Scan-to-BIM services or in-house software?

ATIS.cad is the CAD and BIM creation product in the ATIS.cloud ecosystem. It includes Scan-to-Plan and Scan-to-BIM. Load survey data, review proposed elements and complete plans and building objects in the browser. This guide compares production arrangements; our Scan-to-BIM workflow guide explains the technical sequence from capture to model.

Decide what you are actually keeping in-house

Assign four tasks: survey capture, point cloud preparation, model production and acceptance. One team can carry them all, or several teams can contribute. A named owner at each stage makes it easier to resolve missing coverage or agree a modelling assumption.

• Who obtains and checks the survey data?
• Who specifies the elements and information to model?
• Who resolves missing or ambiguous site information?
• Who authors the model and incorporates corrections?
• Who checks the deliverable and confirms it meets the intended use?

The person responsible for the brief coordinates questions and approves decisions. When the survey misses a surface, the team records an assumption or requests additional data. That keeps modelling decisions visible to everyone working on the project.

Three ways to produce your Scan-to-BIM model

Traditional software with an in-house team

Your team models in its established CAD or BIM application. This route suits recurring production, required native deliverables or a workflow the team already knows well. It needs modelling skills, suitable workstations and time for checking. Reserve both production and review capacity in the project schedule.

An external Scan-to-BIM service

A provider takes on a defined work package and delivers the agreed files. This suits a one-off need, a busy internal team or specialist requirements. The brief specifies areas, objects, information and review cycles. You retain responsibility for commissioning the work and accepting the deliverable.

ATIS.cad for production in the browser

ATIS.cad lets your team load a point cloud and produce plans or a model in a web-based editor. Scan-to-Plan prepares an editable 2D plan; Scan-to-BIM proposes building objects for review and IFC export. Accept, adjust or reject the analysis results, then complete the work with the drawing tools. This route is particularly relevant when you want to keep production in-house without installing a dedicated CAD application for the workflow.

• Compare the same building areas and model elements.
• Give each option the same source data and known limitations.
• Include review and correction work in every option, not just production.

Compare the work from preparation to IFC handover

Account for setup, production, checking, corrections and delivery. With ATIS.cad, include review of the analysis results and model completion. With an external provider, distinguish included work from additional revisions. With desktop software, include your team's skills and availability.

• Separate one-off setup from recurring production work.
• Identify tasks that remain with your team even when modelling is outsourced.
• Estimate the workload using a representative part of the building.
• Revisit the comparison if the survey scope or deliverable changes.

Write an acceptance brief before production starts

Ask for a model that supports a stated decision, not simply a model that looks detailed. Different elements may require different treatment. Agree which objects need geometry, which need information and which are excluded. A level-of-development label is not a substitute for describing those requirements.

• Intended use, included areas and disciplines.
• Elements and attributes required, with explicit exclusions.
• Coordinate strategy, units and target software version.
• Acceptable deviations and the method used to check them, agreed for the project.
• How hidden or uncertain conditions are recorded.
• Native files, exchange files and review records to deliver.

Base acceptance on defined checks: geometric reference, acceptable deviations, required objects and populated information. Record uncaptured areas and unresolved assumptions. The same criteria then apply to an internal team, a provider or production in ATIS.cad.

Test a representative area before scaling up

Choose an area that represents the building's challenges: openings, storeys, geometry or required information. Have it produced and reviewed by the people who will use the model. The pilot reveals preparation, correction and export work before you extend the method to the whole project.

1. Give the production team the agreed source data and brief.
2. Review an intermediate result while assumptions can still be corrected.
3. Check the delivered model, its reference position and required information.
4. Open the actual exchange files in the receiving workflow.
5. Record questions, corrections and remaining exclusions before approving wider production.

From point cloud to IFC with ATIS.cad

In ATIS.cad, select a preset dataset or load the URL of a hosted point cloud. The cloud streams into the 2D and 3D views. Crop the area you need, then run Scan-to-BIM. The analysis proposes walls and openings with their construction data. Guided review takes you through the candidates storey by storey; accepted elements become editable ATIS.cad objects.

Complete the model with the editor's walls, doors, windows, rooms, slabs and stairs. Export IFC to deliver building objects, levels and identifiers to compatible BIM applications. When the deliverable is a plan, use Scan-to-Plan and export PDF, DXF or DWG. DWG/DXF exports carry 2D geometry; IFC carries the building objects.

• Load the reference cloud and isolate the area to produce.
• Run Scan-to-BIM and review the proposed elements.
• Accept, adjust and complete the objects in the editor.
• Check the 3D view, export IFC and open it in the recipient's application.

Want to evaluate the workflow with your own data? Request early access. The ATIS.cloud team activates ATIS.cad, which includes Scan-to-Plan and Scan-to-BIM. Early access is planned until the end of November 2026; the subsequent commercial model has not yet been decided. For the wider project workflow, explore the Scan-to-BIM resource hub.

Documentation and scope

Sources checked on 9 September 2026: ATIS.cad, loading point clouds, Scan-to-BIM, Scan-to-Plan, IFC export and DWG/DXF exports.