HVAC Duct Takeoff Software (AI-Powered)
Upload mechanical drawings and get duct linear footage, fitting and diffuser counts, and SMACNA sheet-metal weight — a bill of materials in minutes, not a day of tracing.
HVAC duct takeoff software uses AI to scan mechanical drawings and automatically measure the linear footage of duct runs, count fittings, diffusers and dampers, and extract duct sizes into a bill of materials. It turns a manual, hours-long tracing job into a review pass — every quantity linked back to the sheet it came from, and sheet-metal weight derived from gauge using SMACNA conventions.
How AI HVAC Duct Takeoff Works
Four steps from a mechanical plan set to a priced, SMACNA-ready duct BOM.
Upload the mechanical drawings
Import PDF mechanical plan sets, addendums, and duct schedules. Aginera reads every sheet — floor plans, sections, and schedules — with no manual page setup.
AI detects ductwork
The hybrid text-and-vision engine identifies duct runs and shapes (rectangular, round, oval), sizes, insulation, and tags, plus terminal devices like diffusers, grilles, dampers and VAV boxes.
Quantities are extracted
Duct linear footage is measured by size and system (supply, return, exhaust), fittings and terminals are counted, and sheet-metal weight is derived from gauge using SMACNA conventions.
Review, price and export
Every line carries a confidence score and a reference back to the sheet it came from, so review is a spot-check. Export the bill of materials to Excel or push it into your estimating workflow.
What the AI Extracts from Mechanical Drawings
Full sheet-metal and ductwork scope — measured, counted, and priced by the pound.
Duct linear footage
Rectangular, round and oval duct measured by size and by system — supply, return, exhaust.
Sheet-metal weight (SMACNA)
Gauge, reinforcement and weight in lbs / kg by material — galvanized, stainless, aluminium.
Fittings
Elbows, transitions, tees, taps, offsets and end caps, counted per size.
Terminal devices
Supply / return diffusers, grilles, registers, and VAV boxes.
Dampers & accessories
Fire, smoke and volume dampers, access doors, flex connections and insulation.
Equipment schedules
AHUs, RTUs, fans and coils — tags like AHU-1 resolved to real units and sizes.
An 80% head start, then a targeted review
Experienced estimators are clear about what AI takeoff is and isn't: it gives you a fast first pass — a large head start — and a human verifies complex dimensions, fitting types and specifications before the numbers are priced.
Aginera is built for exactly that workflow. Every duct run, fitting and diffuser carries a confidence score and a reference back to the sheet and location it came from, so verification is a targeted spot-check rather than a recount. Vector PDFs with legible duct tags and schedules extract more reliably than dense or scanned sets — and we'd treat any vendor quoting one accuracy number across all drawing types, ourselves included, with caution.
HVAC Duct Takeoff — Frequently Asked Questions
What is HVAC duct takeoff software?
HVAC duct takeoff software uses AI to scan mechanical (HVAC) drawings and automatically measure the linear footage of duct runs, count fittings and terminal devices, and extract duct sizes and specifications into a structured bill of materials. Instead of manually tracing every run and counting every diffuser on a PDF, the estimator reviews AI-generated quantities that trace back to the drawing.
How does AI duct takeoff work?
It works in four steps. (1) Upload the mechanical plan set and duct schedules. (2) The AI vision engine detects duct shapes — rectangular, round and oval — along with sizes, insulation and tags. (3) It measures duct lengths by size and system, counts fittings, diffusers and dampers, and derives sheet-metal weight from gauge. (4) Quantities export to Excel or an estimating database for final pricing. Every quantity is linked back to the sheet and location it came from.
Does it follow SMACNA standards?
Yes. Duct gauge, reinforcement and sheet-metal weight are derived using SMACNA conventions, so the takeoff speaks the language a sheet-metal shop prices in — pounds of galvanized or stainless by gauge, per duct size class.
What does it measure and count on a mechanical drawing?
Duct linear footage by size and system (supply / return / exhaust), rectangular / round / oval duct, duct insulation and lining, fittings (elbows, transitions, taps), and terminal devices — supply and return diffusers, grilles, registers, VAV boxes, fire and volume dampers. It also reads equipment schedules to resolve tags (AHU-1, VAV-3) to real units and sizes.
How accurate is AI sheet-metal / duct takeoff?
The honest answer estimators give is that AI provides a fast first pass — roughly an 80% head start — and a human verifies complex dimensions, fitting types and specs before pricing. Accuracy is highest on clean vector PDFs with legible duct tags and schedules, and lower on dense or scanned sheets. Aginera scores every line with a confidence value and a sheet reference so verification is targeted, not a recount, and treats any single accuracy figure quoted across all drawing types — including our own — with caution.
What file formats can I use?
PDF mechanical plan sets and CAD files (DWG, DXF). Most HVAC estimators receive multi-page PDF bid sets; upload the file and Aginera processes all sheets, including the duct and equipment schedules.
Can it produce sheet-metal weight for pricing?
Yes. From duct sizes and SMACNA gauge, Aginera derives sheet-metal weight (lbs / kg) by material — galvanized, stainless, aluminium — so you can price by the pound alongside linear footage and fitting counts.
How is this different from PlanSwift or on-screen manual takeoff?
Traditional tools require you to trace every duct run and click every diffuser by hand. AI duct takeoff reads the drawing itself — recognising duct, measuring runs, and reading schedules — so you review a populated takeoff instead of building one from a blank sheet. It reduces a multi-hour manual duct takeoff to a review pass.
Does Aginera handle the whole mechanical scope, or just duct?
The whole mechanical scope, and the rest of MEP. One upload covers ductwork, hydronic and refrigerant piping, equipment, and controls, plus electrical and plumbing — with quantities aggregated across every sheet and duplicate detection.
Upload your drawing → get takeoff + BOM in minutes
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