From the Ground Up

The Second Irish Civil User Day

After a very successful meeting in Galway in November, we have another meeting now planned to meet in Dublin.

The date is Thursday 11th February from 9am arrival for a 9.30am start to 4.30pm.

Presentations from

Neil Brooker - Autodesk

Ordnance Survey Ireland

Philip Kelly - Datech

and of course myself amongst others.

We have some exciting new topics to present, tips and tricks and more besides for both Civil 3D and Map 3D users.

Be part of a great community and meet your fellow professionals.

There will be a free lunch provided.

Thanks to the Ordnance Survey Ireland for hosting the event at their offices.

Phoenix Park,

Dublin 8 

Please register for the event here to guarantee your place and most of all that I have enough food organised!

Register

Jack Strongitharm

Advanced Cross Sections in Civil 3D - Video

So I am a bit conscious that I haven't posted many tips on here for a while.

Work has been a bit crazy over the last couple of weeks with a number of projects and visits taking up my time.

However, I thought I would have a quick go at getting these cross section techniques on a video so you can see them in action.

I have been updating my template for the UK and Ireland, which you can download below and copy across the styles for your own use if you like what you see.

Download _AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 UKIE Update 1

 

Hopefully we will get this in an installer soon also.

 

Link to video

 

 

Jack Strongitharm

Vector 1 Article on the Autodesk Dynamite Acquisition

 

Have a read

Jack Strongitharm

Last week – down south

Hi all,

As Jack mentioned a few days ago we did spend some days down in Munich to prepare country kits together with partners. It was a great week and I also learnt some new stuff myself   ;-)

In the evenings, of course after a loooong day, we enjoyed a dinner and some fun. Munich is a great place to visit.

We did some Snooker, even if I preferred relaxing and observing…

…and some desserts after a long day…

Sean Twomey were really skilled in his play with the balls after the dinner…

…and finally our own Brian Lopez copying the idea with the flying balls…  (Notice the smile on the ball…)

---

I am a bit surprised that I, still after several years here, get interesting questions from customers asking if we can do very specialized things I have never heard of   ;-)

Of course there are plenty of things Civil 3D is not initially intended to do – but people are anyhow achieving great results in many ways. But the fact I get to se and hear totally new ways to use it is really fun.

If I get allowed to show some of it here, I will.  It is sometimes a real mind opener.

// Ove

Even a five year old can use Civil 3D

Both myself and Ove are in Munich this week working on localisation requirements.

Along with us are people that work on Civil 3D from around the world.

(I am sure Ove maybe posting some photos soon, especially as he has been carrying his fancy camera around with him)

Anyway, one of the guys here Simon Noyola from Mexico showed me a video of his son presenting Civil 3D.

He is only 5 years old!

Amazing

Also below are some stats from some of our younger users and those that have gone into retraining and Civil 3D is top of chart.

Here are the stats by country

Jack Strongitharm 

Some more on Dynamite VSP

So yesterday I was still on holiday, so why my post was a simple cut and paste.

I am sure you have seen me mention Dynamite a number of times on this blog, as I was involved in creating the link up from Civil 3D.

At this point I cannot confirm anymore details than what was in the press release that I posted yesterday.

However below are some videos to explain what Dynamite is about.

Also I video that I presented at AU of a Civil 3D model.

Jack Strongitharm

Autodesk Acquires Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM Visualization Software Products

Autodesk Acquires Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM Visualization Software Products

Products Will Extend Autodesk’s Visualization Solutions for Civil Engineering and Architecture Projects

 

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Jan. 5, 2010 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM visualization software products and related assets. The products were purchased from 3AM Solutions, a UK-based privately owned technology company that develops visualization software for civil infrastructure. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM technology will help Autodesk automate the process of creating visualizations for projects made with AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Dynamite VSP offers simple and efficient ways to bring AutoCAD Civil 3D software data into Autodesk 3ds Max Design software.

 

“We believe that every design has a story to tell. This acquisition will greatly simplify the process of visualizing complex AutoCAD Civil 3D projects with 3ds Max Design,” explained Jay Bhatt, Autodesk senior vice president, Architecture, Engineering and Construction. “It will help civil engineers tell their story in the most compelling way possible — validating their designs in context and showcasing projects for public consultation and approval.”

 

“With Autodesk’s research and development investment capabilities, this acquisition is expected to benefit our existing users as our technology is taken to the next level,” said Bruce Harfield, director of 3AM Solutions. “We look forward to working with Autodesk to further integrate the technology into the company’s existing software and advance Autodesk’s visualization offerings for civil engineers.”

 

“This acquisition will help empower users to more rapidly produce high-quality visualizations of civil engineering projects — even those without detailed knowledge of 3ds Max Design,” added Bhatt.

 

Product Integration 

Autodesk intends to integrate core technology from the Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM products into 3ds Max Design and other existing Autodesk architecture, civil engineering and visual communication applications.

 

More information is available at www.autodesk.com/dynamite. Visit Autodesk’s YouTube channel to watch a short demonstration of the Civil 3D, 3ds Max Design and Dynamite VSP workflow.

 

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the impact of the acquisition on Autodesk's previously issued guidance,  product offerings, product integration plans and the performance of its business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: difficulties encountered integrating 3AM Solutions’ technology and business; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the acquisition; and whether Autodesk can successfully develop new products or modify existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance.

 

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2009, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2009, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

About 3AM Solutions

3AM Solutions is a UK-based, privately owned technology company that develops cutting-edge software for the civil engineering industry. Founded in 2001, 3AM Solutions was the original developer of Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM – the Autodesk 3ds Max Design based civil engineering visualisation products, used by many of the world's leading civil engineering consultants and government agencies. 3AM Solutions is a member of the Autodesk Developer Network.

 

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies ¾ as well as the last 14 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects ¾ use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

 

 

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2010 Autodesk, Inc.  All rights reserved.

# # #

 

From the Ground Up - A Year in Review

Thanks to everyone for following this blog from myself and Ove.

We are both heading off today for a long awaited holiday until our return next year.

This year as I am sure you can agree has not been the most fun with the whole world collapsing financially around our ears.

Luckily civil engineering has managed to stay strong and has been pushed through as one ways to bring the economy back on track.

Saying that though it has been one of the busiest years I have ever had at Autodesk with Civil 3D having an amazing year.

1.  A huge release in April with

New contextual user interface (which no one has not liked!)

Full 3D dynamic Junctions/Intersection design

Object projection

Enhanced survey features with automated linework

Integrated country kits packs of the world

plus much more

2. Autodesk acquires assests from Boss International

3. October brought a huge 'Subscription Advantage Pack' with support for

Point clouds

2D Dynamic Roundabouts

Bestfit geometry

Visibility checking

4. Amazing turn out for Autodesk University and the faithful Civil 3D users

Most of all the users are fully behind us and have built a great global community spirit with support of the blogs, Youtube videos and the discussion forums.  I see users helping out each other and sharing best practice every day.

There is plenty more to come from us, so keep the faith and keep reading this blog.

We wish you all a great holiday and new year and lets have an amazing new year.

Surveying with Trimble in Gothenburg

Wow!  We survived the cold!

This week winter came to Gothenburg. It was a cold day when we did some surveying here. We had asked Christian Voelkerling from Geograf (Trimble Reseller) to help out and support us.

Our plan for the day was to do surveying on an area where we had football/soccer fields and some paved areas and roads. Christian had brought us some new interesting tools to use. A Trimble R8 GPS/GLONASS receiver, a brand new Trimble VX Spatial Station and a TSC2 Controller.

As it has been a long time since I did proper surveying myself, besides a small detour with Jack a few times, I was keen on seeing the new equipment. Technology develops just so fast…  Everything here was used remotely form the controller. Great!  But what I also liked was that during our time spent on the GPS/GNSS, collecting various points, the Total station VX spent its own time doing laser scanning of an area, even as we went in to have a nice pizza and recover from the cold. Brilliant!!   the total station stored the laser scanned data in the same controller unit we were carrying around with the GPS/GNSS.  It was all the time possible to use the controller display and “see” through the total station camera, also adding new areas to laser scan.

We connected to the Swedish RTK system over GPRS (SIM card and modem integrated in the GPS/GNSS receiver). Good to get the correct positioning in an easy way. We managed to have a connection to 8-15 satellites during our event.

Christian and his equipment. Bright yellow boxes

My partner from CAD-Q, Thomas Nilsson. He is also the one creating the Swedish and Norwegian country kits for Civil 3D in my region.

Thomas with the GPS/GNSS receiver. My guess is it’s easier to maneuver the unit if he turns it around…  ;-)

This soccer area (gravel today) will be re-done with plastic “grass” next season. We checked all elevations today.

 

Here is a photo I took to show what it looked like in the controller when I was using the total station for laser scanning. Easy to see where it had been and also adding new vectors where I wanted it to scan more.

I will get back here again with the result.  I have already checked out part of the scanned data in Civil 3D 2010 with the SAP released Lidar Point Cloud data capabilities.

This is a quick shot of what it looks like right now – this very evening…

Take care and have a great Holiday

// Ove

Civil 3D and Trimble Business Center HCE - Machine Control

Take a look at this video where we took some of our clients into the desert to see some big machines

Civil 3D and Trimble Business Center HCE Video

Link to the Importer for Trimble Business Center

Jack Strongitharm

AutoCAD Civil 3D and Revit Structure working in Harmony - Bridge modeller

My AEC colleague that covers the Benelux area for all our Building and Civil products, Ives Veelaert has made a nice video that simply runs through how to use the new Bridge modeller in Civil 3D (from the Labs site) and also pushing it through into Revit Structure using the Subscription Advantage Pack.

You will notice that the user interface of the bridge tool is the same for both.

Also the Civil 3D Integration add on for Revit Structure where you can link upto the Civil 3D.dwg

I have broken the video into two parts so that I could load it upto YouTube.

Civil 3D - Bridge Modeller

Civil 3D into Revit Structure

Happy bridging

Jack Strongitharm