Yager and Valencia needed a method for retaining the specificity of CAD drawings within the ArcGIS platform to allow for a streamlined workflow between their systems. In 2019, SMWD began using ArcGIS for AutoCAD to address this challenge.
ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a free, downloadable plug-in app for Autodesk AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Map 3D. It provides interoperability between AutoCAD and ArcGIS, allowing users to access and create GIS data by connecting to services from ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. Within the AutoCAD environment, SMWD staff gain easy access to GIS maps in the form of map services, image services, and feature services.
Yager, an avid follower of innovations in technology, said her interest was immediately piqued when she learned of the plug-in. “GIS is dynamic, and life is dynamic,” Yager said. “If you don’t stay plugged in and informed, you might miss something that could prove really useful.”
The next step was implementing the tool in a way that would offer heightened efficiency and accuracy across all workflows. Yager and Valencia each drew on their extensive knowledge of GIS and CAD, respectively, to simplify the data collection and conversion process. They needed to find a reliable and simple way to receive information from external developers.
Valencia created a set of capture standards, instructions, and sample designs to outline the minimum requirements that must be met for final record drawings to be accepted by the district. External stakeholders, such as engineering consultants, developers, and contractors, can use SMWD’s comprehensive guide for record drawing submissions to convert their CAD drawings to GIS datasets. He also created a demo video walking developers and contractors through the CAD to GIS conversion process. This ensures final record drawings accurately represent the location and attributes of assets and their accessories, supporting sustainable service delivery in the district.
“Our CAD digital submittal requirements are built into our design handbook, which has all of the specifications for our district,” said Valencia. “It streamlined the process for us to request that information from external developers. They submit what’s called a ‘CAD-to-GIS-ready’ drawing file, which gives us the data we need to support our district.”
To make the data usable, Yager publishes a template of feature class datasets to the server so that Valencia can access it. A feature class dataset is a collection of related feature classes, or objects, that share a common coordinate system, either geographic or a specific projection. This allows users to review data on a map, query data for specific information, or edit data. Valencia imports the feature class dataset into a blank AutoCAD drawing, which automatically gives him embedded tables for every facility type in the district.
“Once I have the feature class tables in AutoCAD, the developers or CAD users can link the tables to their objects and populate the fields based on district requirements before they complete their digital submission,” said Valencia. “Now we have a CAD-to-GIS-ready file that I can QC check and send to Pilar [Yager].”
These final files are in DWG format, used for storing 2D and 3D design data and metadata. After Valencia sends Yager the DWG files, she uploads them into a staging file geodatabase using ArcGIS for AutoCAD. The files are converted into a feature dataset in an existing geodatabase and then added as a group layer in a map.
All the inputs are combined into a single output CAD dataset, which includes different types of features like points, lines, and polygons, as well as any existing CAD-defined features.
“The CAD to GIS conversion process that we've developed, with the assistance of Esri, allows us to take final record drawings and make those record drawings GIS usable data using the ArcGIS for AutoCAD plug-in,” said Valencia. “I think that's the biggest hump that we've been able to get over, and we've been successful at it.