Custom Bricsys BricsCAD integration development
BricsCAD is the DWG-based CAD software from Bricsys, now part of Octave: for 2D drafting, 3D modelling, BIM and mechanical design, on Windows, macOS and Linux. A drawing holds a lot of information that gets re-entered elsewhere, such as bills of materials, item codes, dimensions and revisions. Appfront builds the integration between BricsCAD and your ERP, document management, estimating or production system, using the programming interfaces that Bricsys documents publicly for this purpose.
What is a Bricsys BricsCAD integration?
A Bricsys BricsCAD integration lets your drawings exchange data with the systems around them. BricsCAD works with the DWG format and comes in Lite for 2D and Pro for 2D and 3D, with a BIM toolset, a Mechanical toolset and Ultimate as a bundle. A drawing contains far more than lines: blocks with attributes, parts with item codes, quantities, dimensions and a revision. The integration pulls that data out of the drawing and puts it into your ERP, estimating or document management system, or brings data from those systems into the drawing.
Without an integration, this is done by hand. A draughtsperson retypes a bill of materials into the ERP, a work planner looks up item codes, and a revision in the drawing does not reach document management on its own. Bricsys publicly documents the programming interfaces of BricsCAD. According to Bricsys, LISP programs run without modification, the .NET interface is available from BricsCAD Pro on Windows, and BRX is a C/C++ interface that is code-compatible with AutoCAD's ARX interface. Through the developer programme, developers get access to the SDKs.
We build custom solutions because every company draws differently and uses different systems. Which version of BricsCAD you have, how your blocks and layers are structured, which ERP or document management system you use, and which side is the source for which piece of data all determine how the integration works. Sometimes a plug-in in BricsCAD is enough; sometimes you also need a service that passes the data on. Which interface fits best, LISP, .NET or BRX, we choose in the first step based on your licences and workstations.
From the drawing
Bill of materials to the ERP.
In the drawing
Items from a single source.
Revisions
Automatically in document management.
How we build your Bricsys BricsCAD integration
We start with your drawing work: which version of BricsCAD you use, how your drawings and blocks are structured, which systems run alongside it and what is currently copied over by hand. Then we build the first integration, usually the bill of materials or the item data, because that is where time is lost every day. Your draughtspeople work with it on real projects for a while. Revisions, estimating and other flows follow once that goes well. After that, we maintain the integration whenever BricsCAD or your other systems get a new version.
Version, blocks, systems.
Bill of materials or items first.
Revisions and estimating.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What a Bricsys BricsCAD integration actually does
The components below appear in almost every BricsCAD integration. Which ones you need depends on your drawings and on the systems you use alongside them.
Bills of materials
From the drawing to the ERP.
Items
Codes from a single source.
Attributes
Block data read and populated.
Revisions
To document management.
Validation
Missing data flagged.
Quantities
To estimating.
Who we build a Bricsys BricsCAD integration for
The integration is intended for companies that draw in BricsCAD and use the data from their drawings in other systems. The more drawings and parts you have, the more it delivers.
Fabrication and construction companies
Bill of materials to work planning.
Machine builders
Parts to the ERP.
Installation companies
Quantities to estimating.
Engineering firms
Revisions in document management.
Technology and integrations
This page is about Bricsys BricsCAD. If you work with other design software, see our pages on the Revit integration and the Archicad integration; for exchanging building models via the open standard, see our page on the IFC integration; and if you want custom software around your building models, see our page on building BIM software. You can read about our approach on building software.
Why Appfront for your Bricsys BricsCAD integration?
A bill of materials that is retyped incorrectly, an article code that differs in the drawing from the one in the ERP, or a revision that is missing from document management costs a company materials, time and sometimes a production error. That is what we build on: capture data once, give each data item a clear source, and build an integration that shows when something is missing.
Less retyping
Data comes along automatically.
Reliable
One source per data item.
Visible
Missing data flagged.
Security and privacy in a Bricsys BricsCAD integration
The integration works with drawings and product data that are often the heart of your business, or of your client's. It reads and writes only the data it needs, works with dedicated accounts that have exactly the permissions required, and records every exchange with time and content.
Where a service is needed, it runs in a European data centre or on your own server, with encrypted connections. Keys and passwords are kept protected and are not visible to staff. We agree with you in advance who may see which drawings and data.
Frequently asked questions about a Bricsys BricsCAD integration
Questions that drafters, work planners and IT administrators ask before getting started.
A connection between BricsCAD and another system you use, such as your ERP, costing, document management or production. Bills of materials, article data and revisions then flow back and forth automatically, without retyping.
DWG-based CAD software from Bricsys, which is now part of Octave. BricsCAD is available as Lite for 2D and Pro for 2D and 3D, with a BIM toolset, a Mechanical toolset and Ultimate as a bundle, on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Bricsys documents LISP, DCL, COM, VBA, .NET and BRX, among others. According to Bricsys, LISP programs run without modification, .NET and BRX are available from BricsCAD Pro, and BRX is code-compatible with AutoCAD's ARX interface.
With limitations. According to Bricsys, LISP is also available in Lite, but .NET and BRX only from Pro. Which interface we use therefore depends on your licences. We look at that in the first step.
Often, yes. According to Bricsys, LISP programs run without modification, and an ARX application can often be rebuilt with BRX with few changes. We will work out with you what your application needs.
The integration reports it in the drawing or in an error list, with the reason, for example a component without an article code. You can see which drawing or component is affected and send it again after correcting it.
For companies with many drawings and components, with an ERP or document management alongside BricsCAD, or with drafters who retype data every day. For a handful of drawings without a bill of materials, an integration is usually not needed.
Want BricsCAD to work with your other systems?
Tell us how you draw in BricsCAD and which systems run alongside it. We will show you how an integration can take over the retyping.