April 1, 2016 – Autodesk releases an update to Autodesk Geotechnical Module 2016 for AutoCAD Civil 3D.
The Autodesk Geotechnical Module 2016 latest update is delivered to subscription customers typically through the new Autodesk Desktop app. Presently there is no way to get back to the readme in the Desktop app after install. Here’s the link to the readme.
Autodesk® Geotechnical Module
“…is designed to integrate geotechnical data with AutoCAD Civil 3D and provides the ability to build and manage complex Civil 3D surfaces and profiles in geotechnical data into BIM workflows”
The Geotechnical Module for Civil 3D has been around since the 2015 release and is developed by Keynetix, Ltd in the UK.
The install adds a new Ribbon and therefore changes the stock menus in Civil 3D. Yes, it has a initial British flare, but you can change that.
Here’s a link to the From the Ground Up blog post by Jack Strongitham on the initial Geotechnical 2016 release. The post includes some helpful install instructions.
Here’s the link to the Keynetix YouTube channel. There are basic Geotechnical Module training video lists there.
A YouTube Video of the initial 2016 release that covers the included features.
The Autodesk® Geotechnical Module consists of the following features:
- Import borehole data
- Create 3d borehole modules
- Display 2d borehole strip diagrams
- Display 2d borehole diagrams on Civil 3D profiles based on a buffered alignment
- Create and manage Civil 3D surfaces based on borehole data
Note that, according to the readme, the Geotechnical Module employs AutoCAD primitives and results can be employed in other AutoCAD based product. That isn’t technically exactly correct as the product does employ Civil 3D Features and Styles.
The Geotechnical Module employs an external Microsoft SQL Server Express database to help maintain your customizations and manage the diverse geotechnical data in projects and the displayed results in Civil 3D. The data can be related to Civil 3D Alignments.