CAD Drawings (DWG & PDF)

The deliverable is the product.

Every Orbital engagement ends with a structured CAD package designed to drop straight into your engineering or BIM workflow. DWG and PDF as standard. Layered to your spec. Every feature designated to AS 5488 quality level. Ready for Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, MicroStation, ArchiCAD or IFC import.

What’s in an Orbital CAD deliverable

  • DWG file — current AutoCAD format, layered by service type and feature category.
  • PDF plot — A1 or A3 plan view sheets, ready for tender documentation, council submission or site reference.
  • Layer schedule — each service type on a dedicated layer, named to a convention you can match to your project drawing standard (or our default convention).
  • AS 5488 quality-level designation per feature — typically via attribute, block name or dedicated annotation layer so your designer can filter by QL.
  • Coordinate system reference — GDA2020 Zone 56 by default; transformed to project-specific datums on request.
  • Drawing legend — symbols, line types, hatch patterns explained on the plot sheet.
  • Title block populated with project reference, capture date, methodology and Orbital sign-off.
  • Optional outputs as scoped — coordinate file (CSV / TXT), point cloud (.las / .laz / .ply / .pcd / .s3mb), 3D mesh (.osgb / .obj / .fbx / .i3s / .s3md / .ply), Wincan-compatible CCTV reports, drone orthomosaic overlay.

Drawing standards we work to

Orbital’s default CAD convention

Every commercial deliverable lands in our well-defined default convention — service-type-based layer names (SVC-WATER, SVC-SEWER, SVC-ELEC, SVC-TELCO, SVC-GAS), AS 5488 quality-level annotation per feature, plotted services in clear white-readable colours with a service legend on every sheet. The convention is engineering-firm-clean and drops into Civil 3D, AutoCAD, MicroStation, Revit and BricsCAD workflows without translation. Bespoke matching to your firm’s specific drawing standard is available as a premium add-on for projects that need it.

Bespoke spec matching — premium add-on

Where a project demands an exact match to your firm’s drawing standard — specific layer names, custom block library, your title block, your plot conventions — we can deliver to that spec as a premium add-on. Send us the standards documentation at scoping, and the spec-matching effort is quoted as an additional line item. For consultancies with a long-running relationship we can hold the spec on file.

BIM and IFC integration

Where the project is BIM-led, we coordinate directly with the BIM lead. We can deliver IFC-compatible exports for direct import into Revit and other BIM tools, including LOD specifications matched to your project requirements. For Civil 3D workflows we deliver native DWG with the layer and surface structures Civil 3D expects.

Council and asset owner submission standards

Build-over applications, council compliance submissions and asset owner as-built record packages each have their own format expectations. We’ve delivered to most SEQ council standards (Brisbane City Council, Logan, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Redlands) and to major asset-owner specifications. We’ll match the requirement during scoping rather than after submission rejection.

Why AS 5488 quality-level designation matters in the CAD

Most legacy locator deliverables drop a line on the plan and call it “located.” The problem: “located” can mean anything from “someone looked at a DBYD plan” through to “we exposed the service with vacuum excavation and surveyed the verified position.” Without quality-level designation, the downstream designer has no idea how much confidence to attach to each feature.

Orbital’s CAD deliverables tag every feature with its AS 5488 quality level. Your designer sees, layer by layer or attribute by attribute, exactly what is records-only (QL-D), what is surface-correlated (QL-C), what is geophysically located (QL-B), and what is vacuum-verified (QL-A through our Vac2U alliance). Design decisions get made against known-quality data.

This is the difference between a locator who delivers a drawing and a spatial-intelligence specialist who delivers an engineering-grade dataset.

File formats and software compatibility

  • DWG (current AutoCAD format, also opens in BricsCAD, Vectorworks, DraftSight).
  • PDF — A1 or A3 plan sheets, vector and raster options.
  • DXF on request (older interchange format for legacy CAD environments).
  • IFC for BIM workflows (Revit, ArchiCAD).
  • Civil 3D-ready DWG with surfaces, alignments and point groups.
  • Survey coordinate data — CSV, TXT, ASCII point file.
  • Point cloud — .las, .laz, .ply, .pcd, .s3mb.
  • 3D mesh — .osgb (Bentley iTwin / ContextCapture), .obj, .fbx (Autodesk Revit / 3ds Max), .i3s (Esri ArcGIS Pro), .s3md (SuperMap), .ply.
  • Orthomosaic — GeoTIFF, georeferenced PDF.

If your workflow needs a format not listed here, ask. Most engineering CAD/BIM formats are accommodated; we’d rather confirm at scoping than discover at delivery.

Quality control before release

Every CAD deliverable passes through a documented quality control process before it leaves Orbital:

  • Survey data check — captured coordinates verified against ground control reference.
  • Layer audit — features on correct layers, naming convention applied, no rogue layers or blocks.
  • AS 5488 designation audit — every feature has its QL tag; mixed-quality crossings are flagged.
  • Drawing review — title block, legend, scale, north arrow, coordinate system correct.
  • Cross-reference check — features on the CAD plan match the photo record and survey database.
  • Final sign-off — by the senior project lead, not the technician who drafted the work.

The QC isn’t optional and isn’t a one-line statement — it’s the operating discipline that comes out of twenty-three years of doing this work.

Frequently asked questions

Can you match our company CAD standard?

Our default convention is built to be readable by any engineering or BIM workflow without translation, and that’s what every commercial deliverable lands in by default. Where a project requires an exact match to your firm’s drawing standard — specific layer names, custom block library, your title block — that’s available as a premium add-on, scoped and quoted as an additional line item. For long-running consultancy relationships we can hold the spec on file.

What coordinate system do you deliver in?

GDA2020 Zone 56 by default — the current Australian datum for SEQ. We can transform to MGA94 for older project files, AHD for heights, or a local construction coordinate system if the project specifies one. Confirm at scoping; the file lands ready for import.

Do you draw to Revit / BIM?

We deliver into Revit / BIM workflows via several routes. Native DWG layered for direct import into Revit existing-conditions models. IFC-compatible exports where the project’s BIM execution plan calls for IFC. Native Civil 3D-ready DWG with surfaces and point groups for Civil 3D workflows. For Bentley iTwin / ContextCapture pipelines we deliver .osgb 3D mesh. For Esri ArcGIS Pro we deliver .i3s scene layers. For SuperMap we deliver .s3md mesh / .s3mb point cloud. Point cloud in .las / .laz / .ply / .pcd for Revit and BIM reference, and textured 3D mesh in .fbx for direct Revit import or 3ds Max visualisation. The deliverable lands ready for the downstream platform.

Can we get the CAD as an editable file or just a PDF?

Both, by default. Every commercial scope delivers both an editable DWG and a PDF plot. Some clients use the PDF for site reference and submission documentation, the DWG for design integration. Smaller-scope work occasionally delivers as PDF-only at the client’s request.

Who signs off on the drawing?

Each deliverable is signed off by Orbital’s senior project lead — the drawing is reviewed before it leaves the office. For projects requiring formal surveyor sign-off (registered cadastral, certified plan of survey), we coordinate with a Queensland-registered surveyor as part of the engagement.

Related services

  • Underground service locating
  • AS 5488 Subsurface Utility Engineering
  • Topographic and contour survey
  • Point cloud capture

The deliverable is the product. Tell us how you need it.

Send us your project brief, the CAD spec your design team works to, and the formats your downstream workflow expects. We’ll come back with a fixed-price scope that lands the deliverable ready for import.