From the Ground Up

Previous Posts

• Above and below the ground

  Posted 07/20/07 by Jack Strongitharm

  This week I have been at the Transport 2007 conference in London and met Robert Strongitharm.
  Yes, someone with the same surname! Not many of us around you know.
  Don’t think we are related in any way.
  
  So as you know probably know, we have pipes in our Civil 3D program.
  But most people take these as being just drainage as it says pipes on the menu and buttons etc.
  But if you think a little outside the box they can be so much more.
  
  So if you look at the menu you have ‘Create Pipe from Object’, i.e. from a polyline.
  
  
  Nowadays you can either hire a utility survey company or buy equipment to radar scan the ground.
  
  Such a device
  
  If you create 3D linework from these measured points you have the line and level of the underground utilities.
  Then using this tool, create the pipe, cable gas main etc from the line.
  
  
  
  When you sample through an alignment you get the option to add the pipe networks.
  
  
  
  There you have it. A full understanding of what lies beneath.
  
  
  Does it clash, require diversion etc. It is one way of ensuring at the very least that your scheme will not have any hidden mysteries when those digging machines get out there and your neck is on the line. Diversions can take months to arrange, let alone divert them.
  
  Lets just move my tram line route away from the pipeline
  
  
  
  
  
  Now let’s reverse the idea!
  Overhead powerlines.
  When using plant on site near over head cables, contractors need to ensure safety on site and erect gantries etc to restrict plant usage in these areas.
  The pipe models do not necessarily need to be below ground.
  Using the same technique I captured these measured cable lines to create cross sections very quickly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I hope this gives you all some ideas.
  
  Even if you don’t have the 3D data for the utilities, you can always drape the lines from the plans you receive to the ground surface and then sink them using the ‘Feature Line’ level editor to the position that they should be for a least a guide. Better than nothing!
  
  
  
  Civil regards
  
  Jack Strongitharm
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  0 commentsIn From the Ground Up > General

• Hidden gem when selecting Points

  Posted 07/18/07 by Ove Cervin

  Hi
  Another day in the rainy city - here's the report from Gothenburg in Sweden.
  
  
  We got a tips the other day mentioning how to more easily select Points when using "Surface/Edits/Delete Points"
  Here's my Surface showing included Points.
  
  
  Normally when you use this function to Delete points you are prompted to select them one by one on screen. This can be a bit time consuming if you have more than 5-6 points.
  
  
  
  
  What was mentioned to us was that if you at this stage "Select points" type "C" on the Command line you get into the "normal" selection options where you can use "Crossing", "Window", "Fence" etc
  
  
  
  
  Resulting Surface
  
  
  Thanks for sharing this tips with us.
  See you in a few days Cheers / Ove
  

  1 commentsIn From the Ground Up > Tips and Tricks

• Visualisation for Engineers

  Posted 07/13/07 by Jack Strongitharm

  This week I had a request for some AVI's from Civil 3D.
  I did not really have much to my kit bag.
  The other thing in my mind is that I have been accepted to present a class at this years AU on Visualisation (Friday November 30th)
  
  So maybe time to have a quick look at what I could do. As you have potentially read in this blog I have already written a couple of posts on creation of your design to suit render materials, setting up a camera etc. But to date nothing on the camera fly through.
  
  It is not a big deal at all.
  
  From your model just go to 'View' menu and 'Motion Path Animations'
  
  Select a line you want to run your camera down (it should be a 3D one unless you want to look at nothing) and secondly you can select a point on your model to look at or another path to follow your eye to.
  
  Then, choose the duration of the video on that path and you will see that it will calculate the number of frames you require.
  
  Visual style, to begin with to test how it will look, you can choose a wireframe or realistic visual style. When we create the video, it can take a while if we go with the full render (like an hour). But choosing a CAD visual style it will take upto a minute. This then you can review the output before committing to tieing up your computer for an hour or so.
  
  Choose the video type, WMV works fine for computer video, but if you want to use this video and add titles, put on a DVD etc, choose AVI. AVI is a much bigger file.
  
  Finally resolution/video size. For test again use something small, but to be honest 640x480 is enough anyway for most uses.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Below is some output that I made this week with very little effort from the model I had already made or the Golf course I got from one of our partners in Sweden (Man and Machine, Thomas Nilsson).
  Each photo links through to a seperate webpage with a flash video. The video is small in size and time so that they stream to your pc quickly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  My class at AU will go into detail on what we need as an engineer to create good visualisations with of course as little effort as possible. As engineers this is currently the last thing either our mind, or potentially the managers mind due to time and cost restraints. Dont forget though that we are designing a 3D model and just by viewing it in 3D, with a realistic style and a couple of 3D object blocks it can look very real in next to zero time.
  
  This is until perceptions change and that really this is a very important part to any design work as you should experience your design before it is real (it is an Autodesk marketing slogan, but it totally correct). Also it can make the scheme happen as you need to prove to either client, public or planning departments the impact that the design has and on the surrounding area.
  
  Jack Strongitharm
  

  0 commentsIn From the Ground Up > Visualisation

• CUI Screen resolutions

  Posted 07/11/07 by Ove Cervin

  Hi
  Tip of today will be on using the possibility to change settings on the CUI to easily manage your different screen resolutions.
  I do frequently switch between the resolutions 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 and every time I switch I have to move/modify all dialogs on screen in Civil - Toolspace here, Catalogs here, command line at bottom and so on.
  Then I noticed that a solution to that is setting up a set of CUI where I can easily switch and all toolbars etc will automatically go to the proper place.
  
  In the screenshot below you can see the toolbar where it says "Civil 3D Complete". Click on the arrow next to it and you'll see all pre-set settings to choose from.
  
  
  In my case I have created a few called "C3D OC ....." where I have different settings depending on what I want to have available when using different resolutions on my screen.
  
  
  Use the "Customize..." at the bottom of this drop down list.
  After that is done (created your own pre-set of CUI) you might consider changing "Workspace settings" (below)
  
  
  Here it's a good idea to have "Automatically save workspace changes" turned on. Otherwise the program will not save your changes if you turn on a toolbar etc in your session.
  
  
  Hope that will help someone saving a couple of seconds now and then... ;-)
  
  Have a nice weekend! // Ove C
  ---
  Disclaimer: The opinions and material on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent Autodesk’s positions or opinions
  

  0 commentsIn From the Ground Up > Tips and Tricks

• Countryficated Profile Views

  Posted 07/03/07 by Ove Cervin

  Hi
  Last week I spent in Prague working together with some skilled people to get our Swedish Countrykit finalized.
  During the evenings (there's always an evening after work - but it might sometimes be a really short evening...) we spent some time in a nice restaurant. They served really nice meat... Like that! I can definetely recommend Prague for a vacation trip. A lot to see and explore.
  
  This post is a highlight on how really flexible C3D actually is. Yes - I know there are some limitations to it, but in general the program is far more flexible than most others I've seen so far.
  Yes - I have not seen all... ;-), but quite a few though.
  
  Please have a look and see how different it can be. This is also a reason why some people might see things in the product and think "Why is this here - we don't use that", or "Why does it work/draw that way?". In some regions it might be useful to have that specific workflow, setting or feature to be able to create what they need. C3D is really a global product.
  Below is a bunch of samples showing how different Profile Views looks in different countries. They have all been modified using the local countrykits.
  
  
  Austria
  View image
  
  
  France
  View image
  
  
  Germany
  View image
  
  
  Italy
  View image
  
  
  Sweden
  View image
  
  
  Switzerland
  View image
  
  
  UK
  View image
  
  If you're interested in some of the Profile Views - let us know and we might be able to send you a template with the styles.
  
  Until next week... Have a good summer! Cheers / Ove
  

  2 commentsIn From the Ground Up > General

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