Civil Immersion

"Civil 3D: Tips, Tricks, and Unnatural Acts"

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 17^th and runs through Friday Nov 20^th.
CLICK HERE for more information, and to register.

-Jeff

Unlocking the Power of Transparent Commands in Civil 3D!

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!

-Jeff

Our Next 30min. Workout is Thursday Oct 15th!

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 15^th) 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...

 - REGISTER HERE -

We look forward to seeing you there!

-Jeff

Recycle your .DWG content using the Design Center tool in Civil 3D

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.

Click on the video below to check it out.

-Jerry

Our Next 30 min. Workout Session is this Thursday! (Oct. 1st)

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. 1^st at 1:30 PM Eastern Time.  If you are interested in attending, please use the link below to register…

https://autodesk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e25PQtMQTO2Q7djDDboDdQ

We look forward to seeing you there!

-Jerry

Using AutoCAD Fields to Create Smart Text in Civil 3D

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...

-Jeff

 

Our Next 30 min. Workout Session is Thursday, September 17th!

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 this week’s 30 min. Workout session we’ll be exploring an annotation concept called “Fields”.  Fields (introduced in AutoCAD 2005) provide a way of linking base AutoCAD drawing/object properties to annotations.   Since Civil 3D is built upon the AutoCAD platform, we can use Fields as a way of placing even more maintenance free annotations in our drawings.

The live session “30-Minute Workout - Using Fields to Create Smart Text in Civil 3D” is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17 at 1:30 PM Eastern Time.  If you're interested in attending, please use the following link to register…  https://autodesk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gaje67frRjitoM-u3OU_Ug

We look forward to seeing you there!

-Jeff

Creating higher value geometry using the Map Cleanup tools in Civil 3D

During today’s presentation, we do a deep dive into the MapClean Tools within Civil 3D. 

Using MAPCLEAN, we can quickly analyze and correct geometric “issues”.  These include deleting duplicate objects, erasing short objects, extending undershoots, snapping clustered nodes and much much more.

We also explore several ways to select geometry, so we are sure we are working on exactly the entities we are interested in.  Along the way, we look at how the MAPCLEAN tools can address issues automatically as well as identify every issue allowing us the opportunity to address it or not.

If you have never seen/used MAPCLEAN before, you will learn how helpful each analysis option can be.  Additionally, learning to couple multiple analysis types together in a single operation can quickly make MAPCLEAN one of the most powerful tools in your tool belt.

Click on the video below to check it out.

-Jerry

Taking Advantage of AutoCAD's Annotative Objects in Civil 3D

When applied to civil objects, Civil 3D's purpose built labels maintain a dynamic link to the underlying civil data AND will size themselves automatically when displayed on construction drawings. That said, civil infrastructure designs often include "generic" objects that also require labeling.

Many times these objects can be labeled using a Civil 3D note, OR (depending on your needs), an AutoCAD Annotative object may be a better fit. In today's installment, we'll explore the concept of annotative objects, learn how to create and edit them, and walk through some ways to incorporate them into our civil designs.

If you're interested, the video below walks step by step through everything you need to get started...

-Jeff

Introducing Civil 3D Data Shortcuts

One of the biggest benefits of using Civil 3D is the dynamic relationships between civil objects. When one object is edited, all dependent objects (and their labels) update automatically. These dynamic relationships can also exist between drawings using a concept called Data Shortcuts.

Data Shortcuts work much like the icons on your desktop used to launch applications.  Each icon represents a “pointer” that knows where its respective application lives on your computer.  The Data Shortcuts in Civil 3D also represent pointers that (instead of pointing to applications) point to civil objects stored inside DWG files.  In today’s installment, we’ll take our first look at Data Shortcuts by exploring how they're created, stored and referenced. 

If you are interested, I've created a quick video below that walks through everything...

-Jeff