Offset Profiles

[c3dcougar]

I would like to have offset profiles like we have offset alignments.

[el_nath]

Offset profiles would be very cool.  I'm laying out a rail and roadway ramp network in a very tight area.  The ramps are weaving all round the rail and each other, so having an offset for structure depth and rail and road envelope would make design profile layout much easier.

In the meantime one dynamic way to acheive the goal is to create an assembly of the roadway (railway) with generic links used for the overhead envelope.

Create corridor surfaces for the structure datum, structure top, and the overhead envelope.

Create surface profiles from the corridor surfaces.  The structure top profile is not need for design in the profile view and is only for visualizing in other profile views.

It's a tedious process (if you have a ton of ramps like I do), you need to have your corridors rebuild automatic for it to work dynamically, but it does produce the desired result.  Offset profiles would eliminate the tedium.  Ultimately, a corridor needs to be built, but for a pre-conceptual design under a tight deadline, offsets are adequte.

Nathan Selles-Alvarez

Civil Engineer, EIT

AECOM

[el_nath]

Requesting this feature again. Vertically offset profiles. There are superimposed profiles, surface profiles, and design profiles, why not vertically offset profiles?

I can't imagine designing roadways without them especially since a great deal of design checks involve vertical clearances/envelopes, under bridge structures, over culverts, etc...

[AllenJessup]

There are workarounds. But I certainly would find it useful.

Allen Jessup

 

[el_nath]

Yes it would. If you know a simpler workaround than the one I used (create corridor > corridor surface > surface profile), I'd be very interested.

[AllenJessup]

I just copy the profile. Explode it to make a polyline of the profile. Move that back on to the original profile and offset it. I know if it's not at a natural scale there will be some distortion. But on rehabbing roads the asphalt is a bit forgiving. I'm just looking for where I have to do full depth replacement.

Allen Jessup

[el_nath]

But that is not at all dynamic in the least. At least with the corridor option (tedious though it may be with the rebuilding and all), it is dynamic. Offset alignments are dynamic, and vertically offset profiles, should be as well.

[AllenJessup]

You're right. It's not dynamic. It's just a quick and dirty to get the information I need. At the point I would be doing that the profile is not going to undergo major changes. If there are little tweaks I repeat the process.

But I did say that having true offset profiles would be an addition to the software I'd like to see. Then all the mess would go away.

Allen

[el_nath]

Yes it is a mess. the surprising thing is that vertical clearance issues is one of the fundamental topics you learn about in highway design class. You'd think that dynamic offset vertical alignments would have been added to Civil 3D when they added dynamic offset horizontal alignments.

I'm still scratching my head and wondering why I waste so much time copying polylines up and down when designing profiles.