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CI3704:Civil 3D Survey: What Is Behind the Curtain?

Seth CohenCAD Management Resources Inc.CAD Applications SpecialistAutodesk Civil 3D Implementation Expert,Level 5 Geospatial Applications Engineer

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Worked for a consulting engineering firm in New Hampshire… Surveying – Topo, boundary, as-built, landfill closure, GPS, etc. In field and in office. Design Technician – Worked on STP, bridge (roadway approach work), highway design and Bypass study projects for

VTrans, MDOT (Maine) and NHDOT (New Hampshire) CAD Manager – Managed, trained and supported users in 3 offices, on company and DOT workflows. Software used - AutoCAD, Softdesk, LDT, MicroStation and InRoads

Work for CADmanage CAD Applications Specialist

Provide Training, Consulting, Support, and courseware development for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, Map 3D, MicroStation, InRoads.

Train engineers at Ford Motor Company with their use of AutoCAD. Developed CAD and Design standards for ITD (Idaho DOT), and ALDOT (Alabama DOT). Worked extensively with FDOT (Florida DOT) in helping them develop an AutoCAD drawing template for utility

companies to use for better coordination of CAD files. Work with FDOT, providing documentation related to their implementation of Civil 3D.

Presenter National AUGI CAD Camps, Presented at AU

About Me

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Class Summary

In this class, we will discuss the required setup to automate survey functionality in Civil 3D, and how it can help reduce the amount of time needed to bring in points, automate linework graphics, and create surfaces. We will look at the critical importance of styles and settings. We will also examine some of the methods that can be used to create stakeout points for construction, and direct export for automatic machine guidance (AMG).

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this class, you will be able to: Start using Civil 3D survey functionality Understand what’s behind the scenes for styles and settings Create surfaces from survey data Get the data out of Civil 3D and into real world construction

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Agenda Introduction Civil 3D Interface (As It Relates To Survey Data) Civil 3D Setup Collecting Field Data Survey Database Survey Database and Drawing Interaction Survey Toolspace Revisited Creating a Surface from Survey Data Getting Data for Construction

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Survey functionality introduced in Civil 3D 2007 Some LDT survey concepts have been incorporated

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Prospector Tab Civil 3D objects (points, figures, etc.) are listed in the Prospector tab

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Settings Tab Styles will need to be developed for survey related data Styles include: Point Figure Network Description key sets

Settings tab is where some of the setup is done related to survey functionality There are several other locations as well (learn about these later)

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Toolbox Tab (Reports Manager) Used for reporting Example reports Radially staking out points Point List

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Survey Tab Main user-interface for survey functionality All survey related data is managed in the Survey tab All of the collections in the Survey tab are accessed external to the

Civil 3D drawing from the survey database

Opening and Closing the Survey Tab Enter OST or CST

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Ribbon

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Setting up Points First step, development of point related styles and settings Point styles automate the placement of symbols (e.g. manholes, trees, hydrants, etc.) Must create a point style for every type of point data you display on a topo map Label styles control the display of point information such as the northing, easting, elevation and

description

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Description Key Sets Means by which raw points will be created in the drawing Maps any and all point parameters including point style, full description, label style, layer, scale,

and rotate parameters. Can import LDT description keys (but….) Two methods to creating description keys

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Linear Features (old way) There are methods that a surveyor can adopt that automate linework creation (e.g. EP, Tree line,

TBC, etc.) when the survey data is brought into Civil 3D

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Linear Features (new way) No longer need to use old survey

command syntax Import … Field Book File LandXML File Point File Civil 3D points

Creates figures automatically using active linework code set and figure prefix database

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Linework Code Sets Civil 3D 2010 included additional functionality to automate linework creation Interprets field codes entered from surveyors into figures in the survey database Linework Code sets are displayed in the Toolspace under the Survey tab.

The linework code sets are stored in a separate file that has an F2f_Xdef extension.

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Figures A figure is a linear object (breakline, parcel line, graphical line)

Figure Styles Figure style controls the display, layers, and 3D geometry of a figure Displayed under the Survey collection in the Settings tab.

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Figure Prefix Database Figure prefixes are the means by which linework is connected to the appropriate figure style, layer,

and whether or not the figure should be a breakline or a parcel segment Similar to description keys Can also be set up in two different methods Stored in a Figure Prefix Database (FPD)

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Survey Networks Network style controls the display of the different components of a survey network

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Equipment Database Where survey equipment properties are defined Only used when performing a traverse analysis (e.g. Compass Rule, Least Squares, etc.)

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Automatic linework can save time completing the final drawing Has been around since the old DCA days (pre-LDT) Autodesk Fieldbook Language (.FBK)

Field crews are the key to linework automation When survey is collected properly Civil 3D will automatically draw the survey data with little

manipulation from the office technician

Automation occurs because of specific line coding and field collection techniques that instruct the software to connect the dots automatically

Depending on the equipment, specific codes are entered before or after the raw code,

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Line Coding The command to begin drawing a line is B or BEG. You only need to use this code once per

figure. It is also important that you place a numeric identifier at the end of the figure name to make it unique (e.g. EP1, EP2, TOP1, TOP2)

To end the line, simply move on to the next figure number, or enter E or END at the end of the figure

Can also use the CONT command to continue a figure.

Some equipment have line work commands already programmed into them

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Line Coding (cont.) Additional line codes that can be used are listed in the table below

For a full list of available commands and their parameters, review the file cmdhelp.ref. This file is typically stored in the C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2012\enu\Survey folder

Command DescriptionMCS Begins a curve with more than 3 points

MCE Ends a curve with more than 3 points

CB Closes and ends a figure adding a final vertex

CR Closes and ends a figure adding 2 vertices

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Line Coding (cont.) Some examples of codes are listed below TBC1 BEG TBC1 CONT EP3 BEG CL1 BEG C3

<three consecutive points for the curve (PC, POC, PT)> CL1 CONT CL1 END

Again, verify how data is entered into your equipment. You may want to test a small project to determine exactly how your equipment translates the field data into drawing data

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Linework Code Set Provides very powerful ways to create linework with minimal input from the survey upon collection

time Example… TBC H.5 V0 H.67 V-.5 H2.0 V-.47 H-5 V.02

H and V codes tell Civil 3D to create additional lines based on the horizontal and vertical offsets defined in the description. In Civil 3D Survey Toolspace,

additional figures appear as <description>.n, where n is equal to the number offset.

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Contains all survey-related data External of AutoCAD .SDBX extension Data in the .SDBX are stored in Meters, angles are stored in Radians. Survey database stores survey project settings Project’s coordinate zone Distance unit Angle unit Direction type

Coordinate zones same as defined by the Civil 3D Drawing Settings

Survey data stored in the .SDBX will be transformed into the current drawing automatically

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Survey User Settings Controls how the current Civil 3D user interacts with the survey features in the drawing Survey user settings are organized into categories and are stored in the CURRENT_USER hive

of the Windows® registry User settings can be exported (.SET file)

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Survey Database Settings Specific to each survey database Can modify project specific… Coordinate zone Distance and angle units Measurement corrections such as scale factor.

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Survey Database Collections A survey database expands to display data hierarchy into three root collections Import Events Networks Figures Survey Points

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Survey Database Collections Import Events Collection Displays each of the imports a user has done, and is stored in the .SDB file Import survey data into a survey database using the Import Survey Data wizard Once data is imported, an import event is created in the survey database. The import events functionality not only gives you a record of the imported survey data, it allows you to quickly

reprocess the survey data if the external survey files or Civil 3D settings/styles change.

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Survey Database Collections Networks Collection Displays each of the survey networks that are contained in the .SDB Survey observation management is done at the survey network node Each network contains the components you will use to manage it A network contains components

Control points Non-control points Directions Setups Traverses

To bring data into a survey database, right-click on the Import Events collection.

You can have multiple networks in one survey database. However, each network must contain unique point numbers

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Survey Database Collections Figures Collection Figures are stored in the survey database Can be inserted into any drawing from the database Established from survey points Will update if points are changed

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Survey Database Collections Survey Points Collection Displays the different point information contained in the survey

database Point collection consist of the following and will display an icon that

tells you the state of the survey point Control Point – Survey points displaying this icon represent control

points in a survey network. Non-Control Point – Survey points displaying this icon represent non-

control points in a survey network. Setup Point – Survey points displaying this icon represent setups and

have not been adjusted. Adjusted Point – Survey points displaying this icon represent points

whose coordinates are a result of an adjustment, such as a traverse or least squares analysis.

Observation Side Shot Point – Survey points displaying this icon represents side shot observations.

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Three types of objects represent data inserted from a survey database Networks Figures Points

Each survey object has an object style to manage its visibility properties When survey data is inserted into the current drawing, the Prospector tab is used to manage and

will list the inserted objects

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Survey Objects Network Objects When a network or traverse is placed into the drawing,

a survey network object is created. If a network or traverse is inserted into the drawing, a network or traverse icon respectively is displayed next to the object in the Prospector tab

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Survey Objects Figure Objects When a figure is inserted into a drawing from the survey database, a Civil 3D Figure object is created

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Survey Objects Point Objects When a survey point is inserted into a drawing from the survey database, a Civil 3D COGO Point is created Points will have a special attribute that indicates that is was created from the survey database Survey points cannot have their locations and raw descriptions changed in the drawing because they are

locked and set by the survey database (kind of )

You can still change the point style, rotation, or layer

Points can be controlled by the description key set defined in the active drawing

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Inserting and Removing Data from the Drawing Survey tab provides convenient methods to insert and remove survey data into the drawing Insert/Remove options at each of the collection nodes

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Inserting and Removing Data from the Drawing Inserting Survey Data into the Drawing Two ways to insert survey data

Right-click on collection node In some cases, “drag-and-drop” operation Just right-click anywhere

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Inserting and Removing Data from the Drawing Removing Survey Data into the Drawing Two ways to remove survey data

Simply erase the object in the drawing Use the Survey tab and issue Remove from drawing command SURVEY DATA WILL NOT BE DELETED!

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Zooming and Panning to Survey Data All survey data can be zoomed or panned to by a right-click menu

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Browsing to Survey Data Survey data in the drawing can browse back to the data in the survey database Select survey objects in the drawing and then right-click in the drawing, or look in the ribbon.

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Updating Survey Data in the Drawing from the .SDBX To update survey data in the drawing, use the same methods mentioned before When updated data is inserted, the old data in the drawing will get deleted

Updating the .SDBX from Survey Data in the Drawing Survey objects in the drawing can update the survey database Select and right-click the object, and select Update survey data from drawing

If a backup of revisions is necessary, you can export the entire network to another fieldbook file and rename it with an appropriate revision naming convention

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Properties List Properties list displays when a survey item is selected When changes are made, the items will display in bold indicating that you have made a modification. You will

need to Save the data to update the survey database. Properties are available for the following items

Control points Non-control points Directions Setups Traverses Figures

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Items List View Item collections list data within a selected collection Very useful for editing multiple items

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Editors Editors can be opened from most collections To open an editor, right-click the collection, and then choose Edit from the context menu that appears. The

editor is then displayed as a tab in the Panorama window

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Surface creation can be automated and take minutes when Civil 3D is setup properly The following procedure is used to create a surface from survey data:

1. Insert the survey points into the drawing from the survey database.2. Create a point group that will only contain the existing points that should be used for surface

creation.3. Create an existing surface with the appropriate surface style associated to it.4. In the Surfaces definition node, right-click on the Point Group category, and then add the

point group created in step 2.5. Right-click on the Figures collection in the Survey Toolspace, and then choose Create

Breaklines from the context menu that appears. Toggle the breaklines you want to add to the existing surface on or off.

6. Add an outer boundary to the surface.

(NOTE: Only breaklines that are toggled on will be available to be added to the surface)

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Staking Out the Corridor Select the Corridor, and use the Points from Corridor command to stakeout points from a corridor object Export the points to a point group, and then export to a .CSV file

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Reports Reports Manager

Points_List Station Offset to Points Radial_Stakeout Points_in_CSV

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LandXML Export LandXML

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Third Party Apps and Plug-Ins The Trimble plug-in can be downloaded free of charge The extension allows you to communicate directly with data collectors from within Civil 3D

Trimble Link Website

http://www.trimble.com/link_ts.asp?Nav=Collection-27103

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Sincpac - Extensions for Civil3D Extends the functionality of Civil 3D For a complete list of available tools, you can download them at the link below

http://www.quux.biz/Default.aspx

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CI3704: Civil 3D Survey: What Is Behind the Curtain?

Thank You!

www.cadmanage.com

Seth Cohenscohen@cadmanage.com