Autocad Civil 3D 2010 UK version now available

For all UK and Ireland users who are under subscription, the UKIE version of Autocad Civil 3D 2010 is now available to download from the Autodesk subscription site. Here's bits of reminders to help you get started.

If you opt to download your copy from the subscription site, I suggest you install and use the Autodesk Download Manager for quicker downloads and ability to pause/resume. Otherwise, you can always request for the DVDs.



When you get to the download page, you'll see 6 files available but you only need the 3 UK files. The other 3 are US English versions.

After installation, be sure to read the Readme document. I must admit, I sometimes ignore this document (too eager to use the software!). It contains important information for this release.

When you start Civil 3D, you'll be greeted by a welcome screen that contains links to the usual documentations and the new getting started videos which I think are great additions. Some like myself learn a lot quicker through visual than reading materials. At the start of the video, it says “No Audio” (though I can hear the cursor click sound) but have texts to guide you through the videos.

The User Interface Overview will help you find your way around the new interface. This can also be accessed through the Infocenter toolbar.

And don't forget the new features workshop. It can now be accessed in the Infocentre toolbar. “Old” new features for 2008 and 2009 are also available to view in case you skipped any of these releases.

Lastly, download and view Jack Strongitharm's powerpoint presentation on the 2010 UKIE country kit. It discusses installation notes, known limitations, country kit documentation and new contents and reports.

Happy downloading!

Civil 3D 2010 Profile Object Projection

You might already be aware through other Civil 3D blogs the new feature in 2010 - the ability to project objects in plan onto profiles and sections. These objects can be Autocad points, solids, 3d polylines, blocks, MV blocks or Civil 3D points.



One area of application that I see this new feature will be useful is in placing geotechnical investigation boreholes on long sections.

I've tried it on one of our past highway project and used dynamic borehole stick blocks.



This of course won’t do all the work as the dynamic blocks need to be inserted and grip edited manually but will help cut a significant amount of draughting time.

UK Civil 3D User Group Meeting

Just a quick reminder that the next UK Civil 3D User Group organised by Excitech Ltd will be held on 21 April 2009 at their head office in Enfield, North London.

This is a good opportunity to meet other users, discuss and share information related to Civil 3D. To register and get more details, visit their Civil 3D User Group site.

Creating dynamic borehole blocks

Placing geotechnical investigation borehole "sticks" on long sections is a tedious and time consuming work. Here's how to create dynamic borehole blocks to help speed up the task.

1. Type BEDIT and type a block name and click OK.



2. Draw the borehole stick using lines and move it to 0,0 coordinates using the midpoint of the top line as base point.

3. Insert a Base Point parameter at the mid point top line.


4. Place a Visibility parameter at the mid point of the right line.

5. Double click the yellow exclamation point symbol. Change the visibility state to '1'.



6. In the Parameter Sets tab, place a Linear Stretch parameter picking the midpoint of the top line first and the midpoint of the bottom line as the second point. Double click the Stretch Action yellow symbol. Specify the first corner of the stretch frame and objects to stretch. The image below shows where to pick the first and second corner of the stretch frame.



7. Hatch the borehole. That's one layer of borehole done!



8. Now to create another layer. Double click the Visibility parameter or click the Visibility State button on the block editor bar and click new and name it '2'.



9. Select and right click the hatch object> Object Visibility> Hide for Current State. The hatch will be greyed out which means it won't be shown for the new state.

10. Draw a horizontal line across from the left line to the right. Place a Linear Move parameter set with start point at the midpoint of the base and midpoint of the new line as the second point. Double click on the Move Action yellow symbol and select the new line. Click the Distance1 parameter and grip stretch 100 (or more) units down. This means the line can be moved down 100 units from its current position. This can be increased if need be.



11. Create hatches for the 2 layers. Hatch for the upper layer should be the same as the hatch for State '1' and any hatch for the bottom layer.

12. Repeat Steps 8 – 11 to create more layers.

13. Save the block definition and close the block editor.

Additional options and settings can be added through the parameter’s properties.

Click here to see how it works.

If you'd like a copy of the drawing I used to play with, just drop me an email. harold dot alberto at gmail dot com.

Google UK Street View now live

Here's a list of UK cities on Street View at present.

Aberdeen
Belfast
Birmingham
Bradford
Bristol
Cambridge
Cardiff
Coventry
Derby
Dundee
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Leeds
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Manchester
Newcastle
Norwich
Nottingham
Scunthorpe
Sheffield
Southampton
Swansea
York

Click here to see where I am on weekdays using Civil 3D.