Ortho2D›Model → fabrication set
3D model to 2D drawing — a shop drawing the floor can work to
A shop drawing is not a pretty render. It is a sheet with a plan, elevations, the section that proves the junction works, an enlarged detail of the tricky corner, dimensions somebody can measure to, and a title block that says which revision it is. Ortho2D builds that sheet from your model — and gives you multiple sheets automatically when one is not enough.
✓ No installation✓ Your model stays in your browser✓ Free to build — $3 to download
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Watch it run — model in, dimensioned sheet out.
What a fabrication set actually needs
Views that align. Dimensions that read without a magnifier. A section through the assembly, hatched by material. Enlarged details with callout bubbles pointing back to the parent view. Grid bubbles and level datums on architectural work. A title block with the drawing number and revision history.
Where the time normally goes
Almost none of it is design. It is arranging views on the sheet, chasing dimension lines that collide with each other, re-scaling because the plan will not fit, and rebuilding the sheet when the model changes. Ortho2D handles the layout and the collision avoidance, and lets you drag any view exactly where you want it afterwards.
Side by side
| Doing it by hand | Ortho2D | |
|---|---|---|
| Laying out views | Manual, and redone whenever the model changes | Automatic alignment on one projection anchor, then drag anything |
| Dimension collisions | You nudge them one by one | Placed against an occupancy map so they do not overlap |
| Sheet does not fit | Rescale everything and re-check | Extra sheets added automatically with a page selector |
| Enlarged details | Drawn separately by hand | Detail sheets with dashed callouts and split reference bubbles |
| Materials | Hatch patterns applied manually | Cut faces classified and poché’d by material, with notes |
| Revisions | A block you retype | Editable revision lines and a logo slot in the title block |
| Title block | A template you maintain | ISO 7200 mechanical or architectural, filled from your inputs |
How to do it
- Bring in the modelGLB, glTF, FBX, OBJ, STL, STEP, IGES, 3DM, 3MF or PLY. From Revit, SketchUp, Blender or 3ds Max, export GLB — it is the most reliable route.
- Choose the drawing typeThe architectural template gives you plans, elevations, sections, grid bubbles and level datums in metres. The mechanical template gives ISO 7200 title blocks and tolerance notes.
- Cut and detailPlace the section plane where the junction matters, and switch on detail sheets to get enlarged crops at snapped 4×–12× scales with callout bubbles on the parent view.
- Arrange and issueTurn on Arrange to drag any view, rescale it with the wheel, and retitle it. Then export PDF for issue and DXF for the record.
Scale and sheet size, and the arithmetic behind them
Ortho2D picks the smallest sheet the drawing fits on and then the largest standard scale that keeps it readable. It is worth knowing the arithmetic anyway, because the automatic choice is the setting people most often want to override.
Take a 2400 × 1200 mm panel. At 1:20 it occupies 120 × 60 mm on paper, which leaves an A3 sheet with room for an elevation, a section and an enlarged detail alongside it. At 1:10 the same panel needs 240 × 120 mm and the sheet starts to crowd. At 1:5 it does not fit on A3 at all, and the automatic setting moves you up to A2 rather than shrinking the lettering below legibility. That is the trade the scale ladder exists to make explicit.
- Sheet sizes: A4 210 × 297, A3 297 × 420, A2 420 × 594, A1 594 × 841, A0 841 × 1189 mm, plus the ANSI sizes.
- Scale ladder: 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:10, 1:20, 1:50, 1:100 — and the enlarging scales for details.
- Whatever you choose is written into the title block, so the sheet never disagrees with itself.
When one sheet is not enough
The usual response to a crowded sheet is to scale everything down until it fits, which produces a drawing nobody can work from. Ortho2D paginates instead. When the views would have to drop below a readable size it splits them across numbered sheets and gives you a page selector, and the scale stays honest.
Details behave the same way. An enlarged crop of an awkward junction gets its own sheet when it needs one, with a dashed callout circle on the parent view and a split reference bubble carrying the detail number over the sheet it lives on. That is the convention a fabricator reads without being told, and it is the reason detail sheets are worth generating rather than cropping by hand.
The title block is where a drawing becomes a document
A set of views is not a shop drawing. What makes it one is the block in the corner that says which drawing this is, which revision, at what scale, in which projection, and who is answerable for it. Ortho2D builds an ISO 7200 style block and leaves every field editable, because almost none of it can honestly be inferred from geometry.
Revisions are editable rows rather than a fixed template — add one when the model changes, describe what changed, and the sheet carries its own history. On architectural work you also get grid bubbles and level datums, which is the difference between a drawing a fabricator can locate on site and one they cannot.
What the title block carries
| Field | How it is filled |
|---|---|
| Drawing title and number | Free text — the number is what your revision log refers back to |
| Scale | Written as used, and rewritten if you override the automatic choice |
| Projection symbol | First- or third-angle cone, drawn to match the setting |
| Sheet size and number | Filled in by the paginator, in the usual 2 of 5 form |
| Material and finish | Free text — nothing is inferred from the model |
| Revision rows | Add, edit and remove; date, description and author per row |
| Company logo | Uploaded into the seal area and scaled to the space |
Questions
How do I make shop drawings from a 3D model?
Load the model into Ortho2D in your browser, pick the architectural or mechanical template, choose your views and section planes, and let it lay out the sheet. Then drag views where you want them and export PDF or DXF. No CAD installation is required.
Can it produce more than one sheet?
Yes. When the views would have to shrink below a readable size to fit one sheet, Ortho2D paginates into multiple sheets and gives you a page selector, rather than silently scaling everything down.
Does it draw sections and enlarged details?
Both. You position the cutting plane in the 3D view, and detail sheets can be switched on to produce enlarged crops of junctions with break lines, dashed callout circles on the parent view, and split detail/sheet reference bubbles.
Can I put my company logo and revisions on the sheet?
Yes. Upload a logo into the seal area of the title block, add and remove revision lines as editable text, and type or paste free text into the key plan area.
Are the drawings to a recognised standard?
The engine uses ISO and ANSI sheet sizes, first- and third-angle projection, ISO 128 line-weight groups, ISO 3098 lettering, standard scale ladders and ISO 7200 title blocks, with six sheet border styles to choose from.
Are layers clean, or is line work stacked on top of itself?
Ortho2D flattens duplicate ink before export, so one line on paper is one entity in the file — no coincident lines stacked on each other for the next person to clean up.
Other conversions
Load a model and see the sheet
Nothing to install and no account needed to try it. Bring your own file, or open the built-in demo part.
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