Scan2CAD v10 features a number of fundamental improvements in how users can convert their designs for CAD/CAM & CNC.
From significantly improved OCR to enhanced vectorization and PDF processing, we have revisited each core competency of Scan2CAD and worked to enhance the results they provide. We’re going to use this post to look at just a few of these improvements.
Contents:
- Wait—everything looks different…
- Improved OCR results
- Improved raster and vector PDF processing
- Improved vectorization results
Wait—everything looks different…
If you’re coming to Scan2CAD v10 from a previous version, the first difference you will notice is the significantly redesigned interface.
The aim of the redesign, as we touched upon when we announced the release of v10, was to improve usability. The new interface focuses on making it easier for users to learn Scan2CAD, and to successfully convert their designs as quickly as possible.
There are many significant changes to the interface which deserve a separate post. In this post, we will focus purely on some of the fundamental performance improvements.
Improved OCR results
In Scan2CAD v10, we implemented a new OCR engine for converting text in your designs to fully editable vector text strings.
This new OCR offers a number of significant advances when compared to Scan2CAD v9 and earlier versions.
Some of the improvements you will notice are:
- Fewer false positives
- Better recognition results for ‘non-standard’ fonts
- Support for languages other than English
- Better differentiation between text characters and objects which can confuse OCR, such as dash-line segments
- Better support for text at multiple angle rotations
You can see a comparison of OCR output in Scan2CAD v9 and v10 below.
Improved raster and vector PDF processing
PDF files can be encoded in thousands of different ways. Each application which creates a PDF could encode their exported files slightly differently. This presents a challenge for applications like Scan2CAD, which need not only to view a PDF but to translate it into accurate, editable contents.
As of the release of v10, Scan2CAD now supports more PDF files than ever. In practice, this means that users will experience benefits such as:
- Fewer unsupported raster image formats
- Better translation of vector entities
- Better translation of vector text strings
- More accurate text string placements (text coordinates)
And, if you keep an eye on our changelog, you’ll see that we are consistently improving PDF support—as well as on everything else Scan2CAD has to offer.
You still may come across a PDF which is not supported in Scan2CAD. In those cases, please get in touch and send us the PDF—we will work to add support for new PDF encoding methods where possible. With your help, we will make Scan2CAD’s PDF decoding as comprehensive as humanly possible.
Improved vectorization results
Scan2CAD v10 offers clear progress in raster-to-vector conversion (vectorization). This offers greater success than ever before when converting your images to CAD/CAM formats. Some of the key changes include:
- Image health checks performed prior to vectorization to ascertain whether an image is suitable for conversion
- Improved differentiation between image objects which should be vectorized and those which should be converted using OCR
- Better recognition of objects such as dash-lines
In the below animation we compare the improvements in Scan2CAD’s dash-line object recognition. Notice the parallel dash-lines are now correctly identified.
It may appear to be a subtle difference—but, in reality, this is significantly more accurate, helping to seriously reduce the time required to convert your design.
So, there’s a snapshot of just some of the improvements in Scan2CAD v10. Of course, the changes don’t stop there. You can keep an eye on the changelog to stay up to date with the work we’re doing to constantly make Scan2CAD better.
Whether you’re new to Scan2CAD or are a long-time user, you can try the latest release completely free with our 14 day trial. And remember: minor updates and major upgrades alike are included in active Scan2CAD subscriptions with support, meaning that you can upgrade to v10 at any time.
