2D to (Civil) 3D - Varsity Views on Civil 3D

Surface-to-Surface vs. Cut-fill from Sample lines

Related to my last post, I thought I'd share with you something that comes up in my discussions with not just students, but professional as well.

When Civil 3D is so advanced, why do we still use End-Area method from cross-section to cross-section to compute quantities (Civil3D supports both)? And connotation there is that end-area (EAR) method does not produce accurate quantities, and perhaps surface to surface comparsion or FEA type analysis would yield better results. So, in some respects, accuracy is compromised, however, let's look at the positives of using EAR method:

1) Calculations generated by EAR method can be back-checked by hand, even without using a software. Trusted old gadgets like Planimeter can measure surface areas of cut and fill shapes on a piece of paper with printed to-scale cross-section. Whereas, surface-to-surface calculation does calculation by mathematical algorithms used by the software, which could vary from application to application.

2) Most important, however, is the fact that knowing a final total cut or fill number (which surface to surface quantity computation produces) is not a good measure of how a highway project is progressing in terms cut or fill. Contractor has a need to know how to move dirt around, and schedule activities around it. Without knowing station-by-station progress, it would be hard to do that. There's a pay item in construction documents called "mobilization", which accounts for such activities and allows a contractor to bid accurately. Hence, the feature in 2009 release - Mass Haul Diagram, which presents a graphical view of material moved in the proposed design site, displaying balance points, free haul and overhaul regions, and grade points.

However, there's place for both surface to surface and end-area based calculations. First option is great for:

1) getting a quick idea of net-net on a project to help you quickly balance or modify design (e.g. changing design profile), or

2) computing quantities on a project which does not lend itself or warrants linear section-by-section calculations, e.g. borrow pit, silos of material, etc.

So, I guess my point is that it doesn't have to be either-or situation - you can use both to help you make better design decisions, or use the one that suits your needs better. In case you're wondering, Surface-to-Surface (or as some people call it DTM-to-DTM) feature is available under Surfaces > Utilities > Volumes. All it requires is selecting the appropriate two surfaces that need to be compared for "trapped" volume in between.

Civil3D 2009 System Requirements..

Just so you know before you invest in a new laptop for the upcoming school year, I thought you may benefit from knowing that the system requirements for 2009 version. The recommended RAM has gone up from 2 to 3 GB, as can be expected with many graphics applications (I ran it with 2 GB, and it worked fine as well).

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Recommended System Requirements

AutoCAD® Civil 3D® Recommended Configuration (excluding server components used with project management capabilities):

• Intel® Pentium® 4 (3 GHz or higher); AMD Athlon™; multiple processors supported, dual-core supported
• 32-bit only: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Ultimate/Business/Enterprise, Microsoft® Windows XP (SP2)

Note: Windows XP 64 and Windows Vista 64 are supported in 32-bit compatibility mode only

• 3 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space for installation
• 1280x1024 display with true color, 1600x1200 or greater recommended (OpenGL® accelerator with full OGL ICD support not required)
• MS-mouse compliant
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or later)
• DVD drive

Earthwork/Cut-fill calculation - Part II

Now that 2009 version is out, you'll notice that snapshots I share with you on my blog from Civil3D look different (actually, cooler!) since 2009 Civil 3D has a new interface. If you haven't downloaded 2009 version already, visit our Student Community site and grab it. As I had posted already, besides the new look, it's got plethora of new features and enhancements, especially one related to my discussion topic today - Mass Haul Diagram (which I'll cover later).

So, as you noticed in my last earthwork post, we were putting together the pieces of the puzzle to get to the stage where we could "sample" the corridor.So, in theory, what we are trying to achieve is sample (query/collect information) the corridor by creating "sample line" objects which cut through corridor and the "datum" surface we extracted. And next step following it would be to run quantity take off criteria to compute the actual cut and fill quantities per station.

Back to my original thought of establishing sample lines, simply go to Sections > Create Sample Lines, and then notice that by default, three objects that will be sampled include: Ground Surface, Corridor, and Surface extracted from the corridor.

Next, you choose which option to use to create the sample lines, and in most cases, you'd start out with "By Range of Stations" options.

Two important fields to pay attention to in the next dialog box: Left and Right Swath widths. And what that means is how far on left and right of alignment do you want to sample the data? (It can always be changed later, so least stressful option is to go with defaults). And that's IT! Once you have the sample lines, generating volume calculations is a piece of cake, by Sections > Compute Materials.

After picking an alignment and sample line group (yes, you could have more than one sample line group), in the compute material box, select "Earthwork" criteria. This would make your task a lot easier, since all you have to do is map the names that represent Ground and Datum surfaces.

Finally, select the report generation command, Sections Generate Volume Report, and voila - you just computed earthwork quantities for your highway project! (picture below)

North American Strategic Univ. Team

Well, finally a post not related to Civil3D (I hear from many friends and family who read my posts that I tend to keep my blog too formal..) so you get to know my brilliant team. It's hard to get everyone together at one spot, unless it's for one of our staff meetings (and guess where this one was - Epcot, Orlando, FL). Wouldn't you love working for a company that holds its meetings at a theme park?

Civil 3D 2009 posted on Student Site

Yes, you'd better believe it..2009 version is now posted on Student Community site. It's packed with great new features to give students/faculty even more tools to accelerate the learning process. First of all, the interface's refreshed new look is quite eye-catching. And on top of that, there are numerous survey enhancements, ability to handle large surfaces (e.g. LIDAR data), mass haul diagrams, tools for criteria based design, storm water designs, etc. Check out this link to go over all new features in this slick showcase.

So....If you're a graduating in April/May this year, this would be your last chance to get your hands on this latest student version release. So, grab it while you're still a student! You will then have 13 months to fine-tune your skills at home, learning while you're earning :-)

NorthWORST Airlines..

As Delta and Northwest discuss their merger, I thought I'd share my experience from couple of weeks ago...

As I awaited my departure out of Tampa tonight, I feel compelled to write this post. Such experiences are what earn us the road warrior medals of honor...from time and time again. Not that air travel ever was that exhilarating, it seems airlines now go the extra mile to suck the last bit of fun out of it..as if on purpose.

Today, I was supposed to be on Northwest flight via Memphis with 24 minutes to a connecting flight. And as NW pretty much delays all flights due to either weather, technical difficulty, or some unforeseen reasons always, I suspected tonight might become an interesting story. So, I got put on Detroit flight, which was delayed by an hour, and it turned out NW canceled all flights out of Tampa! It had to be the first time I heard flight cancellation due to lightening messing up electronics of all 3 planes!

Well, braveheart me, I quickly switched my plans to get on Southwest..hoping for at least a departure..and now SW has also been delayed twice. I am hoping that it doesn't get canceled..or else, I'll have to write tonight off as a trip and dinner at the airport....and not to mention checking-in twice after spending hours in lines..and clearing security twice was just the icing on the cake!

Upcoming Civil 3D webcast!! Don't Miss It

I have a Civil 3D webcast coming up on April 24th (11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon Pacific Time)

Here is what we intend to cover:

Join us for this live, one-hour webcast to hear about the future of civil engineering in post-secondary education and how 3D modeling tools such as AutoCAD® Civil 3D® are helping students to prepare for their future. During this session, we will discuss industry trends such as Sustainable Design and society’s awareness for the need for more “green” infrastructure and how that affects the aspiring civil engineer. We will discuss best practices for integrating AutoCAD Civil 3D into your course and provide insight into how you can integrate AutoCAD Civil 3D and the Autodesk® Civil 3D curriculum into civil engineering courses. We will then provide a short demonstration on AutoCAD Civil 3D software, illustrating the key product features important for Civil Engineering post-secondary education.

Earthwork/Cut-fill calculation - Part I

I've been a bit under the weather since past week after visiting chilly McGill University, and sometimes such radical temperature changes can impact your body and mind in weird ways. And I was quite consumed with everything else including our internal conference in Vegas, which is the reason for delay in posting. Well, I am feeling much better now though, and found this "placeholder" post that I had created on computing earthwork quantities.

So, now that you have some familiarity with building alignments, profiles, and corridors, it's only natural to ask the question - How do I finally get some quantity takeoffs from all this work? Rest assured...you've done all the hard work already, so it's really not that time-consuming.

Step 1: Extract a Datum surface from corridor that can be compared to Ground surface

Right click on corridor > Corridor properties, and then under Surfaces tab, follow this 1-2-3 process:

        i) Set the Data type to Links, and Specify code to Datum.

        ii) Click left-most button Create a Corridor Surface

        iii) Click on PLUS sign

Essentially, the surface you have just extracted represents the datum line of corridor (above which is all pavement related material, which would not impact cut-fill quantities).

Step 2: Ensure that toe-of-the-slope line, limits-of-construction or daylight boundary is applied to this extracted surface so triangulations is contained within these limits. This would help ensure accurate computation.

Right click on surface > Add automatically > Daylight

That's it! You now have a surface built from your intelligent corridor model to work with, for quantity computation purposes, or to build a finished ground model with.

In the next couple of posts, I'll include the steps to take it to the next level, by first establishing "Sample Lines", followed by generating materials list using this extracted surface to compare with ground surface.

Hope you have fun!

Change agent

I have been a bit busy lately with several initiatives going on...hence, the delay in posting. I was in Las Vegas past week attending Autodesk's One Team Conference (OTC), where new products (2009) were demonstrated to partners, resellers, and internal employees, among sessions on leadership, selling strategies, etc.

Speaking of OTC, I recall a funny incident that took place recently at Wal-Mart. I am sure you're wondering what the connection is..well, I was wearing a T-Shirt I believe I got last year at OTC or AU, which has "Change" printed on the front side (and "Agent" on back). And someone asked me if I was an "Obama" supporter! Who says that political messages fall on deaf ears..and I am sure Obama would be happy to know that his campaign is working.

Anyway, the theme of the OTC this year was "Game Changer"....I wonder if Hillary or McCain would embrace that tag line now in November to compete with Obama's "Change" message :-)

I'll post more serious stuff later...

Civil 3D 2008 Scores A+

Isn't that the grade you'd like to see in all your classes you take, right? Well, Civil 3D was awarded "A+" grade by an independent Cadalyst Labs Review based on its strengths of dynamic modeling, ripple through change management, ease of use, among many other features.

As you all know by now, you can download the full commercial strength student version of Civil 3D from Autodesk's Student Community site, and make your life easier in class/senior/capstone design projects!