Civil 3D 2010 Update 1 now available

Update can be downloaded here.  Remember to read the Readme file for installation instructions and to see what issues were resolved by this update. 

Surface editing using OOPS

We normally receive topographical surveys as 3D polylines and blocks which we use to create a Civil 3D existing ground surface model. 

The 3D cad drawings are at times not layered properly that I would wrongly define polylines I don’t need such as bridge soffits, overhead cables and any other polylines that could mess up the surface model.  Below is an example where the overhead cables were included in the breakline surface definition.  

 

A quick way to amend the surface model without deleting the polyline is to use the OOPS command.  The OOPS command restores objects erased by the last ERASE command.

Delete the overhead cable polylines using the normal ERASE followed by the OOPS command and rebuild the surface.  This will remove the overhead cable polyline from the surface definition but retaining it in the drawing. 

Surface editing using section line data

Before I start on the above post, just to remind that a hotfix for Civil 3D 2009 have been released to resolve section display and volume calculation issues.  Hotfix and installation instructions can be found here.

Now to the main topic.  We were recently asked to compute earthworks volume quantities of different geological materials for a 5km highway scheme.

Ground investigation data in spreadsheet were provided, import them in to Civil 3D using points, create a surface and cut sections to see how the materials look- no problem.

However due to the distance between borehole locations, the data is not sufficient to correctly model the surface of the underlying material.  On the section shown below, the unsuitable material layer in some chainages are above the existing ground.

This will obviously generate erroneous volume quantities.  I thought of two ways to do this.  First, is to edit the surface by adding points along the sample lines with the correct levels either by adding COGO points or surface points.

Another way is to edit the section, copy and paste the section data to a spreadsheet and import them back.  We preferred to use this option as we have these instances on a couple of sections.  Here's how we did it using Civil 3D 2008.

Change all the material's section lines to static. Right click a sample line> Sample Line Group Properties.

In the Sections tab, change the material's update mode to Static and click OK.

This should enable the section line grips.

Grip edit the section. 

After editing the section, right click the section line> Edit section. Right click the table, click Copy All. 

Paste the copied table on a spreadsheet.  Continue editing the section lines for the other chainages and adding section data to the spreadsheet as you go along.

On the spreadsheet, delete the Section Gradient In and Out columns and the header row.

Replace the point number column with the chainage number where the section was taken from and remove the unit "m" from the values using the replace command in Excel.  Save as a comma delimited (.csv) file format.

Import the file to Civil 3D.  Points menu> Create Points - Alignments> Import from file.

Note that the file type it will look for is .txt.  Type *.csv in the File name field to see the file.

When asked for a file format, choose '2' - Chainage, Offset, Level.

 

Choose ‘2’ – Comma for delimiter type and hit Enter for the next two prompts.

Select the alignment and the points should appear along the section sample line.

Create a new surface and use all the project points (existing and added).  I’ll leave the volume calcs to you.

Update 3 and Skill Builders

It is a bit late I know but might still be of use to some. Autocad Civil 3D 2009 Update 3 was released a few weeks ago. This fixes problems and issues on some Autocad features. Update 2.1 is a prerequisite and remember to read the ReadMe document.

I also noticed two new skill builders for Civil 3D 2010 from the Support page.

• Using Dynamic GENIO data with Autocad Civil 3D Shortcuts (GENIO import extension is needed and can also be done in 2009)
• Analyzing Storm Sewer Data with the Hydraflow Storm Sewers Extension for Autocad Civil 3D 2010

I particularly like the dynamic GENIO data link to Civil 3D workflow. We also use Bentley MX at work and this can promote collaboration between our MX and C3D users.

Rename command

A colleague asked me yesterday how to rename an Autocad block. To do this, I normally explode the block, create a new one with the desired name and purge the old block.

I just discovered the RENAME command in the Autodesk discussion forum.

Not only can it change block names but also Dim styles, Layers, Mleader styles, Linetypes, etc.