PatternScan Pro turns a photo of your paper pattern into a DXF file: the app detects the contours automatically, you check them in the editor and export. True to scale, in millimeters, ready for your CAD software.
The DXF export was tested with GRAFIS and deliberately sticks to the R2013 standard, so other CAD programs open the files cleanly too.
DXF is the exchange format of the pattern CAD world. GRAFIS, AutoCAD, Lectra Modaris and Gerber AccuMark, to name just a few, all read it. If your grading or production workflow lives in CAD, DXF is how your paper patterns get in.
More at home in Illustrator or Inkscape? Then SVG is your format. And for 3D simulation in CLO3D there is PACX.
PatternScan Pro handles distortion correction, scaling and contour detection automatically. Go straight from photo to usable digital pattern.
Lay your cut-out pattern piece on a dark surface, place the four Reference Tiles around it and photograph it from above. Our photography guide shows the ideal photo.
PatternScan Pro corrects the perspective and detects the contours automatically. You review the result in the editor, measure lengths and adjust curves where needed.
Export your pattern piece as DXF R2013 in millimeters and import it straight into your CAD software.
Try the three steps with your own pattern.
Import the DXF into your pattern CAD, for example GRAFIS, AutoCAD, Lectra Modaris or Gerber AccuMark, and keep working as usual: grading, seam allowances, markers, production prep.
The export is tested with GRAFIS and stays deliberately unspectacular, because unspectacular imports are the ones that work.
The four printed Reference Tiles around your pattern tell the app exactly how large everything is. PatternScan Pro also corrects the distortion of your camera lens. Together this is what makes photo-based digitizing precise enough for CAD work. You can verify it yourself: measure a known length after importing.
More on the tiles in our reference guide.
Which DXF version does PatternScan Pro export?
DXF R2013 with millimeter units. Contours are LWPOLYLINEs with 32 segments per curve, a geometry CAD systems import reliably. Next to the regular DXF there is also a dedicated AAMA/ASTM export for pattern CAD systems.
Guide: Creating a Calibration Profile
Learn how to create accurate calibration profiles
Guide: Print and Use Reference
Learn how to use the reference correctly
Guide: How to Photograph Your Pattern
Complete step-by-step instructions
Does GRAFIS or my CAD software open the file?
Tested with GRAFIS. The export sticks to the DXF R2013 standard, which CAD programs like AutoCAD, Lectra Modaris and Gerber AccuMark read as well.
Guide: Creating a Calibration Profile
Learn how to create accurate calibration profiles
Guide: Print and Use Reference
Learn how to use the reference correctly
Guide: How to Photograph Your Pattern
Complete step-by-step instructions
Is the scale correct?
Yes. The Reference Tiles set the scale and the export is in millimeters. We still recommend measuring one known length after importing, as with any digitizing workflow.
Guide: Creating a Calibration Profile
Learn how to create accurate calibration profiles
Guide: Print and Use Reference
Learn how to use the reference correctly
Guide: How to Photograph Your Pattern
Complete step-by-step instructions
Does the pattern have to be cut out?
For automatic detection, yes. The app detects free-standing contours, so cut your pattern along its lines before photographing. Alternatively you can draw the contour manually in the editor, for example on an uncut multi-size sheet. PatternScan Pro still handles calibration, distortion correction and the transfer into any software.
Guide: Creating a Calibration Profile
Learn how to create accurate calibration profiles
Guide: Print and Use Reference
Learn how to use the reference correctly
Guide: How to Photograph Your Pattern
Complete step-by-step instructions
What if I need editable curves instead of polylines?
Then export SVG with native Bezier curves for vector programs, or PACX for CLO3D. You choose the format at export, from the same digitized pattern.
Guide: Creating a Calibration Profile
Learn how to create accurate calibration profiles
Guide: Print and Use Reference
Learn how to use the reference correctly
Guide: How to Photograph Your Pattern
Complete step-by-step instructions
Have more questions? Feel free to contact us.
Use your digitized patterns for whatever comes next: grading, CAD, 3D simulation, projecting, or your archive.
Digitize sewing patterns without tracing.
Test PatternScan Pro free for 14 days with the full feature set. You need your smartphone, a printer and one pattern you always wanted digital.
Photograph your paper pattern and get an automatically scaled digital version with PatternScan Pro.
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