SDBOX for GstarCAD: The Secret Weapon for CAD Users

For surveyors and civil engineers, turning raw field data into a print-ready drawing is a constant headache. Whether your points come from GNSS receivers, total stations, or drone photogrammetry, processing them usually means bouncing between four different software packages—one each for point processing, surface modelling, CAD drafting, and GIS export.

There’s a better way. With the right CAD platform and the right tools, that entire workflow can happen in one place, without ever leaving your CAD environment.

Why CAD Is Still the Backbone of Surveying Work

Specialized surveying software has its place, but at the end of the day, almost every deliverable — topographic plans, cross-sections, building surveys, site plans — has to end up as a CAD drawing that a client, contractor, or authority can open, edit, and print. That’s why more surveying firms are choosing to do the whole job inside CAD from the start, rather than exporting and re-importing data between disconnected platforms.

This is where GstarCAD has become a popular choice. It’s a full-featured, DWG-compatible CAD platform, meaning it opens, edits, and saves standard .dwg files with the same commands, shortcuts, and interface logic that AutoCAD users already know — but at a fraction of the cost, and with a perpetual licensing model that appeals strongly to firms tired of subscription pricing. For surveying companies managing dozens of licences across field and office staff, that cost difference adds up fast.

But GstarCAD alone is a general-purpose drafting tool. To turn it into a true surveying and civil engineering platform, you need surveying-specific functionality layered on top.

What a Surveying CAD Workflow Actually Requires

A complete survey-to-drawing workflow needs to cover several distinct stages, ideally without switching software at any point:

• Importing raw survey data — points, coordinates, and codes from total stations, GNSS/GPS receivers, and drone photogrammetry
• Terrain modelling and contours — building a digital terrain model (DTM) and generating accurate contour lines
• Profiles and cross-sections — for terrain documentation, earthworks and engineering project
• Excavation and volume calculations — cut/fill quantities for construction and site grading
• Maps and geospatial data exchange — working with GIS formats, coordinate systems, and online map integration
• Detailed building survey drawings — floor plans, elevations, and as-built documentation
• Print-ready output — plotting, sheet layout, and standard drawing production

Doing all of this natively inside CAD — rather than in a separate, isolated surveying package — means your geometry stays fully editable, standard, and compatible with whatever your clients and collaborators are already using.

SDBOX: Bringing Full Surveying Power into GstarCAD

This is exactly the gap that SDBOX, developed by ENCON S.A., is built to close. SDBOX is a professional CAD add-on that extends GstarCAD with complete, production-ready surveying and civil workflows — from the moment raw survey points are imported to the moment a final, print-ready drawing goes out the door.

Rather than forcing users into a locked, proprietary surveying environment, SDBOX keeps everything as standard, editable CAD geometry inside GstarCAD. That means no black-box files, no conversion headaches, and no risk of your data being trapped in a format nobody else can open.

SDBOX includes specialized tools for:

In total, SDBOX packs in more than 2,500 CAD commands, organised into practical, task-oriented workflows rather than a scattered toolbox. Every function is backed by user guides, video tutorials, and technical documentation, so teams can get productive quickly instead of guessing their way through a new interface.

SDBOX Pricing

SDBOX is offered as two clear, perpetual-licence packages — eligible for a discount on multi-seat purchases:

Why Surveying Firms Are Switching to GstarCAD + SDBOX

For companies evaluating a move away from expensive, subscription-based CAD suites, the combination of GstarCAD and SDBOX offers a compelling case:

1. A CAD platform your team already knows

GstarCAD’s command structure and interface closely mirror the CAD software most surveyors and drafters trained on, which means minimal retraining and almost no productivity dip during the switch.

2. Purpose-built surveying tools, not generic drafting

SDBOX isn’t a bolt-on gimmick — it’s over 2,500 commands specifically designed around the way surveyors and civil engineers actually work: terrain, contours, cross-sections, and volumes.

3. A fair, transparent pricing model

GstarCAD and SDBOX are sold as perpetual licences, not endless subscriptions. Add-on licences beyond the first one come with a meaningful discount, making it realistic to scale a whole department without a runaway software budget.

4. Standard, open output

Because everything stays in native DWG geometry, drawings produced with SDBOX are fully compatible with clients, contractors, and government agencies using any other DWG-based CAD software.

5. Proven in the field

SDBOX is already used by surveying and engineering companies with real reference projects behind it — not an unproven newcomer, but a mature toolset with a track record.

Getting Started with GstarCAD and SDBOX

If your team is spending more time wrestling with file conversions and disconnected software than actually producing drawings, it may be time to consolidate your workflow. GstarCAD gives you a robust, DWG-native CAD foundation at a fraction of typical CAD licensing costs, and SDBOX turns that foundation into a complete surveying and civil engineering production line — from the first field point to the final printed sheet.

As an authorized GstarCAD distributor, we can walk you through licensing options, a live SDBOX demo, and pricing tailored to the number of seats your team needs — including the discount available on additional licences.