What are the best practices for grading small commercial sites? Is it a combination of corridors, gradings and featurelines? If so, what aspects of the site are represented by these objects. I know how to create these objects, I'm trying to establish a work flow, as well as, trying to keep the site(s) as dynamic as possible.
I think it comes down more to personal preference and what you are comfortable with.
Personally I use featurelines primarily with the odd grading for matching to existing ground where needed. Gives me the most flexibility.
I use a bit of everything.
For smaller sites I almost always start with F-Lines. I may use a corridor for large or tiered walls. I may use a grading to find a particular daylight line, construct a pond or project a plane but I never leave gradings in a file.
For access aisles and parking lots I may use a number of corridors to rough out the bottom of curb/eop. I extract F-Lines from the corridor and add F-Lines for top of curb. I'll use F-Lines for buildings.
If I have a new road or rehab it will be almost always be corridor work. These are probably the only projects I do a complete corridor model on.
Aside from the comfort level you have with these options the output you need on your plans may also help you choose the tools you use. I wouldn't want to create a corridor if I had no need to print the profiles or sections...
All of the tools have pros and cons in certain situations. The more you use them the easier it is to see methods benefit you best.
John Mayo
Mark Green
Working on Civil 3D in Canada
Yes. Now sometimes this will crash c3d on me but,
1. Create Grading
2. Save your file(s) because c3d may crash. More often than not there is no issue just save. It may save you some marbles later. 😉
3. Use Copybase/Copy With Base Point command, select feature line(s) in interest and use 0,0 as a basepoint.
4. Delete Grading.
5. Paste Fline back into drawing with a base point of 0,0.
6. Move feature line to correct Site as the paste operation will create a new site if the name exists.
7. Save again. 😉
John Mayo
You can also select the daylight line of the grading object and explode it. That will get rid of the grading object and leave you with a 3d poly line to convert into a feature line.
Joe Bouza
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An alternative to this method is to select the featurelines, right-click and use the Copy to Site option. Once that is done you can delete the source featureline and grading, then move the new featurelines back to the original site if you wish.
Steve
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Not sure if this is the right thread for this question, but it is directly related.
How many of you use your feature lines and gradings in a plan set?
Or are they only to create a finish surface model with underlying 2D line work?
Typically what I've done is do all my grading in a seperate drawing, using xrefed 2D linework as a reference, then creating a data shortcut of my finish surface for the plan set.
I'm thinking maybe I should be utilizing feature lines and grading in the plan set and not have a duplicate set of 2D line work.
I'm curious what others are using for workflow.
Joe Bouza
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I always use the feature lines as "real" lines. Having lines on top of lines makes my brain hurt. Gradings are usually a means of obtaining a feature line for me.
Inevitably, one set of lines doesn't get updated. The surveyors can also use the feature lines to generate stakeout points without having to do a lot of offsetting and calculating.
It is a good question. It will be interesting to read how others are waorking.
Mark Green
Working on Civil 3D in Canada
I try to plot them but it doesn't always work out with LTGen. Most of my smaller site plans have FL elevation labels which all print on sheets through xref with the FLine layer set to no plot. I almost always have a 2d plan laid out for bulk zoning, parking, surface cover calcs, etc.
John Mayo
I do think the process could be improved so we don't need to reinvet the wheel for 2d and 3d.
John Mayo
I've always struggled with the mixed 2D and 3D environment we have in Autocad. Not only are linetypes a problem but hatching and line labels as well. Also in my experience, building models often requires extending or breaking linework in ways that are not condusive to plan production. Too, a base drawing often is needed for exhibits and other roles that only require a plan view of the site. It is much easier for those consumers to work in 2D.
Looks like the majority opinion is that most of us still live with underlying 2D line work as much as we would like to do differently.
Maybe someday we'll get there, but meanwhile back at the ranch....
Thanks for the input.
@Joe Bouza
When using Eric Chappell's island grading method, do you make one island at a time or incorporate multiple islands into your surface? Thanks,
Susan H