Read data from scanned and old engineering drawings
SpecCapture reads scans, microfilm and hand-lettered sheets as well as PDFs exported from CAD, but less reliably: on our tests it read the critical fields (part number, revision, material and finish) right 82.1% of the time on 1960s microfilm and 58.6% on drawings scanned from old printed reports, against 97.4% on CAD PDFs in styles it has been tuned on. Every value still comes with a box on the drawing, and handwritten or doubtful values go to a person, so plan to check scans closely.
How it works
With SpecCapture, step by step.
Upload
Upload PDF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG, BMP or WebP scans. A sheet may be up to 150 million pixels, which fits a D-size sheet scanned at 400 dpi, or an E-size or A0 sheet at 300 dpi.
Read
SpecCapture reads the scan, checks every value with rules, and lowers its confidence in any value whose letters it could not read clearly.
Check
Select any value to see the box on the drawing it was read from. Values SpecCapture is unsure of are flagged; correct one in place and the export carries your correction.
Export
Download the checked values as Excel (XLSX), CSV or JSON, or fetch them through the API.
What to check
Before you rely on it.
Damage on the scan
On the microfilm, most wrong values came from damage on the scan itself, which no reading can undo. A faded or broken character can read as another one, so look closely at flagged values.
Handwriting
Hand-lettered values are read too. Values recognized as handwriting are always flagged for a person to check.
Everything is reviewed at first
A new workspace starts with every value waiting for a person. A field is accepted automatically only after 20 confirmations in a row with no correction, and exports mark whatever is still waiting.
Not for export-controlled drawings
SpecCapture is not for export-controlled drawings, such as those covered by ITAR or the EAR.
Every fact in one place, with how accuracy was measured: SpecCapture at a glance.
Questions
What people ask.
Can SpecCapture read scanned engineering drawings?
Yes, but less reliably than PDFs exported from CAD. On PDFs exported from CAD, in drawing styles it has been tuned on, SpecCapture read the critical fields (part number, revision, material and finish) right 97.4% of the time. Scans are weaker: the critical fields came out right 82.1% of the time on 1960s microfilm scans and 58.6% on drawings scanned from old printed reports.
How do I turn legacy paper engineering drawings into searchable data?
Paper drawings are read from scans: scan each sheet to PDF or TIFF, at up to 150 million pixels a sheet (a D-size sheet scanned at 400 dpi, or an E-size or A0 sheet at 300 dpi), and the values come back as a spreadsheet you can sort and filter, or as JSON. SpecCapture reads each sheet's title block, revision history, parts list and notes, so you can filter the sheets by part number, revision or material. Scans read less reliably than PDFs: the critical fields came out right 82.1% of the time on 1960s microfilm scans and 58.6% on drawings scanned from old printed reports, so plan to check them.
Does it read handwriting?
Yes, it reads hand-lettered values. Values recognized as handwriting are always flagged for a person to check.
Why are scans less accurate?
A scan can blur, fade or break characters, and a damaged character can read as another one. On the microfilm, most wrong values came from damage on the scan itself, which no reading can undo.
Which scan formats does it accept?
It accepts PDF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG, BMP and WebP files; GIF files are not accepted. A PDF or TIFF file can hold up to 200 sheets; an image is one sheet.
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