From the Ground Up

Fast Corridor 3D Orbit

 

I am sure you have all found that spinning a corridor in a 3D view can be a bit sluggish.

This is because you are probably drawing every single featureline, link surface, point marker and shape.

The reason the corridor has these components is to be able to create volumes and surfaces to the formation (datum) etc at any moment.

This factor applies to everything else in Civil 3D, the more you display the more your computer/graphics card has to handle.

So what do you want to see in the 3D view? 

More than likely just the top surfaces and lines so you can see how the model is formed and tied back into existing ground.

The display is all controlled by the corridor code set style.

So if you create a code set style with only the lines and links you what to see it works perfectly.

Make style for feature lines, point markers and links with everything turned off

Turn off the visibility in plan and model views

To refresh the feature line style, you may need to uncheck the parameters, hit apply and then recheck.  The corridor will then rebuild with all your styles implemented.

Now try to orbit, works like a dream!

Even in realistic it works really well.

 

You do want to use that drive tool in the Subscription Advantage Pack don’t you!!

Bliss!

As I mentioned this applies to everything else,

A little fine tuning on your styles and careful to what you display makes Civil 3D run like a rocket.

Also saves your eye sight from looking at lots of thin lines!

Jack Strongitharm

Irish West Coast AutoCAD Civil 3D User Day

Had a great event in Oranmore near Galway, Ireland with a great bunch of users supported by Amicus Technology.

Also some great different applications of Civil 3D being used such as

canals, dredging, bathymetric surveys, lidar etc

A lot of positive vibes in the room as people are finding their way through the product to their advantage now.

Jack Strongitharm

COGO Points to Feature line

Hi again,

I read something on the discussion group about a question whether there are any clever ways of creating a Feature line from COGO Points.

After some thinking I came up with this, and it is an “semi automatic” way  ;-)

Here we have four COGO Points with elevation.

Sample Points…

Start the command for “Create Feature line”

When asked for “Specify start point:” (below) – type ‘pn  (Enter)

You’re asked to type range of Points to trace

Type “1-4” to trace the four points in this example

For every vertex you get prompted with a question whether you want to change Grade or Elevation etc. Hit Enter and it will get the Z-value your COGO Points have.

This is what the Command line says

In the end we have a new Feature line with elevations from the COGO Points.

Just a note:  The Feature line is not connected to the COGO Points in any way. This is just a way to use the coordinates from the COGOs when creating a Feature line.

// Ove

Text to COGO – Back again… (Part 2)

This post is a follow up to last post on this topic. Here are the added extra steps using a Map Query to create a Report.

In the end we want to achieve a list of XYZ-coordinates for the text objects we had (see Part 1)

If you are using a Map Query you have the option to create an ASCII-file report of the result. See below

Under Options we can add what data we want reported. This will be list of X, Y and Z coordinates to be imported by C3D as COGO Points.

Use the button for Expression (below) and select, one by one, the values for .X1 and .Y1 under Properties.

Then, as the last value, we pick the Z-value under Object Properties for the text

Go down to the Content under “Text”

This is how the dialog should look in terms of selected values. Then set a file name for the report.

In the end the report will look similar to this. It can then be imported as COGO Points in the C3D interface

 

// Ove

This is where we’re heading… the word is out there

 To the discussion...

/ Ove

Text to COGO – back again… (Part 1)

Hi there,

This issue is coming back to me again and again…  ;-)

Customers with C3D installed are asking how to get an ordinary ACAD text object in to a COGO with Z elevation.

This first post will show how to set the correct Z-value to the text objects. (Those can later be used as source data for a Surface)

Here is one way (I am sure there are several more…   …and also a few intelligent .LSPs out there)

If you have the drawing with your text objects, saved and closed, you create a new drawing for the upcoming result. The new drawing will contain your Z-elevated text objects.

- Here is a screenshot from the drawing containing simple text. Save and close that drawing.

 

- Create a new drawing where the result will be inserted.

- Change to Map 3D Tool-based UI in the bottom right corner

 

- Use the “Home-tab” and attach the drawing containing the text objects you had.

 

- Under the “Create-tab” you will use the “Query-tool”.

 

- In the dialog (on the left part), make sure you use the settings “Location – ALL” and also add “Property – Object type Text”

 

- Under Options, in the same dialog, use “Alter Properties” and (if you like) set color to be different, Layer to be different than the original texts etc)

- Important here is to use “Elevation” as a altered setting. We want the new text objects to end up at a proper Z-elevation and not stay at Z=0 as the original ones.

  

- Select Elevation and then the “Expression-button”. Browse down to Object Properties and further down…

- …until you find “Text” and “Contents”. This will bring the text content (containing information of the proper Z-value to be used) passed over to be used as new Z-value for the new text objects. 

- When we select “Draw” in the main part of this Query dialog we get all texts in with the new, altered, properties (such as color, layer AND z-value)

 

I hope you will see from this that Map is really useful to achieve some tasks that will help us creating C3D input etc from various sources.

Coming up next:  Create a Report to ASCII and read that in as COGO-points (Part 2)

// Ove

UK Civil 3D User Day - Photos

This last week was the Civil 3D User Day in the Autodesk office in Farnborough.

It was a great well attended day, below are some photos

Me doing my part on the subs pack

Dan Philbrick and Peter Funk live via Video feed for Q & A (I think I was suffering from the previous days travel!)

Bruce Harfield of 3AM Solutions presenting Dynamite VSP

 

Mat Day of Bluesky

Neil Brooker presenting LandXplorer

A great day and I look forward to meeting the group in Galway this Wednesday

Jack Strongitharm

Where are the subscription advantage packs?

The British English version of this pack along with all the other subs packs for the Autodesk products are tied with the launch of the other European languages which is for the end of November.

So those who got it in the first two days, you are the lucky ones!

I will post if anything changes.

To keep you going here are some videos to have a watch in the meantime

http://www.subscriptionvideos.com/subscription_civ3d_video.html

Also on Youtube an Interview with Dave Simeone about the point clouds

Jack Strongitharm

AutoCAD Civil 3D UK User Day - Farnborough (Agenda)

Here is the confirmed agenda for next Wednesday and I can now write down the focus of the day and my session, 'Subscription Advantage Pack'.

I apologise for having the day on half term week! (I will learn for next time as my son isn't at school, DUH!)

There are still a couple of places left for those who want to come a see some great new features live and also some great presentations from our partners.

Please register so you get fed, bacon butties will be waiting for you in the morning!

Register here

Agenda

9.00 –   Arrival and coffee

9.30 -   Introduction

Civil 3D Subscription Advantage Pack – Jack Strongitharm (Autodesk)

10.30 -  Leica Laser Scanning – a presentation from Steven Ramsey (Leica)

11.00  - Coffee Break

11.30  - Tips and Tricks – Out of the box tips from Jack Strongitharm (Autodesk)

12.00  - Dynamite VSP – a presentation from Bruce Harfield (3AM Solutions)

12.30 -  Lunch

13.00 -  Drainage discussion – a presentation from Ian McGregor and a virtual Chris Maeder (Autodesk)

13.30  - Beyond aerial photography – A presentation from Mat Day (Bluesky)  

14.00 -  LandXplorer – a presentation by Neil Brooker (Autodesk)

14.45 -  Coffee Break

15.00 Q&A with Dave and Dan (live from Manchester, New Hampshire)

15.30 -  Autotrack in 3D – a presentation by Savoy Computing

16.30 -  Project clinic – Users to submit questions and drawings that they need some help explaining

17.00 -  Close 

Jack Strongitharm

The biggest release this year!

And you thought it was Windows 7!!

Well you more than likely can't get that just yet, at work anyway.  However I do like it!

So the rumours were true, we have released a bucket load of extra functionality to get even more from Civil 3D 2010 and also introduce some needed checking tools, for me 'Sight Distance Analysis'.

You can probably work out why I was over in Manchester, New Hampshire a couple of months ago.

As you may have read there are multiple language versions to be made available in due course, but in the UK and Ireland we have our own British Language version, so chainages and levels rather than stations and elevations.

To avoid the confusion, the British English version is also available today on the subscription center

And yes roundabouts are on the left hand side!, the correct side of the road.

Lots more to come on this shortly.

Jack Strongitharm