There are situations where we need to create superelevation for a roadway deflection angle that doesn't require a curve. In addition, there are situations where the slope control benefits of tangent only superelevation come in extremely handy. Today's post shows the process for creating this type of superelevation.
Check out the video below to see Part 5 of my series on all things superelevation.
If you'd like to see this workflow used in an intersection design example, please take a look at my co-blogger's (Jeff Bartels) playlist on advanced intersection modeling: Advanced Intersection Modeling. I highly recommend the entire playlist, but if you can't wait, Part 5 is where Jeff shows using tangent only superelevation to flatten lane slopes approaching an intersection.
After installing a large application like Civil 3D you may have noticed several other programs were also added to your system. They might include things like material libraries, object enablers, add-ins and supporting applications. While this isn’t a problem, it can present challenges if the time comes that you need to uninstall Civil 3D and all of its associated components.
Fortunately, Autodesk provides a dedicated uninstall tool making it easy to remove an application and its “dependencies” using only a couple clicks of the mouse. In today’s post we’ll explore the Autodesk Uninstall Tool by leveraging it to remove Civil 3D from a machine. With the 2018 product line quickly becoming available, this tool can provide an efficient way to remove older Autodesk applications to make room for a newer release.
If you are interested, I’ve created a quick recording that walks through a sample workflow...
Just last month, the Civil Immersion Blog celebrated its 1-year anniversary! In that short amount of time we've been able to share a ton of time saving workflows and tips & tricks, and (so far) we are showing no signs of slowing down :) If you recall, we celebrated our six-month anniversary by packaging all of the content we’d created to that point and made it available for download. The response we received from our viewers was overwhelmingly positive!
For this reason, we decided to close out our first season with a “part 2” package that includes every post and every workflow recording from the second half of our first year.[August 2016 through January 2017]
After downloading, simply unzip the contents into a folder on your computer or network. In there, you’ll find a .doc file containing all of the blog posts with hyperlinks to the associated (now local) screen recordings. We hope that by making this content available locally, it will be easier for many firms to access and share with others inside their organizations.
Please let us know if you find this approach helpful! Thank you for your continued support!
Today’s installment is all about improving your Layouts.
Since AutoCAD Release 12 (the original one from the early 90’s) we have had access to the concept of Paper Space and Model Space. Paper Space is where we created our plan sheets and Model Space is where we built our models. In later releases, this eventually evolved into Paper Space Layouts (Multiple Paper Spaces :) ) where each Layout represents a single plotted sheet. Each sheet contains one (or many) Viewports which are effectively holes in page where we can view our model at a particular scale.
In the beginning, these viewports had limitations. One of the big ones was it had to be a four sided object with 90 degree corners. (Essentially a square or rectangular shape) Additionally, this new Paper Space/Layout concept was a big departure from what AutoCAD users were accustomed to. In short their “plotting world” was rocked.
As a result, many folks worked hard to embrace the new system and its original limitations. Fortunately, many of original limitations have gone away. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks out there who’s sheet construction workflow has not updated to take advantage of the improvements. Perhaps a “set it and forget it” mindset has set in again.
If you are of the belief that Layout Viewports must still be a four sided object with 90 degree corners, the VPCLIP tool is definitely for you!! Using the VPCLIP command, your viewport shapes are literally limitless. (Irregular shapes, Irregular angles, even curves!!)
Check out the video below to see how it works as well as a couple of examples of how you can use them.
Once a corridor model is built, Civil 3D’s “Compute Materials” tool makes it easy to calculate cross sectional volumes representing cut/fill or structural materials. After the materials have been calculated, the “Generate Volume Report” command can be used to create a comprehensive table listing material calculations on a section-by-section basis.
That being said, a volume report is not the only way to view calculated volumes. Each cross section view can also display a table (or tables) that list the computed materials for that view. Even better, these tables retain a dynamic link to the model, meaning they will update whenever the design changes.
In today’s post we’ll explore a technique to apply dynamic volume tables to all section views within a view group. If you are interested, I’ve created a recording below that walks through the process…
Today’s Tool is really more of an “Approach” than it is a Tool. :)
If you are an avid typist when it comes to executing commands within Civil 3D (or any AutoCAD based application) having keyboard shortcuts can really boost productivity. In other words, it is much faster to type HTB than it is to type HatchToBack.
Typically, these shortcuts are defined by our system administrator/CAD manager when our software is installed. Unfortunately, not everyone has access or rights to alter these settings. (Probably a good thing in the long run as it helps reduce anarchy :) )
Knowing this, does that mean we can’t easily create shortcuts of our own? Absolutely not! Not only can we create keyboard shortcuts, we can also make them portable for those days when we might have to work on someone else’s workstation.
We do this by leveraging some very simple AutoLISP programming. I know what you are thinking…. I’m not a programmer so this isn’t for me. You could not be more wrong. In short, if you type any commands at the command line, you are already more than 90% of the way there!
In today’s video, I will walk through the remaining 10%. Essentially, how to build a single line of LISP code for each shortcut you need. Within 20 min. you will be able to quickly create keyboard shortcuts that are capable of accomplishing some pretty remarkable things.
The keyboard shortcut customization I use most often is "ON". Using this 2 character shortcut, Civil 3D will thaw every layer, turn on every layer and unisolate any geometry that has been hidden.
Check out the video below to see how to create some of your own.
BIM 360 Team provides the ability to view 100+ file types using its online viewer. This allows project collaborators to review everything from design files, to images, to videos. That being said, some stakeholders may wish to download files so they can analyze/modify them "locally" using applications like AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Autodesk Vehicle Tracking, SSA, etc.
Fortunately, BIM 360 Team makes it easy to download files individually or in bulk. It will even consolidate multiple files into a single ZIP to make larger downloads more efficient.
If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video that demonstrates a couple ways to download files from a BIM 360 Team project.
In today’s installment we are going to blow some stuff up!
In short, we are going to explode Text objects into native AutoCAD entities. (Lines connected together into polylines)
You might be wondering why anyone would ever want to explode Text. There are lots of reasons! We can extrude the text into 3D objects, we can carve the text out of a 3D object, we can use it in commands that do not support Text and many many more.
In today’s example, we will Explode some Text in Civil 3D and then export the exploded geometry back to InfraWorks to create street labels.
One method for editing and customizing your superelevation calculations is through the Superelevation View. I personally prefer this graphical method in most cases when superelevation edits are needed. Back on my old blog last year, I did a six part video playlist on the details of making edits to the Superelevation View and testing the results. I thought I would post these on the Civil Immersion Blog today since I was ready to cover edits to superelevation in this series.
Check out the video playlist below to see Part 4 of my series on all things superelevation.
Autodesk Vehicle Tracking provides a large number of settings to control the display of swept paths. The settings themselves are assigned (and stored) within a “report” which acts very similar to a style in Civil 3D. By default, Autodesk Vehicle Tracking includes four reports out of the box that can be used as is, or customized to match your CAD standards. (You can also create brand new reports if you like.)
In today’s post, we’ll look at how a report can be modified to add labels to a swept path. As a bonus we’ll also explore a technique to annotate vehicles used in an animation. Check out the video below for a complete walk-through of the workflows…
If you are interested in a more deep dive approach to controlling swept path display, please use the following link to review a video that covers report settings (and application) in greater detail! - https://youtu.be/-GwXCzeybfc
