Autocad Civil 3D 2011 Update 1

Update 1 has been released.  This certainly solved an issue we're having - opening drawings with featurelines projected onto multiple sections.  What used to be a wait of more than 10mins is now down to 1min.

Although I haven't checked, it should also resolve the issue we are having with plotting dwgs to pdfs.

Update 1 and README can be downloaded here.

Ellipse-shaped Alignments

If in case you need to create an alignment to a shape of an ellipse, here are two ways to do it.

OPTION 1

Set the PELLIPSE variable to 1 and draw an ellipse. The default is set to 0 which draws an accurate ellipse object. Setting the variable to 1 lets you draw an ellipse made up of series of arcs forming a Polyline. Polylines can then be converted to Civil alignments.

However, ellipse drawn this way won’t result to the correct shape. From visual inspection, the difference between the true ellipse and polyline ellipse is noticeable near the ends of the major axis.

OPTION 2

Use the DIVIDE command to add Autocad points along the true ellipse. The more segments, the better.

Convert the AutoCAD points to COGO points.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Connect the “dots” using SPLINE. Type 'PN to call up the Point Number transparent command. Type the point number range. In my example, 1 – 120 and close the spline.
 

 




FLATTEN the closed spline but don’t remove hidden lines.
 

 
 
 


This will convert it to a series of connected arcs that follow the ellipse more precisely. 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally convert the polyline to a Civil 3D alignment. It won’t be laser accurate if you zoom in and look closer but isn’t too far off compared to the first option.

 

 

 

Have a great weekend!!

Point - Block - COGO

A colleague recently asked me how to convert points to blocks.  Skilled programmers can easily produce a Lisp routine or a VBA code to do this but it can also be done using out-of-the box utilities in Civil 3D.  Rather than posting one conversion, I included other possible conversions users might need.

Points - COGO
Menu: Points > Utilities > Convert from Autocad Points
Ribbon: Home tab > Create Ground Data panel > Points > Convert Autocad Points

Blocks - COGO (UKIE contents tools)
Toolspace: Toolbox tab > UK and Ireland Reports > Additional Tools > Convert Blocks to COGO Points.

If you don’t have UK and Ireland tools, you’ll need to install the UKIE Content Pack.  Autodesk’s Dana Probert posted steps to add content packs in her blog.

COGO - Blocks
Menu: Points > Utilities > Create Blocks from COGO Points
Ribbon: Home tab > Create Ground Data panel > Points > Create Blocks from COGO Points

Points - Blocks
Points to COGO then COGO to blocks as above.

Blocks - Points
Create a Surface model using the blocks and amend the style to only show surface points. 
Menu: Surfaces > Utilities > Extract Objects from Surface
Ribbon: Click the surface > Surface Tools panel > Extract Objects
Tick (check) Points and either choose Select All or Select the points you want converted.

COGO - Points
Similar to converting blocks to points, create a Surface model using the COGO points and amend the style to only show surface points.  Extract the points from the surface using the steps above.

Google Map Street View in 3D

My colleague just noticed this today.  Google Map Street View now can be viewed in 3D.  Cool!

Here's the Street view of Cardiff Castle.  Click the pegman to view in 3d.  I need to find my 3d glasses when I get home!

View Larger Map

Dynamite VSP now available for 3DS Max and Civil 3D subscription customers

http://www.autodesk.com/civilvis