In Autodesk Civil 3D, we all know that the word template comes up time and time again. Heck. Out here in Civil 3D Land, we even have a Framework for Civil 3D product that we call Templates Only. Lots of customers say that Templates Only gets the essential Civil 3D Standards job done. Hoorah!
We all need many types of Civil 3D Templates to make Civil 3D work in our daily production environment. In our recent Multiple Types of Civil 3D Templates post, we discuss some of that in detail.
In all honestly, we cannot walk away from that template topic and neglect other important Template and Set resources that help us build those complex Multiple Baseline Corridors that appear, as if by magic, more and more frequently in our Civil 3D project work.
Sadly, many of the available basic Civil 3D Corridor web videos are like kitten or puppy videos less the cuteness. They seem to often miss the point of the practical but detailed civil engineering design challenges that Civil 3D is so good at solving.
The whole point of any effective Civil 3D Template is to increase standardization and reduce the repetitive and man-hour consuming work of our daily production tasks. Hence, we have the sometimes forgotten and overlooked…
Civil 3D Corridor Template
Civil 3D tools can greatly help improve and standardize the Corridor creation and editing processes. Corridor Templates rock because they can quickly match some commonly employed Corridor Properties from an external resource. The Corridor Template tool addresses some of the steps we must perform and apply time and time again.
Back in the day, Autodesk’s Jeff Bartles delivered a great how to video summary.
Corridor Templates and the Match Properties Tool
Corridor Templates mean we have yet another Civil 3D Standards folder location and structure to consider and include inside our Civil 3D Project Templates.
We have some questions:
- Are there both organizational standards and/or Civil 3D Project-based Corridor Template standards?
- What do our Corridor Template Standards drawings contain?
- Do we need a prototype mini Civil 3D project with built-in DREFs to help manage and maintain our Corridor Templates?
- Can a Project DREF Corridor drawing be the source of a Corridor Template?
- Would we want to do that?
Be forewarned and forearmed that the Corridor Surface data content in Corridor Templates is highly dependent on the coding of drawing specific Assemblies and their collected Subassemblies that are employed in a Corridor’s Baseline Regions.
Less can be more if we want generalized results.
The Corridor Surfaces data and results and the Feature Line Style dependent resolution of Slope Patterns speaks again for the need to employ consistent, robust, and adaptive Sets of Assemblies and Code Set Styles in our Corridor development.
Obviously, Civil 3D’s ability to employ project-based Reference Templates (TREFs) is a significant advantage.
The integrated management of our Civil 3D Templates, Civil 3D Styles, Sets, and the many other Civil 3D resources matters.
We all end up with something like the Framework for Civil 3D. Imagine that.
Managed Corridor Design Control in Civil 3D
We must face the fact the Civil 3D Alignments and their many children are the most complex and nuanced Features in Civil 3D. Yes. There’s an entire series of Book of Alignments posts available here on this site.
Register and become a site Member. It is painless.
The Corridor collector may consume all the Alignments and their many children in all their subtlety and nifty nuance and thus produce some fancy, useful, and productive design results.
Shared Design Control and Multiple Baseline Corridors
As we see in the video, project-based Data Shortcuts (DREFs) constructed with No Styles Civil 3D Templates are essential for the development of consistent Multiple Baseline Corridors and effective production results for more than a few reasons.
A number of important Multiple Baseline Corridor issues are worth mentioning here but are not shown or discussed in the video.
Currently:
- Civil 3D appears to make the initial publication of Connected Profiles and Offset Slope controlled Profiles Static by default.
- These can be made Dynamic, but the results will be much more stable if there are displayed versions of these Profiles in Profile Views in the source DREF container resource drawing(s).
- The use of the stock Civil 3D Generic Pavement Structure Subassembly requires that we employ a thought-out plan of named Link, Point (Feature Line), and Shape (Materials) codes and Code Set Styles to produce consistent useable Corridor Surface data results.
- The Generic Pavement Structure Subassembly supports stacking these Subassemblies one top of another. Therefore, the above caution becomes even more important.
- The Generic Pavement Structure Subassembly supports only a Shift out property. There is no Shift in.
- Each Generic Pavement Structure Subassembly also supports Superelevation - Apply it properly.
- Sets of Assembly replacement methods work well for Assemblies with versions of the Generic Pavement Structure Subassemblies.
In other words, it is relatively easy to produce separate grading corridor surfaces for lifts or stages of construction grading.
The tongue and cheek reference to GPS and machine grading control results based on Corridor Feature Line output results is intentional.
Multiple versions or options of Multiple Baseline Corridors are often required due to the Region Station and applied Assembly Frequency nuances that we commonly encounter.
Hint - Often another version of the Corridor with the same design control is the faster way to solve a problem.
Multiple Baseline Corridors are truly useful beasts. To employ them effectively we need to better standardize our Corridor Template resources, our Sets of Assemblies resources, our Reference Template (TREF) resources, and the mission critical structure of our projects via our Civil 3D Project Template(s).
Make Civil 3D Work Better
Get the Framework for Civil 3D