Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015

Autodesk Official Press

Cyndy Davenport, Ishka Voiculescu

• Publisher: Sybex
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781118862230
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Informatique
• Subtopic: CAO-FAO

The most complete resource for learning AutoCAD Civil 3D

Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D is the ultimate guide to the new standard in civil engineering software. With combined experience in both civil engineering and Autodesk Civil 3D, authors Cyndy Davenport and Ishka Voiculescu guide you through the ins and outs of the program, from the fundamentals to the little-known tricks that make a big difference. The book focuses on real-world applications in professional environments, and presents topics and ideas not found anywhere else. Lessons begin simply, with an overview of the software and interface, and then gradually progress to more complex topics.

AutoCAD Civil 3D is the standard software for civil engineering and design. From surveying and mapping, to design, to documentation and analysis, the program offers expanded capabilities and complementary workflows, allowing easy integration with InfraWorks, Revit Structure, and more. The ability to complete a project within a single suite means increased productivity and continuity, which translates into quicker turnaround, better-designed structures, and streamlined project management. The savvy civil engineering professional must be well versed in the program's full functionality as it expands throughout government agencies and private companies. This book features in-depth coverage of topics including:

• Surveying, points, and alignments
• Profiles, corridors, and grading
• LandXML and LDT project transfer
• Visualization, sheets, and project management

The book also features downloadable datasets that enable you to access the lessons most relevant to your needs, and includes an objectives map to help you prepare for the Civil 3D certification exam. For the civil engineering professional hoping to remain relevant in a changing industry, Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D is the ultimate resource.

Chapter 1
The Basics

If you want to be a master in anything, you have to start with the basics. Since the Autodesk^® AutoCAD^® Civil 3D^® platform has evolved so much over the years, now more than ever you have to have a good grip on the basics. With every new release of the product many features have been enhanced, while other new ones have been added. In order to get familiar with the software you will need to go through many dialogs, ribbons, tabs, menus, and icons. Some of them may be familiar, while others will be new. This chapter will help you get used to both the familiar and the new. When you learn the interface of the Civil 3D environment and understand the terminology used in the book, everything becomes easier to use. So please arm yourself with patience and take the time to understand every part of the workflow.

Let's go ahead and start learning about the interface and Civil 3D–specific terminology. Toward the end of the chapter we'll dive into the use of the Lines and Curves commands that, coupled with the use of transparent commands, offer multiple ways of drawing accurate lines and curves.

In this chapter, you will learn to

• Find any Civil 3D object with just a few clicks
• Modify the drawing scale and default object layers
• Navigate the ribbon's contextual tabs
• Create a curve tangent to the end of a line
• Label lines and curves

The Interface

If you are new to Civil 3D or not very familiar with the Civil 3D world, this part of the chapter is especially for you, since this section will introduce you to the terminology used throughout this book. This release introduces a new startup interface that streamlines the design process. In previous versions, on startup Civil 3D created a new drawing based on a default template; with the 2015 release, you are presented with a startup dashboard, as shown in Figure 1.1. Within the startup landing dashboard four distinct sections are present: Get Started, Recent Documents, Notifications, and Connect.

• The Get Started section allows you to start a new drawing from a template that can be selected from the drop-down list or gives you the opportunity to open an existing file from a location, open a sheet set, find more industry-standard templates on the online repository, or open sample drawings that are provided through the software's installation.
• Recent Documents is pretty straightforward; it allows you to select and open a drawing from a list of most recently worked-on documents.
• The Notifications section provides feedback on software settings that might not be standard and suggestions related to the recommended values for these.
• The Connect section deals with the Autodesk online experience for AutoCAD-based products. While using the software, you can sign in with your Autodesk account to take advantage of the cloud-enabled features within AutoCAD products. This section also provides a means to deliver software feedback to the development team.

Figure 1.1 The new startup dashboard provides a quick way to get your design going.

The 2014 version introduced a new feature within the interface: tab-based access to all the files opened in the same working session. If you haven't experienced this feature in AutoCAD, you might be familiar with it in the latest browsers that use a tab-based display of open web pages, allowing quick access to any open web page, all in the same window. In the case of AutoCAD, this display shows the opened files. Using this feature, you can switch between the opened drawings just by clicking the desired file in the tab list. You can also switch between the opened drawings by using the old Ctrl+Tab key combination, but the tab-based file option lets you choose any drawing from the list of opened drawings without going through the whole list in the order in which the files were opened. On hovering over one of the file tabs, you will be presented with the option to switch between the Model and the Layout tabs for that file. Figure 1.2 shows the new tab-based file feature. Other options related to the management of that tab are available when you right-click the tab.

Figure 1.2 The tabbed file option allows easy switching between multiple open files and the Model and Layout tabs for the opened files.

Before we jump into the definition of the Civil 3D–specific interface items, we need to note that the overall organization of the tools and tool palettes is managed through workspaces. If you look on the top right of the window, as shown in Figure 1.3, you will notice that the current workspace is set to Civil 3D.

Figure 1.3 The wo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Publisher's Note
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Basics
• Chapter 2: Survey
• Chapter 3: Points
• Chapter 4: Surfaces
• Chapter 5: Parcels
• Chapter 6: Alignments
• Chapter 7: Profiles and Profile Views
• Chapter 8: Assemblies and Subassemblies
• Chapter 9: Basic Corridors
• Chapter 10: Advanced Corridors, Intersections, and Roundabouts
• Chapter 11: Superelevation
• Chapter 12: Cross Sections and Mass Haul
• Chapter 13: Pipe Networks
• Chapter 14: Grading
• Chapter 15: Plan Production
• Chapter 16: Advanced Workflows
• Chapter 17: Quantity Takeoff
• Chapter 18: Label Styles
• Chapter 19: Object Styles
• Appendix A: The Bottom Line
• Appendix B: Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 Certification
• End User License Agreement