Importing CAD files in Emlid Flow

This video will show the updated CAD file import introduced in Emlid Flow version 12.1. This feature milestone allows you to import a .dxf file natively as a background vector overlay, as well as interactively select points or geometric line strings in the drawing to stake out directly on site.

In this walkthrough, we demonstrate the new and improved CAD import engine in Emlid Flow. Inside your active project container within Emlid Flow or the browser-based Flow 360 web hub, you can directly upload a .dxf file as your base layer template.

Localizing Non-Georeferenced Drawings

If your vector drawing doesn't correlate to an established real-world coordinate system, you will need to import points from the schematic layout to properly localize the project environment. Because Emlid Flow does not yet feature an internal drafting tool to create point coordinates straight from raw geometry files, you will need to generate these control points inside your office CAD software beforehand and import them as a supplementary coordinate file.

Once those relative baseline files are active, you are ready to collect your real-world measured benchmarks in the field using your Emlid Reach hardware receiver. With the measured points logged, you can match them to the drawing's control parameters and execute the localization matrix.

Field Verification and Staking Layouts

💡 Display Tip: In certain processing cases, you will need to toggle the CAD layer visibility switch off and back on again within the interface layer drawer to refresh the engine map view and see the vector assets transplanted accurately into their geographical coordinates.

Once your drawing is pinned firmly in place on your map, you can begin interactively selecting structural intersections, offsets, or lines to run your field stake-out operations with accurate geospatial data tracking.