On occasion a Civil 3D project may require data from a “legacy” drawing. One example might be a DWG file for which you do not know (or have) the original authoring application. In cases like this, Civil 3D can re-create design data from drawing entities. In this installment we’ll learn how to build a surface model from selected objects.
I have created a quick video below that walks through the workflow. After reviewing the recording, take a tour through Civil 3D's creation menus and you’ll find several other design components can also be created “From Object”.
It’s been said that you can’t always get what you want. On occasion, that may mean having to extract data from generic AutoCAD drawings. Fortunately, when the need arises, Civil 3D makes it easy to reverse engineer many design components from selected entities.
By default, Civil 3D sample lines are placed perpendicular to an alignment. That said, some designs (or cross sections) may require “skewed” or multi-segmented sample lines. At times like these, Civil 3D provides specialized tools for creating virtually any sample line you may need.
In this installment we’ll explore some ways to create custom sample lines. We’ll also look at how to change their position and/or geometry using grips. If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video below that walks through everything…
Proposed linear designs are often represented using multiple parallel entities. Lane edges, medians, shoulders, ditches and R.O.W. are just a few examples. When design changes are made, it’s important that all related entities update as well. Fortunately, modifications like this are made easy using Civil 3D’s offset alignments.
Offset alignments are dynamically linked to a “parent” alignment, meaning they will maintain their offset, even when the parent alignment changes. This makes them perfect for defining linear geometry that would otherwise need to be redrawn as a design evolves. Offset alignments can also support “widenings” to accommodate things like turn lanes, transitions and on street parking geometry. No matter how offset alignments are defined, they will always maintain a geometric relationship with their parent, making future design modifications much more efficient!
In this session we’ll explore some workflows for defining offset alignments and widenings. If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video below that walks through everything you need to get started…
Today's drone technology makes it easy to collect existing site conditions as a point cloud. Once captured, point clouds provide a wealth of analytic opportunities. In this week’s installment, we'll use Civil 3D to analyze a point cloud and extract the volume of a large stockpile.
If your projects require you to calculate stockpile volumes, try experimenting with a point cloud workflow. Capturing stockpiles as point clouds can be the fastest and safest means of collecting this data, while also providing more detail than what is obtainable using more traditional collection methods.
If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video below to help you get started…
Using the “Point Cloud Terrain” feature, InfraWorks makes it easy to extract a bare earth surface from a point cloud. Extracted surfaces are a perfect way to add detail to an existing conditions model. InfraWorks then makes it easy to share these surfaces with other Autodesk applications, providing countless opportunities to analyze, visualize, and sample the data.
In this week’s installment, we’ll explore a workflow to migrate an existing ground surface (built from aerial imagery) from InfraWorks to Civil 3D. If you are interested, I’ve created a quick recording below that walks through everything…
It’s surprising how easy it is to create a 3D mesh from drone captured imagery using ReCap Photo. In the event your aerial images contain GPS metadata (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude) ReCap photo can leverage this information to scale and geospatially locate the mesh. If higher accuracy is required, ReCap photo allows you to assign Ground Control Points such that the resulting 3D mesh is aligned to surveyed coordinates.
Whenever ReCap Photo processes a mesh, it can also generate a point cloud and/or ortho TIF if desired. These assets can then be easily incorporated into a Civil 3D or InfraWorks model. In this week’s installment we’ll use ReCap Photo to create an accurate 3D mesh that leverages surveyed ground control points. If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video that walks through the workflow…
Autodesk Vehicle tracking makes it possible to create parking geometry meeting most any standard using only a couple mouse clicks. Editing a parking design is just as easy by leveraging the many provided grips. On occasion however, you may have a need to break, or trim a parking row created using Autodesk Vehicle Tracking.
Even though AVT does not offer these options, it is possible to perform similar edits using the Create Access Road tool. In this week’s installment, we’ll explore some ways to split parking rows using the access road feature.
If you are interested, I’ve created a quick recording that walks through the workflows...
When analyzing a swept path, it’s important to remember that the envelopes represent the smallest area required for a vehicle to maneuver. The closer those envelopes are to curbs, signage, or building corners, the smaller the margin of error is for the driver. Fortunately, Autodesk Vehicle Tracking provides a way to assign an offset (or “buffer”) to a swept path to compensate for the imperfections of real world drivers, vehicles, or conditions. Designing to this offset helps ensure vehicles can successfully navigate a site and reduces the risk of collisions.
Offsets are applied using a “report”. Reports are a lot like Civil 3D styles in that they control the appearance of a swept path. In today’s installment, we’ll learn how to edit a report such that it displays an offset envelope. If you are interested, I’ve created a video below that walks through everything…
-Jeff
NOTE: For more information on creating, applying or editing swept path reports, please watch this video -https://youtu.be/-GwXCzeybfc
In today’s installment well look at a really quick way to create parking lot striping using Autodesk Vehicle Tracking. The “trick” involves using the Parallel Row feature in conjunction with a selected object. For example; after launching the command, simply pick on the edge of pavement to instantly create parking stalls that are parallel to that geometry. (The select object feature works with alignments, arcs, lines or polylines.)
Creating parking stalls in this way can save you a ton of picks and clicks! If you are interested I’ve created a video below that demonstrates the workflow...
Using InfraWorks to visualize a Civil 3D corridor design requires some initial prep work to attach and stylize the necessary design files. That being said, the time spent to configure a connection is only required when a model is first imported. Once a connection is made, any future design changes can be visualized within InfraWorks almost instantly! To trigger an update, simply “refresh” the affected connections.
In this week’s installment, we’ll make some modifications to a connected Civil 3D corridor design and then explore how to synchronize those changes back to InfraWorks. If you are interested, I’ve created a screen recording that walks through the process…
