Translating CAD & other Technical Illustrations

Technical illustrations used in engineering and manufacturing are some of the most challenging types of material to translate. And for your translation projects, difficult and time-consuming means higher costs. Fortunately, there are ways International Language Services (ILS) can help you reduce these translation costs by working with your staff to streamline the translation process. By consulting with your translation project manager, you can find solutions to meet your schedule and your budget. Here are some issues to consider:

• Planning for Translation – One of the most serious issues faced in translation of the text in CAD and other technical illustration, from labels to parts lists, is space. Very often, translated text expands in length. This can cause issues in fitting the translated text into the drawing. During the preparation of the original source material, anticipating this issue and providing additional space for text expansion goes a long way toward turning a difficult issue into a minor inconvenience.
• Text Extraction – Users of AutoCAD versions since 2008 can use the program’s own DATAEXTRACTION tool to extract text from the drawing and save it in a standard export format that can be used by ILS in conjunction with our automated translation tools to manage your translation as efficiently as possible. Your project manager can discuss export file formats for the extracted text.
• Text Importation – After translation, the text can be imported back into your AutoCAD drawings. The specific techniques for doing this depend on your version of AutoCAD, the translation language and how the text is used in the drawing. Close cooperation between our translators and your CAD staff will help streamline this process.
• Formatting Adjustments – As with all changes in your drawing, some final adjustments may need to be made to create an ideal appearance after the translated text replaces the original.
• Non-AutoCAD Illustrations – Drawings and illustrations, produced with other software, may require different tactics. Some graphics, such as those created in Adobe Illustrator, can be replicated in your target languages with relative ease. If you know that your project will require translation in advance, discussing your project with your project manager before creating the original illustrations may help reduce translation time and costs. We are always happy to work with you to find solutions that simplify and streamline the process.

At our multilingual translation service company, we translate over 150 languages, commonly used in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Some of the languages we specialize include: French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Russian, Latvian, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Italian, Hindi, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Hungarian, Romanian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Afrikaans, Swahili, and more.

Solving Your Manufacturing & Engineering Graphics Translation Problems

At International Language Services, our experienced translation teams have the expertise needed to help you overcome the most difficult issues in translating your manufacturing and engineering documents. Whatever your issue may be, we’ve likely solved it before in our 30+ years of experience. Working with your documentation staff, we can find strategies for handling translation of technical illustrations and other graphical content that will keep your translation project on time and within your budget. Contact us soon to discuss your current translation project. An ILS project manager with long experience providing translations for Manufacturing and Engineering projects will work with you throughout the project.