Civil 3D 2010 now supports Windows 7. Finally, I can go buy my Windows 7 that I have been putting off for 2 weeks. Click on the link below for more information from Autodesk.
CIVIL 3D 2010 & WINDOWS 7
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Subscripts and Superscripts
I don't know if everyone knows this but if you are trying to create superscript and subscripts in autocad you can use the shift + ^ in order to make it work. See examples below.
1. 100^6 = subscript
2. 100 6^ = superscript
If this still does not work, go back into your text formatting editor, highlight the ^# and select the stack option.
1. 100^6 = subscript
2. 100 6^ = superscript
If this still does not work, go back into your text formatting editor, highlight the ^# and select the stack option.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
New Handouts for AU 2009 Are Now Available
I just wanted to let everyone know that most of the handouts for the classes at AU are now available. Please see link below. You will have to sign in to view a few of the handouts. In addition, I hope everyone has signed up for the virtual tour classes for AU.
AU Handouts
AU Handouts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Autodesk Virtual Tour
For those that are interested in watching the Autodesk virtual tour "See the difference with AutoCAD 2010" today I have provided a link below to register for the webcast.
View informative webcasts including:
* AutoCAD 2010 Tips & Techniques with Lynn Allen
* The AutoCAD Family of Products with Shaan Hurley
* The World of 3D Modeling with Heidi Hewett
Autodesk Virtual Tour
View informative webcasts including:
* AutoCAD 2010 Tips & Techniques with Lynn Allen
* The AutoCAD Family of Products with Shaan Hurley
* The World of 3D Modeling with Heidi Hewett
Autodesk Virtual Tour
Geo-referenced Images
Two weeks ago we were having problems editing and scaling geo-reference images that we received from TNRIS for the Town of Flower Mound. The aerial were 500 mb Tiff's which bogged our computer down. In addition, it had to refresh every time we zoomed in and out. On top of that, the aerials covered a large area and we only needed a small area covering our project site. The other problem we had was the aerials were in a different coordinate system. So I decide to do some research to see if anyone else had this problem. Well I did find a great post for geo-reference images that solved our problem. I just had to share this information with yall. I try my best not to repost other peoples work or take credit for their work, so I will provide a link to their information and website. Enjoy
(Thank you Lou for the post)
Mastering Graphics
Geo-Reference Images
(Thank you Lou for the post)
Mastering Graphics
Geo-Reference Images
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Hydraulic Calcs for Storm Pipe Profile Label - Part 2
So I finally got some free time tonight? Well tonight I will show you how to get friction slope. The pipe velocity is still in progress. I am having problems with the rounding methods Civil 3D uses versus flowmaster.
To calculate the friction slope is incredibly easy. The simplest form of the formula is taking you flow rate or Q and divide that by your K. Then take that answer and square it. (Q/K)^2.
I am still working out the bugs on the pipe velocity. The pipe flow rate must be typed in for each of your pipe sections in the pipes properties. Next add your pipe friction slope to your pipe label style. Be sure to set your precision to .0001 (See image below)
To calculate the friction slope is incredibly easy. The simplest form of the formula is taking you flow rate or Q and divide that by your K. Then take that answer and square it. (Q/K)^2.
I am still working out the bugs on the pipe velocity. The pipe flow rate must be typed in for each of your pipe sections in the pipes properties. Next add your pipe friction slope to your pipe label style. Be sure to set your precision to .0001 (See image below)
Where Has My Free Time Gone????
Wow it's been a while since I posted something new. Well I have been extremely busy, working late hours and also going to school full time at nights. It seems like 2 A.M. has become my regular bed time hour. Anyways, I should be able to post part 2 of hydraulics labels for storm pipe profiles tonight. It seem most of my hits has come from the post about hydraulics for pipe labels part 1. Anyways, I hope everyone has enjoyed my blog. Starting in December, I should be able get deeper into Civil 3D 2010, Map 2010 and a little on Navisworks.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Inserting Aerial Images
Hopefully I can clear up some issues here. I have noticed in a lot of blogs and forums there several techs are having problems using the MAPINSERT command in 2010. Well, I started searching around in the help menu and I notice that the true command in 2010 is MAPIINEST. Let me know if this works for you.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hydraulic Calcs for Storm Pipe Profile Label - Part 1
Well today was a pretty good day. My favorite team Notre Dame lost but at least my Texas Longhorns won :) Anyways, I was playing around with pipe labels today and notice a few new features for pipe label expression. Now you have an option to add items such as: flow rate, Darcy Weisbach factor, Hazen William Coefficient, energy grade lines, hydraulic grade lines, manning coefficien,...etc. So I decide to try to create a pipe profile label that would give my pipe capacity, velocity, depth of flow, friction slope and velocity head.
In this post I will show you how to create a profile pipe label that will calculate pipe capacity for you. First you will need to create 5 new expression. (PipeArea, WettedPerimeter, K (conveyance factor), HydRadius and PipeCapacity. Below are the 5 expressions I created and formulas I used to create this label. (You can named these expression to whatever you like or makes sense to you) After I created my label, I started changing the pipe slope and size to varify that I got the same information that FlowMaster gave me, which it did.
- PipeArea = (pipe radius)^2 * pi (3.14)
- Wetted Perimeter = pipe dia. * pi (3.14)
- HydRadius = PipeArea / Wetted Perimeter
- K = 1.48/n * PipeArea * HydRadius^0.66 (With some rounding, I used 114.3 for my (1.486/n) n = pipe coefficien which is 0.13
- PipeCapacity = K * (pipe slope)^0.5
- Then I created a simple pipe label style that would display the pipe capacity based of the expression we just created. See images below.
RCP Pipe Area
RCP Wetted Perimeter
RCP Flowrate
RCP Full Flow Velocity
RCP K
RCP Hydraulic Radius
RCP Pipe Capacity
RCP Friction Slope
Once you finish creating the pipe expressions then created a pipe label that uses these expressions.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Null Structures
Ok I was working with pipes night and I notice something that I never knew about. Did you if you wanted to add a null structure between two pipe section (if there is not null structure present) that you can simply just select on of the pipes, right click and select connect to part and select the other pipe, it will automatically created a null structure for you? Wow I hope I wasn't the last to know about this lol. See image below.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Undocumented Commands to Resolve Site Issues (2009)
Here is the listed of undocumented commands from Autodesk to resolve site issues such as overlapping objects.
Issue
When creating Site objects (using Alignments, Grading, or Parcels), you may end up with overlapping segments. In most cases, this will not create a problem. However, in some cases, you may experience drawing instability or AutoCAD® Civil 3D® may crash because of these overlapping Site objects. Some of the problems with grading in particular may appear to be general instability—such as a crash on regen, save, or AUDIT—where it isn’t easy to see which object caused the crash.
Important! These commands are not tools for general grading troubleshooting; they provide a potential solution for specific situations. If you submit a Customer Error Report with your email address, and the conditions of your issue are likely to be resolved by using these tools, an automated message will be sent to you referencing this technical solution. Please make a copy of your original drawing before running these commands if possible.
Solution
Anytime you experience problems with a drawing, you should always try using the RECOVER and AUDIT commands first. (For detailed information on these commands, refer to the product Help file.) If this does not resolve the issue, continue with the following suggestions:
Note: The following tools are only available if you have installed AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1 or a later version. You can use them to find and isolate overlapping (colinear) objects belonging to named Sites. They do not, however, diagnose exactly what may be causing a particular problem. Furthermore, they will not resolve every possible issue you may encounter.
To run, enter each command on the command line. These commands are not case-sensitive.
AeccFindSiteOverlaps
Start with this command, which will check for overlapping alignments, feature lines, and lot lines in a Site. A dialog box will be displayed, prompting you to select the Site to check. This command will mark any overlapping locations found with AutoCAD points, placed on the layer _OVERLAPPING_SEGMENT_LOCATIONS.
Note: To see the AutoCAD points better, you can use the DDPTYPE command to change the visibility settings if necessary, which will force a Regen. However, in cases with unstable Gradings or behavior a Regen may result in a crash.
Press the F2 button to review the command line. You will see the result of the check, and it will tell you which of the following commands to use to remove the overlaps.
Once you have performed the first set of recommended corrections, erase the AutoCAD points that were created and then run the AeccFindSiteOverlaps command again to see if any overlaps remain.
AeccRemoveDupFeatureLines
This command will move each overlapping feature line to its own individual Site, with the name "Overlap X" (Overlap 1, Overlap 2, and so on.). This command will not remove feature lines that use grading criteria. The thought here is that feature lines used simply as breaklines will be removed to separate sites but can still be used to create surfaces. Feature lines created from Survey data will only be included if they are part of a named Site.
AeccRemoveAlignmentsFromSite
This command moves alignments to the Alignments collection in Prospector. The alignments will no longer be part of the Site, but their names will be maintained.
AeccRemoveDupLotLines
This command performs the same function as AeccRemoveDupFeatureLines command above, except it will move overlapping parcel lot lines to separate Sites. It operates on the linework, not the parcels themselves, so removing some of the parcel linework to its own site may either create new parcels or remove existing parcels (a similar effect to moving the lines with the Move to Site command).
Additional tip: If, after removing any overlaps that can be found, there are overlaps reported for gradings, it may be possible to edit the gradings slightly so that they no longer overlap. For example, one case that may cause problems is when two grading footprints touch each other at a point where the grading projection lines overlap. In this case, the appropriate fix would be to remove the gradings and join the footprint. Use a single transition at that point instead of having two adjacent gradings.
Issue
When creating Site objects (using Alignments, Grading, or Parcels), you may end up with overlapping segments. In most cases, this will not create a problem. However, in some cases, you may experience drawing instability or AutoCAD® Civil 3D® may crash because of these overlapping Site objects. Some of the problems with grading in particular may appear to be general instability—such as a crash on regen, save, or AUDIT—where it isn’t easy to see which object caused the crash.
Important! These commands are not tools for general grading troubleshooting; they provide a potential solution for specific situations. If you submit a Customer Error Report with your email address, and the conditions of your issue are likely to be resolved by using these tools, an automated message will be sent to you referencing this technical solution. Please make a copy of your original drawing before running these commands if possible.
Solution
Anytime you experience problems with a drawing, you should always try using the RECOVER and AUDIT commands first. (For detailed information on these commands, refer to the product Help file.) If this does not resolve the issue, continue with the following suggestions:
Note: The following tools are only available if you have installed AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1 or a later version. You can use them to find and isolate overlapping (colinear) objects belonging to named Sites. They do not, however, diagnose exactly what may be causing a particular problem. Furthermore, they will not resolve every possible issue you may encounter.
To run, enter each command on the command line. These commands are not case-sensitive.
AeccFindSiteOverlaps
Start with this command, which will check for overlapping alignments, feature lines, and lot lines in a Site. A dialog box will be displayed, prompting you to select the Site to check. This command will mark any overlapping locations found with AutoCAD points, placed on the layer _OVERLAPPING_SEGMENT_LOCATIONS.
Note: To see the AutoCAD points better, you can use the DDPTYPE command to change the visibility settings if necessary, which will force a Regen. However, in cases with unstable Gradings or behavior a Regen may result in a crash.
Press the F2 button to review the command line. You will see the result of the check, and it will tell you which of the following commands to use to remove the overlaps.
Once you have performed the first set of recommended corrections, erase the AutoCAD points that were created and then run the AeccFindSiteOverlaps command again to see if any overlaps remain.
AeccRemoveDupFeatureLines
This command will move each overlapping feature line to its own individual Site, with the name "Overlap X" (Overlap 1, Overlap 2, and so on.). This command will not remove feature lines that use grading criteria. The thought here is that feature lines used simply as breaklines will be removed to separate sites but can still be used to create surfaces. Feature lines created from Survey data will only be included if they are part of a named Site.
AeccRemoveAlignmentsFromSite
This command moves alignments to the Alignments collection in Prospector. The alignments will no longer be part of the Site, but their names will be maintained.
AeccRemoveDupLotLines
This command performs the same function as AeccRemoveDupFeatureLines command above, except it will move overlapping parcel lot lines to separate Sites. It operates on the linework, not the parcels themselves, so removing some of the parcel linework to its own site may either create new parcels or remove existing parcels (a similar effect to moving the lines with the Move to Site command).
Additional tip: If, after removing any overlaps that can be found, there are overlaps reported for gradings, it may be possible to edit the gradings slightly so that they no longer overlap. For example, one case that may cause problems is when two grading footprints touch each other at a point where the grading projection lines overlap. In this case, the appropriate fix would be to remove the gradings and join the footprint. Use a single transition at that point instead of having two adjacent gradings.
Optimizing Memory Usage White Papers
Autodesk has posted a new white paper called Harnessing the Power of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010. This white papers provides you with great information about hardware requirements, optimizing memory usage, model optimization and best practices, and installing serice pack 2. I provided a direct link below to the white papers.
Model Optimization and Best Practices
1. stop caching layouts
2. maintain master drawings of common design objects
3. limit surface size
4. avoid surface snapshots
5. minimize the number of open drawings
6. reduce the frequency of automated operations
7. remove or simplify profile views
8. turn off labels
9. suppresse tooltips.....and many more
Civil 3D White Papers
Model Optimization and Best Practices
1. stop caching layouts
2. maintain master drawings of common design objects
3. limit surface size
4. avoid surface snapshots
5. minimize the number of open drawings
6. reduce the frequency of automated operations
7. remove or simplify profile views
8. turn off labels
9. suppresse tooltips.....and many more
Civil 3D White Papers
CER and how it works
For those of you who would like to know how CER (customer error reporting) works I have provide a direct link to Autodesk support page. This report basically pops up when civil 3D unexpectedly crashes or is closed improperly. I know everyone has experience this at one time or another. Hope this help you.
Autodesk support
Autodesk support
New Corridor Features
One of the new great featues in 2010 that I love is the ability to isolate corridor sections. Now you can simply right click on the corridor section you would like to edit and select isolate region. This will turn all the other corridors sections off for you. Once you are finish editing, just click on your corridor section again and select show all regions. See image below for an example.
Another great feature is the new boundary feature. In prior verions you would go into the corridor properties, select the boundary tab and select add interactively and you would basically trace around your corridor. Well you there is a new feature that you can select called corridor extents as outer boundary. The boundary is created from the outer most corridor feature lines. This feature will definitely save you some time.
Another great feature is the new boundary feature. In prior verions you would go into the corridor properties, select the boundary tab and select add interactively and you would basically trace around your corridor. Well you there is a new feature that you can select called corridor extents as outer boundary. The boundary is created from the outer most corridor feature lines. This feature will definitely save you some time.
