Inside Civil 3D Autodesk uses the common names and terms for civil engineering and survey stuff. However, Civil 3D Features (collected programming objects that work together) can and do behave quite differently from old school CAD objects. We all stumble over this Civil 3D reality a bit.
Last time we talked about Civil 3D’s outwardly convoluted mechanics of Point Style editing and the four-part resolution of Point display. See that Civil 3D Point Edits post and video. Civil 3D is much more capable, adaptive, and robust. Civil 3D comes with the need for an increased level of systems management accountability. That accountability is both personal and corporate.
Do Civil 3D Templates Help You Dodge Those Bullets?
That depends on the quality of the templates (there is always more than one) and the systems you employ to manage the changes that will always occur within them.
In truth, the Autodesk tool makers dump most of the problem on the Civil 3D user.
The managed systems, resources, and structures supplied in the Framework for Civil 3D do help rectify the challenges. Even those powerful Framework for Civil 3D capabilities cannot absolve the personal and corporate change management accountability. They can significantly reduce the man-hours you and your organization spend at the change management accountability.
Speaking of names designed to confuse the innocent, the Civil 3D Alignment remains one of my favorite misnomers in Civil 3D. In training I like to tell folks to internally rename the Alignment to…
The Design Control Manager for Civil 3D
Whether we like it or not, the Alignment inside Civil 3D does a lot more than provide the classic horizontal control for linear structures. Autodesk arguably made the Alignment and Corridors the most powerful set of tools available to skilled Civil 3D users.
If you want to actualize the full production capabilities of Civil 3D, you need to understand the Design Control Manager both in depth and in detail. I prefer to call these continuously improving set of Alignment resources…
The Book of Alignments
You can Register and get access to the entire Book of Alignments and much more Civil 3D help and video resources for free. Here’s a partial selection of some links from the Book of Alignments. Most include videos:
Civil 3D 2018 Alignment Updates
Civll 3D 2018 Connected Alignment Upgrade
- The 2018 Connected Alignment Curb Return Alignment type and some uses beyond the obvious in Civil 3D design.
Offset Profiles in Civil 3D 2018
- The practical issues of Offset Alignment and Offset Profile creation and use - More on Connected Alignments too.
Multiple Dynamic Baselines in Civil 3D 2018
- Why and How Multiple Dynamic Baselines change both the mechanics and iterative results of Corridor modelling in Civil 3D.
C3D 2018 Superelevation and Offset Profiles
- Do slope controlled Offset Profiles work with Superelevation? Includes a video with complex Assembly demo.
Alignment Essentials
Civil 3D Alignment
- The Mission Critical nature of Civil 3D Alignment Features
Civil 3D Alignment Types
- Alignment Types - purposes and tasks in Civil 3D
An Alignment in Civil 3D
- The Design Control Manager in Civil 3D
Baseline Civil 3D Alignments
- Alignments and their important Relationships in Civil 3D Design
The Alignment End View in Civil 3D
- The role of the Alignment in Publish on Demand