C3D handles solids the same as vanilla acad.
It creates entities called surfaces that do not act like solids (as you seem to know).
Looking at the volume tools available, you can only get volumes between surfaces, or volumes of solids.
You cannot simply drape a surface over solids, you must make the solids have 3d plines for edges, then add as
breaklines. You might try exploding the solids in 3d wireframe, then erasing linework that is not useful for the "top"
or "bottom" surface. then add that linework to a civil3d surface, and it will triangulate.
Then do volumes as usual with c3d.
the other way would be to trim your solids with a solid created from the seabed surface.
In that case, you would not make the seabed surface with C3D, but acad solids tools that would make a mesh from the
elevation data points.
I'm very interested in this workflow, as solids are what people want to see much of the time for pavement and other
civil things, not surfaces which have no thickness.
AndyWalker <>
|>Hello,
|>
|>I have created a complex 3D model of a marine breakwater in vanilla Autocad.
|>
|>How can i change this shape into a surface in order for me to use the volume calculations between this and another seabed surface i have created?
|>
|>i understand that civil 3d does not cope with 3d models in the same way acad does and that i must tranfer it into something civil3d can cope with better....
|>
|>please any help or advice is much appreciated.
|>
|>
|>thanks
James Maeding
Civil Engineer and Programmer
jmaeding - at - hunsaker - dotcom