AutoCAD Civil 3D

[#1]

Hello Civil 3Ders,

Autodesk Labs introduced Interactive Terrain Shaper (ITS), so if you want to know what Autodesk is working on for future release, you should check it out.

ITS automates grading design by providing many standard shapes that you can paste into a Grading Grid canvas. I have a couple hours into it now and this sure looks like something we are going to want to use.

To anyone who wants Civil 3D grading to be faster and easier, I urge you to download and evaluate this tool as there is obviously much work still to be done by Autodesk and if we get our comments in now, we are more likely to get a first generation that is usable.

Broken record, I am: Please be sure to send your comments to Autodesk. One, so that they know we want this tool and, two, so that they release it ready-to-use.

Tim

[#2]

A few have:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/AutoCAD-Civil-3D/This-looks-interesting-Interactive-Terrain-Modeling/t...

http://c3dxtreme.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-terrain-grading-tools-to-crash-and.html

I still haven't had a chance to look at it, but hope to soon.

[#3]

I've started digging into it and have been blogging about it as I go.

http://ericchappell.blogspot.com/search/label/ITS

[#4]

The technology preview now supports AutoCAD Map 3D:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/civil3d_terrain/

[#5]

Just downloaded for 2012 Map 3d, after extracting and opening the .exe file i get: Setup was unable to detect any target applications for Interactive Terrain Shaping for AutoCAD Map 3D 2012.

[#6]

It only works with the 64-bit versions of C3D or Map. Maybe you have a 32-bit version?

[#7]

Ive was told i needed the service pack update numero uno, works now. 

[#8]

I have updated the page to show SP1 as a requirement.

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/civil3d_terrain/supported_apps/

Thanks for the feedback.

[#9]

I tried it. I went through the brief tutorial. I found it interesting.

Revisited it a week or two later and couldn't figure out how to use it.

Sounds like a good idea, but still not very intuitive.

I may have to revisit it again when I get a chance.

For now, I'll stick to grading with Civil 3D.

[#10]

I just tried it out.  Very very interesting.  I like the direction this is going.  It's much "cleaner" than the grading tools.  Just one thing, I hope the absence of the working planes/grading grid from the prospector is merely due to the fact that is a technology preview.  When officially released, the grading grids need to be listed in the prospector (as a part of sites?).

Other than that, I wish I had this for my playground grading job.  Grading within a complicated boundary, push the Civil 3D grading tools to their limits and sometimes past them.  Interactive Terrain Shaper looks likes it's going to make site grading fun again.