Sketch-to-CAD · Rebar fabrication & detailing

Turn Rebar Sketches into CAD Drawings

LaunchAI converts rebar field sketches and drawing markups into CAD drawings. Create placing drawing updates, bending schedules and bar lists from supplied details. The drawing is built from the supplied measurements, notes and specifications. Unclear details are flagged for your team to review.

See your sketches converted to CAD See the approval screen

For detailers, order-entry clerks and shop managers at rebar fabrication shops and detailing firms

Monday, 6:45. The pour moved up to Thursday.

The placing foreman's change came in as a photo: S-301 with a cloud around footing F4, "add 64 #4 ties" in red, and a little rectangle with a hook drawn in one corner. The GC's super texted a bar list he wrote on a legal pad for the retaining wall extension, every length in feet and inches, half the dashes missing. A curb contractor emailed a sketch of an L-bar with "4'6" on one leg and "1'" on the other, "qty 40, need Wed." And there's an image (yes, a fax) from the precast plant where page two came through at a slant.

So you key it. Mark, size, quantity, shape, every leg, grade, coating. Decide whether 4'6" is out-to-out or somebody's cut length. Find the shape in aSa or RebarCAD that matches the sketch, check the hook is the one the engineer actually called for, run the weights, make sure nothing's longer than your stock or shorter than your bender's minimum leg. Then tags, the release to the shop, the delivery ticket.

It's precise, repetitive, and on a schedule that belongs to a concrete truck. Get one leg wrong and the bars don't fit the form, the placers start cutting and field bending, the inspector writes it up, and you're bending it again for a hot shot.

What the job looks like today

  1. Decode the list

    Feet or inches, spacing or quantity, out-to-out or cut length.

  2. Key every bar

    Mark, size, quantity, shape, legs, grade, coating, line by line.

  3. Pick the shape

    Match the sketch to a shape code and hope the hook is the right one.

  4. Check and weigh

    Stock lengths, minimum legs, weights, tags.

  5. Release and pray

    Find out at the pour if the ties fit the form.

Where it goes wrong

The bar was bent exactly as written

Rebar rarely gets remade because the bender was wrong. It gets remade because the list said one thing and meant another.

  • Out-to-out or cut length

    "4'6" on a leg is out-to-out on every bar list you've ever keyed, unless the guy measured a straight bar before he bent it. Treat a cut length as a leg and every L in the bundle comes out long.

  • The hook nobody specified

    A tie drawn with a little diagonal tail could be a 90 or a 135. On seismic work the engineer cares a lot about that tail, and the inspector cares more.

  • Quantity or spacing

    "#4 @ 12" is a spacing. "12 #4" is a quantity. Written fast and sent as an image, "#4 12 EF" is either one, and on a 60' wall each face that's 12 bars or 122.

  • The dash that went missing

    "20 6" is 20'-6". "2 6" might be 2'-6" or 26". Bar lists live in feet and inches with a dash nobody bothers to write on a tailgate.

Why it's still manual

Software hasn't fixed this. Here's why.

Rebar shops run aSa, RebarCAD, Soulé or Tekla, and benders that take a file. The bar list still arrives on paper.

  • Your CAD and quoting software

    Waits for someone to type

    aSa, RebarCAD and Tekla produce a clean bending schedule, tags and machine files once every mark, shape and leg is keyed. They don't read a marked-up placing drawing or a legal-pad bar list.

  • Generic AI and OCR models

    Confidently wrong

    A chat model reads "#5 L 4'6 x 1'" and returns "5 L 46 x 1". It drops the hook symbol, takes a spacing for a quantity, and picks a shape that looks close. On a bender, close is scrap.

  • Image-to-CAD converters

    Traces lines, not intent

    Image-to-CAD converters trace the bar off the sketch. A bent bar is a shape code and leg lengths, not a line drawing, and the sketch is never to scale.

  • Measuring apps and configurators

    Only if everyone uses them

    Bar bending schedule apps and spreadsheets help the person already typing. They don't take the foreman's photo and turn it into tagged, weighed line items in your system.

Written on the paperGeneric OCR / AI modelLaunchAI agent
#5 L 4'6 x 1' 5 L 46 x 1 #5 L-bar · A 4'-6" · B 1'-0" out-to-out The bar size mark and the foot marks are the first things a generic reader drops.
#4 12 EF (12) #4 #4 @ 12" each face, qty from wall length Spacing and quantity look identical on a tailgate; EF doubles it.
hooks 135? hooks 135 135° hooks, 6db extension, flagged The question mark is the part that matters.

How the agent does it

From sketches to CAD drawings and layouts

LaunchAI converts the sketch and its measurements into CAD geometry, applies your drawing standards and prepares the related order information. Missing dimensions and unclear notes are flagged for your team to review.

aSaJob 26-114 · footing F4 + curb · bar list entry Agent working · your login · this PC
GeneralDetailsPricingNotes
  • (64) #4 tie · 1'-0" x 1'-6" ← Foreman's markup on S-301
  • 135° · 6db extension ← Sketch "hooks 135?"
  • (40) #5 L · A 4'-6" · B 1'-0" ← Castillo email sketch
  • (12) #5 x 20'-0" ← Bill's bar list
  • A615 Gr 60 · black ← Job defaults
  • #4 0.668 · #5 1.043 lb/ft ← Your bar table
  • Bend Tue · ship Wed AM ← Pour Thursday
Saved as draft. Nothing is sent until you approve.Send to review

  1. Reads what came in

    Markups, bar lists, sketches and images (faxed, texted, scanned): every mark, size, leg and hook, each with a confidence score.

  2. Applies your standards

    Your shape codes, bend deductions, stock lengths, bender minimums and job defaults.

  3. Enters the bar list

    Opens aSa or RebarCAD and keys it the way your best detailer would.

  4. Checks it

    Weights, quantities against the drawing, hooks against the engineer's call.

  5. You approve

    Confirm the flagged hook angle and release it to the shop.

Caught at the desk

Problems caught before the shop floor

Today the order bounces when someone hits save. The agent runs the same checks first, fills what it can from a trusted source, and brings you only the one thing that needs a person.

Today

Convert to order · quote #10482Failed rules 4

Bar list incomplete · cannot release to shop

  • Shape code not assigned
  • Leg B missing on mark L501
  • Grade and coating not set
  • Delivery date not tied to the pour

Verify the following

  • Hook angle on S401 unconfirmed

With the agent

Agent checks · before review5/6 passed

  • Shapes matched

    Closed tie and 90° L-bar matched to your shape codes; legs entered out-to-out.

    Pass

  • Hook angle unconfirmed

    Sketch says "hooks 135?". Entered 135° hooks with 3" extension; confirm against S-301 before bending.

    Needs you

  • Bender limits

    Every leg above your minimum, every cut length under your 60' stock.

    Pass

  • Weights

    S401, L501 and the straights come to about 720 lb at your bar weights.

    Pass

  • Quantity vs. drawing

    64 ties at the spacing on S-301 cover footing F4.

    Pass

  • Tags ready

    One tag per bundle, marks match the placing drawing.

    Pass

Human review

You approve the drawing, not the typing

The paperwork on one side, the agent's drawing on the other, and every value it read in between, with the one it's unsure of called out.

LaunchAI Portal · Reviews

Approval you asked for

Approve the footing F4 and curb bar list Pending

The agent read the foreman's markup, the L-bar sketch and the super's bar list, and entered three marks with shapes and legs. One hook angle needs confirmation.

Medium risk 1 of 43 in your queue Sketch to CAD · step 02.6 · Review bending schedule

Agent suggests: Approve after confirming 135° hooks on the S401 ties. Tie size, L-bar legs, quantities and straights match the sources.

Source sketchIMG_2207.jpg
18124'6 hooks 135? #5 x 20' str x12 gr 60 #5 L x40 1' #4 ties x64
Bar shapes · bar listOpen in aSa
1'-6"1'-0"4'-6" 135° HOOKS · 3" EXT (12) #5 x 20'-0" STR A615 GR 60 · BLACK L501 · (40) #5 L-BAR 1'-0" LEG S401 · (64) #4 TIES Bar shapes · bar list · Rev A ● Preview synced just now

Dimensions read from sketch

  • Tie S401“12 x 18” 1'-0" x 1'-6"
  • Tie qty“add 64 #4 ties” 64 · #4
  • L501 leg A“4'6” 4'-6"
  • L501 leg B“1'” 1'-0"
  • Straights“#5 x 20' str x12” (12) #5 x 20'-0"
  • HooksLooks like “hooks 135?” 135° · 6db
Every value links back to where it was read on the sketch. Request changes Approve CAD

Inputs and outputs

Sketches and measure sheets in. CAD drawings out.

  • Marked-up placing drawings and clouded revisions, photographed or scanned
  • Handwritten bar lists from supers, foremen and precast plants
  • Field sketches of bent bars with leg lengths
  • Images (faxed, texted, scanned), texts and voicemails with changes and rush orders
  • Engineer's structural drawings and the job's detailing standards
  • Bar lists entered in aSa, RebarCAD or Tekla with marks, shapes and legs
  • Hooks, bends and lengths checked against your shape codes and bender limits
  • Weights, tags and bundles ready for release
  • Placing drawing updates with revisions clouded
  • Questions back to the field or the engineer, drafted, instead of a guess

Your numbers

What it gives back to your team

Change the numbers to match your shop.

Example values. Put in your own.

25hours back per week
1,250hours back per year (50 weeks)
0.6full-time people's worth of typing

today with the agent: review only

Your software

Create CAD drawings in your team's tools

LaunchAI converts sketches into drawings through your CAD and design workflow. Bring your software version, drawing standards and a sample sketch so we can confirm the conversion steps and outputs for your setup.

  • aSa
  • RebarCAD
  • Soulé Software
  • Tekla Structures
  • AutoCAD
  • Bluebeam Revu
  • Email, text and fax inbox

FAQ

Rebar fabrication & detailing: questions we hear

Does it enter bar lists in aSa or RebarCAD directly?

Yes, through the screen. LaunchAI agents use your aSa, RebarCAD, Soulé or Tekla with your team's logins, on your machines, the way your order desk does. There's no integration, export or import file to set up.

What if a leg length or quantity is missing?

The agent never invents a dimension. A missing leg or an unclear spacing gets flagged on that line, and the agent drafts the text to the foreman or super asking for exactly that value. The rest of the list keeps moving.

Who approves before anything goes to the bender?

Your detailer or shop manager. The agent stops at a review screen with every mark, shape, leg and flagged value. Nothing is released, tagged or sent to a machine until someone on your team approves it.

Can it read marked-up placing drawings, not just bar lists?

Yes. Clouds, red-pen notes, added bars and revised spacings on a placing drawing are read and turned into changes against the existing bar list, with each change shown next to its source.

Does it know our shape codes and bend deductions?

You give it your standards once: shape codes, bend deductions, hook types, stock lengths, bender minimums, bar mark convention. They live in a rules table you can change, and every line shows which rule it used.

We're a detailing firm, not a fabricator. Does it fit?

Yes. Field sketches and markups into placing drawings and schedules in RebarCAD or Tekla is the same reading problem. The agent drafts; your detailer checks and stamps it out.

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How the Sketch-to-CAD agent works

Send us last week's field changes and bar lists.

See your rebar sketches converted into CAD drawings.

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