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Pipe Network Issue

9 REPLIES 9
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Message 1 of 10
jschlichter
2133 Views, 9 Replies

Pipe Network Issue

Hello, need some help here.

 

We're currently experiencing some strange behaviour with our pipe networks. Certain structures will not swap parts, but even more strangely, manhole height seems to be locked. Sumps will not adjust via grip edit or manual changes (see image: pipe connects to stucture, but sump will not update). Changing reference surfaces does not seem to help either. This occurs with all structures, even new ones, including ones created in brand new dwg files. I think the issue is related to the pipe catalogue (saved on a network path).

 

If you look at the attached images, the part appears to be modeled fine in part builder, but when that part is used in a style, I have a really random shape show up instead (although it still looks okay through object viewer for some reason). There have been some updates to some of the structures using part builder recently, is it possible that the pipe catalogue became corrupted somehow? or is there a way to refresh/regen the catalogue so that my drawings will update with the changes?

 

How the object is modelled is really not that important for our uses, we just need it to look okay in the profile views. It would also be nice if the sumps could be adjusted.

 

Any help would be much appreciated,

I'm using Civil 3d 2010 (64bit) SP2 if that helps

9 REPLIES 9
Message 2 of 10
dgordon
in reply to: jschlichter

i would try either remapping back to the out of the box pipe catalogue, or a repair or re-install of your Civil 3D.  

 

Also,

I noticed that your using 2010 in a 64 bit operating system.   Which I'm sure it supports.    Seemed like 2011 was the first to support 64 bit.

 

 

Dan

Civil 3D 2013
Win 7 Pro x64
Intel Xeon 2.0GHz
12Gb Ram
ATI Firepro 4800
Dell T5500
www.preinnewhof.com
Message 3 of 10
jschlichter
in reply to: dgordon

I've managed to get something working in the interim. After messing around in part builder for a while, now if I swap structures to a different part, and swap back, the sump behavior works properly, if pipes are connected to it. With no pipes connected, the sump can be moved downwards, but not back upwards. The only issue is that I have to do this for each structure that has already been drawn.

 

The image generated in the preview is the same as before, so I don't think the issue has been resolved fully. Also, this issue appears across all computers referencing this pipe catalogue (network location), so I'm not sure if a repair install would fix this issue. Changing the reference to an unedited catalogue didn't seem to work either.

 

At least with the interim solution, the time crunch is no longer an issue. Still curious as to what caused this though.

Message 4 of 10
SethHall
in reply to: jschlichter

Looking at your PNG files it seems the style preview generator is pulling the preview of the Flared End Section, however I am not sure why this is occurring on your machine. If it is fine in the drawing and in profile, could be just an issue with the preview image.

 

As for the sump and rim heights, there could be a constraint set in Part Builder that is limiting the adjustment of the structure. It also depends on what size of pipe you are using as this could limit the "shortest" the structure could possibly be. If you are unable to edit the height of the structure, do some reverse calculation based on the parameters of the sturcture and be sure to include the diameter of the pipe. This should give you an idea if you are limited by the structure of there are other factors at play.

 

Another reason this may be causing an issue is a corrupted pipe object. Try LANDXMLOUT the network, delete the original (backup drawing first), and LANDXMLIN. At that point try to swap parts and see if it works correctly.

 

Additionally PARTCATALOGREGEN will regenerate the catalog from the network location.

 


Seth Hall
Product Owner
Model Builder
Message 5 of 10
jschlichter
in reply to: SethHall

Is there any reason why the preview would generate the wrong part? Before this glitch occured, the preview used to generate correctly, so although its not really a big deal, I believe that the errors are related. The object does look fine when generated in 3d (object viewer) and certainly doesn't look like a flared end section in profile view either.

 

My initial thought with the sump and rim heights were the model parameter in part builder too. In fact, the initial tinkering with part builder was to lower the pipe barrel clearance to prevent frames from appearing to jut out of the ground in shallow structures. The part in question doesn't seem to have any contraints associated with depth, so I don't think that's the limiting factor. The odd thing with the height (existing structures) is that its "locked" where it is. Even though minimums are met, the sump will not move up or down (any changes made to the rim to sump height property do not keep). New structures without attached pipes can be elongated via grip edit, but cannot be shortened by it. New structures will however, allow you to reduce structure height if the rim to sump height property is manually overwritten in the structures property window.

 

I don't believe that its a corrupted pipe object within the drawing either. I tried a brand new file and it exhibited the same behavior. I've tried using other computers as well, to make sure it was not some setting that was specific to my workstation, but that didn't work either.

 

I was hoping that it was just some sort of disconnect between the catalog and the parts list and that PARTCATALOGREGEN would fix it but it seems more complicated than that.

Message 6 of 10
SethHall
in reply to: jschlichter

Other things that could cause this could be a combination of Rules and the elevation of the reference Surface. You could also check the Floor Thickness (FTh) as this sometimes causes confusion within the sizing of the structure.


Seth Hall
Product Owner
Model Builder
Message 7 of 10
jschlichter
in reply to: SethHall

There is a floor thickness associated to the structure (default 150mm) however it's not causing an issue with the sumps displaying incorrrectly. The sump height can be edited via the properties window but it will not update visually in the profile view (sump will not move, neither will the grip edit associated with it).

 

The only rules we have applied to the structures are minimum drop across inverts and one to set the sump depth to 0. I thought these only were applied upon structure insertion, and that to have them reapplied to a structure you had to select "apply rules" individually. These still seem to work, after I manually changed the sump depth to 2 (although nothing changed visually, the value stuck), I applied rules and the sump depth reverted to zero.

 

All these structures were valid before the pipe catalog was changed so this is very abnormal behavior. I'm not sure why changing the path back to an unedited catalog doesnt resolve the issue either.

Message 8 of 10
SethHall
in reply to: jschlichter

Can you post the drawing?


Seth Hall
Product Owner
Model Builder
Message 9 of 10
jschlichter
in reply to: SethHall

Gave up trying to fix it. Restored back to a point before any modifications were made, and now everything works properly.

 

Thx for the suggestions anyways.

Message 10 of 10
SethHall
in reply to: jschlichter

Interesting. The fact that you restored them and they work correctly leads me to believe that the objects did become corrupt at some point. You may want to try the LANDXMLOUT now just to preserve the network in its current state in case you run into issues in the future.

 

Either way I am glad it is working!


Seth Hall
Product Owner
Model Builder

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