Define Planar Surface by selecting two points

[neilyj666]

I have several pads to create and ask if anyone has a lisp/dll that will create a temporary grading surface with the user inputing  the starting point and level, direction and gradient.

Thanks

[Joe-Bouza]

The copy create grading looks pretty good. Not useful for your application?

[neilyj666]

Not sure will take a look.

I was thinking of something that was on au online 2008 ( caffeinated grading or something) which had some vba routines for this very application

[Jeff_M]

The WorkingPlanes.dvb is shipped with C3D. In 2012 on Win7x64 it's found here:

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012\Sample\Civil 3D API\COM\Vba\SurfaceWorkingPlane

Now, if you don't want to install the VBA enabler (as I do not, due to perfromance issues) then it could be ported to a .NET DLL.

[neilyj666]

Thanks Jeff - I'd prefer the dll over VBA but my knowledge of doing this approximately zero.....

[Jeff_M]

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@neilyj666 wrote:

I'd prefer the dll over VBA 

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Stay tuned.....

[ralstogj]

Jeff/Neil

I had a look at converting to vb.net over the weekend got most of the way but got stuck at the optional parameters being used in the vba and how to deal with them in .net. I you want the code Jeff let me know.

[neilyj666]

It'd be great if you could both come up with the solution....

Justin - my original request was prompted by one of your blog posts and the AU paper it referred to. The various grading scenarios described in the paper are very typical of the kind of tasks I need to do very regularly (crane hardstand pads for wind farm developments) and if these vba routines were recoded and could be developed into DLL friendly code that'd be great...

I'd like to look at this sort of thing myself but I'd be starting from scratch and I don't really have the time to devote to it....

[Jeff_M]

I somehow thought we both might be pursuing this over the weekend, Justin. As you know, I'm not much of a VB.NET person (I can usually read it, and even make minor edits) so I've been working on a port to C#. I'm about 75% done, I think. Not sure if I will be able to complete it today, though.

[ralstogj]

No need to hurry on my part.

I know the feeling you are not meant to sit in front of the PC over the weekend as well as at work.

Let me know now you get pass the optional parameters in the function Promptfor3dpoint as in vb.net anyway you have to declare the optional pararmeter = nothing in the function so it will compile which seems to clear the variable in memory even thou you are passing something into the function. I have been thinking I will have to rewrite this part using method overloading instead of the optional parameters.

Once converting I thought the next step could be to add a couple of extra functions to create a working cutfill surface with a userdefined contour at zero elevation and a extraction function to give these as daylight lines. It would be interesting to see the results for example on mitred corners or between two gradings on a featurline that target different surfaces any way I digress. 

[Jeff_M · Accepted solution]

I just finished testing this in  C3D2010, C3D2011, & C3D2012. The last 2 are the 64bit versions, so this is untested on a 32 bit install. I will be posting the complete Visual Studio 2008 C# code on the Customization forum in just a few minutes. See the post there for full particulars.

[neilyj666]

This is looking good - further comments in the Customization forum.....