Advance Your Workflows with Civil 3D 2017 v1 Updates
As changes in Autodesk licensing occur, you will find yourself getting periodic updates throughout the year. Why wait until the next release when you can download them immediately from the Autodesk Desktop App (Application Manager)? In previous versions of AutoCAD® Civil 3D®, these were referred to as Productivity Packs. Once you have installed the update, you can then access them from the Toolbox tab of your Toolspace (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
This article will look at some the advancements made possible with the Civil 3D 2017 v1 update. Many of these items are updates to previous productivity packs, so some of these may be in the 2016 release.
What Is Within Civil 3D 2017 v1?
The New Functionality Includes:
- Analyze Gravity Networks
- Add Property Set Data to Labels
- Swap Pressure Network Parts
Updated functionality includes:
- Traverse Editor
- Traverse Adjustment
- New subassemblies
- Autodesk Civil Data Translator (for 2017)
- Create 3D solids from Pipe Networks
- Rail Turnouts and Crossings
Swap Pressure Network Parts
It’s about time, right? Ever since the release of the Pressure Pipe tools, I get the question on whether or not you can swap parts. Well, now you can!
- Once you have laid out your pressure network, simply go to Toolspace, on the Toolbox tab, expand AutoCAD Civil 3D 2017 v1 Enhancements, Swap Pressure Network Parts. Double-click Swap Pressure Network Parts to launch the command.
- Select the pressure network part or parts to swap.
- You can select the pressure network parts in either plan view or profile view.
- The selection set must be limited to parts in only one pressure network.
3.The Swap Pressure Network Parts dialog box will appear; adjust your Replacement Parts and select OK (Figure 2).
Figure 2
Analyze Gravity Networks
You have Storm and Sanitary Analysis, Hydraflow tools as well as Infraworks to conduct your H&H analysis. So why this tool? Because you can do it right inside Civil 3D now! This utility enables you to resize pipes and reset inverts, and to compute the energy and hydraulic grade lines according to HEC-22 standards.
You can use this utility to:
- Iteratively analyze a network using appropriate rainfall data.
- Review results graphically and in a .csv file.
- Modify the results and re-run the analysis.
- Apply the results to the pipe network.
You’ll need to create catchments and assign them to the appropriate structures and then run the command. Choose the IDF curve, set the properties of the parts in the network, and then review the results.
There are two analysis types you can select (Figure 3):
- Resize Pipes and Reset Inverts – analyzes the flow through the pipes, and then resizes the pipes and resets inverts to accommodate the flow.
- Compute Energy and Hydraulic Grade Lines – calculates the energy and hydraulic grade lines, and then displays a graphical preview of the results.
Figure 3
As you move through the Analyze Gravity Network dialog box, you can specify the rainfall intensity-duration data to use and to select the Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) to use for analyzing and sizing the pipe network.
Rainfall File
Specifies the rainfall intensity-duration file to use for the analysis (Figure 4). The following file formats are supported:
- NOAA file (*.csv)
- H&H IDF Tabular file (*.idf)
- X-Degree file (*.csv)
Figure 4
Once you analyze your system, you are given the following options on how to accept the results.
- Export the Results to CSV and View in Profile – saves the results to a .csv file in a specified location and displays temporary graphics in an existing profile view so you can preview the results.
- Modify the Results – applies the calculated results into the Pipes page of the wizard so you can modify the data and re-run the analysis.
- Apply the Results to the Pipe Network – applies the calculated results to the pipe network.
Add Property Set Data to Labels
You can now add custom data to Civil 3D object labels by using property sets. 2016 was a start—you could add the properties to the object, but you couldn’t use that property in a label. So first we will add some custom properties to a pipe and a pipe label.
First thing to do is launch the PropertySetDefine command, or from the MANAGE tab on the ribbon, to the far right, select DEFINE PROPERTY SETS (Figure 5).
Figure 5
- Right click on Property Set Definition and select NEW. For this example, I will use PipeYear, as I want to label the year installed on my pipes (Figure 6).
- On the “Applies To” tab, select the type of object for which you want to create a custom property. I chose PIPE for this example.
- On the Definition tab, add your new properties. Click the top button on the right side (ADD MANUAL PROPERTY) to create the new property, and then fill in the data. I chose to call mine InstallYear.
- Select OK.
Figure 6
There is one more step in order to see this new property. On the Extended Data tab of your properties, you’ll need to select the object (or objects) to which you want these properties assigned and click the button at the bottom left of the properties, “Add Property Sets” (see Figure 7).
Figure 7
This will bring up another dialog box. Choose the property(ies) you wish to add to the objects and select OK. You will now see them in your properties dialog box.
That is where it ended in 2016. But now, with 2017 v1, we can add that to a label style! Once you go into your label style composer, and select one of the components to edit, you now have a third tab called “Property Sets.” You can select and add to your styles as needed.
Figure 8
The possibilities are endless with this function. The example in Figure 8 shows you how to add custom properties in order to label. But you can also add custom properties that are derived from the objects themselves. For example, if you want to know the volume of a surface, you have to view it in the Surface Properties, or use the Volumes Dashboard. But you can now view the automatic data for one object at a time. Very cool, in my opinion!
New Subassemblies
There is a whole set of new subassemblies included in this release including subassemblies for benches, curbs, ditches, shoulders, tunnels, and single-track and double-track railways. Ever want to edit the subassemblies that ship with Civil 3D? Well, you can’t. But these new ones ship with the PKT file that you can edit inside Subassembly Composer if needed. Just a few of the new ones are below:
- SimpleCutWithLanding: The SimpleCutWithLanding subassembly allows a simple landing/shoulder with a cut option. The subassembly only daylights in a cut situation.
- ValleyGutterSimple: The ValleyGutterSimple subassembly is a concrete valley gutter with user defined widths, concrete depths, and flow line depth. The width can be modified and the flowline stays at the center.
Figure 9
- ShoulderParabolicDaylight: The ShoulderParabolicDaylight subassembly provides rounding at the Point of Vertical Intersection (PVI) between the shoulder and daylight links as well as fillet rounding between the daylight link and target surface.
- ShoulderRoundedTarget: The ShoulderRoundedTarget subassembly provides rounding of a shoulder.
Autodesk Civil 3D Data Translator
You can use the Autodesk Civil Engineering Data Translator to translate AutoCAD Civil 3D files to files that can be used in Bentley GEOPAK and Bentley InRoads, and to translate GEOPAK and InRoads files to files that can be used in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
The commands for the Autodesk Civil Engineering Data Translator are available in the AutoCAD Civil 3D Toolbox.
The Autodesk Civil Engineering Data Translator requires an Autodesk 360 (A360) account and an Internet connection.
Traverse Editor and Adjustments
Use the Traverse Editor to create 2D traverses by entering data or by selecting a polyline from the drawing. After entering the data, you can send the traverse data to the Traverse Adjustment dialog box to apply an adjustment method.
You can enter traverse data in the Traverse Editor by creating traverse sides. Side types can be Point, Line, Chord Arc, Radial Arc, or Side Shot. The first entry must be a point of beginning (POB). See Figure 10.
Figure 10
Conclusion
I enjoy seeing the little changes throughout the year. Items such as adding property data sets and swapping pressure parts are needed right away, and shouldn’t wait until the annual release. I believe we will see many more changes throughout each version and although they may seem small, some are very powerful and important to everyday workflows.
Hope you enjoyed!
