3D Polylines

[chrisbeers]

Just switched over to Civil 3D. Need help with creating 3D Polylines. How can I create one by elevation or slope? I don't see it in the Feature Lines. These tools are vital in a designers 'tool box'. It defines ditches, streams, flowlines and curbs better than anything. Need help!
Chris Beers, PE, PLS
Heritage Engineering
Louisville, KY

[Anonymous]

Check out the elevation editor - you can do a lot of that in there. It's
not the best solution, since it's difficult to know which vertex you're
editing, but it will get the job done.

Jon Rizzo
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.


wrote in message news:5016216@discussion.autodesk.com...
Just switched over to Civil 3D. Need help with creating 3D Polylines. How
can I create one by elevation or slope? I don't see it in the Feature
Lines. These tools are vital in a designers 'tool box'. It defines
ditches, streams, flowlines and curbs better than anything. Need help!
Chris Beers, PE, PLS
Heritage Engineering
Louisville, KY

[chrisbeers]

The elevation editor does not get the job done. For instance if I am constrained at either end of a stream or invert and re-routing the flow; I would like to set one end and a constant grade to the other end. With the elevation editor I would have to remember what the end elevation is and select all and start the guessing game on the grade column to find the solution. Those terrain 3d polyline tools are huge. I have to go old school in this case.
Chris

[Anonymous]

I realize this will not be as direct as you like, but use from the Create Points toolbar "Slope/Grade - DIstance" or "Slope/Grade - Elevation" to set a start elevation and grade change, or distance. Then you can join those points with a 3D Poly.

If you are using this for grading, in some cases you don't need a 3D Poly as you simply add the points to your surface for precise grading. Plus the points are dynamic if you add them to a surface.

[chrisbeers]

This is tomato/tomatoe. 3dpolyline are inherently model as breaklines. Points in a surface are chancy if the tin will follow the points correctly, especially if there are other components to the surface you are modeling. In your suggestion you eventually make a 3D Poly. "Create Points" is a feature that was brought into Civil 3D from LDD. Why couldn't the 3DPolyline features also be brought in? The conclusion I think in this case is we received the Companion LandDesktop with the Civil 3D package to still have available all the tools that didn't make the cut at the time of release. 3dpolyline creation is one of these tools.
Chris

[Anonymous]

I agree with you Chris and of course understand the difference of how points and breaklines are interpolated within a surface, but don't underestimate the importance of using points for proposed grading.

As of now, points may be the preferred method in C3D where breaklines/feature lines fall short or do not work. Speaking from experience on this one. And, at least for conceptual grading where we don't have to worry too much about how points and breaklines are interpolated differently, using points for conceptual grading it is much faster than Land Desktop, especially due to the amount of revisions you will make to your grading concept for submittal.

Thanks

[chrisbeers]

Points just don't model curb lines, sidewalks, flow lines as assuredly as 3dPolylines. I have a over a mile of curbing on this site and don't have time to make sure the built model hits the EOP points, FL points, TBC points, sw points, etc... in a continuous un-interrupted DTM. A wire frame model is much more 'feel good' then points. Set it & forget it.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. For road features, there is no better choice. Why not use Corridors and then export your corridor features as 3d polylines? Or just build your proposed model from corridors?

[chrisbeers]

It is a shopping center with 5 entry points off of public streets, loading docks, curb/landscape islands, detention basins, handicap ramps, etc...

[steveblais]

Could not help from piping in here.....but......
I have a bunch of corridors (parking trays) that I have exported 3dpolylines from in hopes to create one grading feature line along one side of my site. The trouble is I can't find a way to join either the 3dpolys or the grading feature lines.....back to LD?

[chrisbeers]

I'm with you. I like the options of pipes but to manipulate the slopes and direction and "resizing to model" is just so kinky. Pipes needs some improvements also.