At our next 30 min. Workout session we’ll be walking through a new add-on for Civil 3D called “Project Explorer”. The Project Explorer represents a single, modeless dialog box where you can (among other things) view, edit and report on content stored within a civil model. The Project Explorer is included with the 2021 AEC Collection. That said, the installation media is also compatible with the 2020 version of Civil 3D.
This will be our first 30 min. Workout with a cliff-hanger ending! The goal on December 3rd is to demonstrate Project Explorer “basics” such that attendees can start using the tool immediately after the session. We will then come back on Thursday December 17th for a deeper dive exploration into what the Project Explorer has to offer!
If you are interested – CLICK HERE – to register. We look forward to seeing you there!
Do you collaborate with firms that use Civil 3D to model roadway designs? Have you wondered how Civil 3D workflows (surfaces, alignments, profiles, sections, etc.) might compare/contrast to the civil infrastructure software you currently use? If you are interested, I’ve created a “Civil 3D Test Drive” recording that walks through the basics of using Civil 3D.
In less than two hours, I demonstrate a multitude of concepts including: Civil 3D interface, Surface creation & editing, Alignment creation & editing, Profile creation & editing, Offset Alignments & Profiles, Assemblies, Corridor modeling, Corridor targeting, Intersections, Superelevation, Cross Sections, Earthwork & Material calculations, and Automated sheet creation.
If you are interested in piloting Civil 3D on a future project, this recording will walk you through the basics of how the application works, how civil content is created, labeled, and stylized, and how the dynamic relationships between objects allow design modifications to update all affected objects, labels, calculations and sheets.
During today’s presentation, we explore Civil 3D's Inquiry Tools.
Using these tools, we can quickly compute things like Elevation, Grade, Slope, Distance, Bearing and more directly from Civil 3D Objects. These objects include Points, Surfaces, Profile Views, Profiles, Sections, Section Views and Corridors. Why are these tools really helpful?? Many customers resort to creating labels or annotation to compute what these tools do automatically.
After being introduced (or re-introduced :)) to Civil 3D's Inquiry Tools, they could easily become part of your every day Civil 3D workflows.
In this session we will be taking a look at Civil 3D's numerous "Inquiry Commands". If you have not used them before, they can be very helpful in quickly determining things like Distance, Station, Elevation, Grade and so much more.
In short, they are used to quickly interrogate Autodesk Civil 3D objects. You can then use the information extracted from the design model to aid in design, validation, and analysis.
The live session “30-Minute Workout - Using Civil 3D's inquiry tools to establish Who, What and Where” is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29th, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time. If you are interested in attending, please use the link below to register…
Autodesk University 2020 is rapidly approaching! AU represents Autodesk’s premiere conference where attendees can learn from industry experts who solve real-world design challenges using Autodesk applications. If you’ve ever attended an Autodesk University, I’m sure you’ll agree that you can learn things at AU that simply aren’t documented anyplace else!
Being a “physical” conference, AU attendance typically includes the cost of registration, travel, and expenses. This year however, AU 2020 is being hosted virtually, and at NO CHARGE! If you’ve ever had the desire to attend Autodesk University, this may be the opportunity of a lifetime. CLICK HERE for more information about the conference, the classes and to register.
For those planning to attend, Jerry Bartels, Alan Gilbert and myself have recently put the finishing touches on an AU session called “Civil 3D: Tips, Tricks, and Unnatural Acts”. The course consists of brand-new material designed to help you save time and make the most of your Civil 3D investment. If you have the opportunity, we would love to have you attend!
Autodesk University 2020 begins Tuesday Nov 17th and runs through Friday Nov 20th. CLICK HERE for more information, and to register.
Object Snaps are arguably the most important feature in the AutoCAD platform. Their ability to “lock on” to precise coordinates represents the foundation on which all geometry is created, edited, and queried.
Civil 3D also relies on Object Snaps to model civil infrastructure designs. In addition, Civil 3D provides its own collection of engineering related snaps called Transparent Commands. Using Transparent Commands, civil engineers can select from 20+ options including: Northing/Easting, Bearing/Distance, Station/Offset, Profile Station/Elevation, etc. In today’s installment, we’ll explore Civil 3D’s collection of Transparent Commands as well as a few best practices for their application.
The recording below walks through everything you'll need to get started using this powerful feature!
Object Snaps are arguably the most important feature in the AutoCAD platform. Their ability to “lock on” to precise coordinates represents the foundation on which all geometry is created, edited, and queried.
Civil 3D also relies on Object Snaps to model civil infrastructure designs. In addition, Civil 3D provides its own collection of engineering related snaps called Transparent Commands. Using Transparent Commands, civil engineers can select from 20+ options including: Northing/Easting, Bearing/Distance, Station/Offset, Profile Station/Elevation, etc.
At our next 30min. Workout, (Thursday October 15th) we’ll explore Civil 3D’s collection of Transparent Commands as well as a few best practices for their application. If you’d like to attend the live session, please use the link below to register...
During today’s presentation, we explore “Design Center”. Design Center was originally added to AutoCAD back in the 2000 release. (Over 20 years ago!) This officially makes it an “oldy but goody” when it comes to AutoCAD/Civil 3D tools. :)
In short, Design Center helps you recycle/reuse your content in ways you may not have thought possible. Need to create a new Layout just like the one you worked on in a different project? Need a custom linetype you saw in a .DWG the other day? Need to recreate some Layers that were inadvertently purged? Need to quickly redefine some blocks to match your company standards? Design Center is here to help you with these tasks and soooo much more.
If you have never used Design Center before, it can easily become one of the top 10 tools you rely on.
In this session we will be taking a tour of “Design Center”.This tool was originally introduced in AutoCAD 2000 and (even after 20 years) it still provides tons of value. If you have not used it before, (or if it's been a while :)) this tool provides a quick and easy way to find and reuse your drawing components.Think of it like a “Windows Explorer” for .DWG files.
The live session “30-Minute Workout - Recycle drawing content using Design Center” is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1st at 1:30 PM Eastern Time.If you are interested in attending, please use the link below to register…
Civil 3D label styles are capable of extracting (and annotating) data stored within Civil objects. Once placed, Civil 3D labels update automatically each time an associated object changes. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could assign similar labels to non-Civil 3D objects? Fortunately, we can!
In today’s installment we'll explore an annotation concept called “Fields”. Fields (introduced in AutoCAD 2005) provide a way to link base AutoCAD drawing/object properties to annotations. Since Civil 3D is built upon the AutoCAD platform, we can use Fields to create even more maintenance free annotations in our drawings.
If you're interested, the recording below walks through everything you need to get started...
