a well-run FEA will need:

Material properties: What material is the part made out of? We can run different FEAs with different materials to help you pick the right one.

Loading conditions: The size, location, and type of load you want to simulate.

Bonding condition: How is the part held in place? Is it bolted, welded, or just sitting on a tabletop?

A 3D model

For other simulations: Please provide us with all thermal, dynamic, aero, and/or fluid flow information. Feel free to call us and we’ll walk you through what we need.

Reverse Engineering FAQs
What is the average price for Reverse Engineering?

It all depends on the part’s complexity, size and structure.

What do you guys need to provide me with accurate pricing?

We need to know whether you need your parts to be scanned by us. Or many times we can work with 3D scans provided by third-party companies.  The quality of the scan is everything in our business. Anyway, we strongly advise you to use us for both the scanning and the CAD conversion aspects.  That way, we can control the quality. Sometimes we receive poor quality scans which make it impossible to create truly Cad Perfect™ models for you.  By all means, send us a couple of even cell phone photos, and the rough size of the object.  Most of the time, this will provide us enough information to provide a real bid.

The price depends on the part complexity, size, as well as the target file parametres. We need to know whether you need full parametric models, and your desired accuracy. If you tell us the purpose of reverse-engineered models, we can often provide you with possible solutions. The target CAD software may change the price as well. This includes sophisticated Workstation add-on products such as Composites, Catia electrical wiring, mold design, and others.

What is the quality of reverse-engineered parts?

We can provide ±.005” aerospace quality for every model. CT scanned parts can have even higher precision up to ±.001”.