I work as a geologist and deal a lot with borehole and profile data. Right now we are using Autodesk software and Geotechnical Modeller extension. I have multiple ideas what Geotechnical Modeler could provide in order to be a much more resourceful tool. Right now the general idea is good but in order to get the desired result there is way too much manual labor involved. The problems are:
1. When entering inclined boreholes, surface points are not generated where they would actually be at a certain depth and inclination. Instead, they are created as projections in plan view. In other words, inclined boreholes have only illustrative value.
2. When creating surfaces layer by layer from boreholes, there is an option to either A) create the layer straight from point to point or B) mimic an existing layer (e.g., ground surface), creating an "offset" from a certain layer. The issue is that for all layers, you can choose only either option A OR option B. It would be desirable to have the flexibility to apply different methods to different layers within the same project.
3. In profiling, it would be helpful if the distance between boreholes would automatically appear in profile view, along with providing XYZ coordinates for the underlying distance.
4. For layer surfaces, there should be an option to display either a) absolute height or b) relative height (distance from ground level) that can be formatted. Currently, this needs to be done manually.
5. Boreholes should have sample labels and associated information that could be added from the dataset given. There should be a sample symbol in profile view.
6. Hatching layers in profiles is laborious - it creates angular blocks instead of hatching the space between two layers.
7. Overall, formatting is the biggest drawback of GM; its output is quite incomplete and requires a significant amount of manual work.
If these problems could be solved there would be less attraction to use similar Bentley or other products and continue to keep the workflow using only Autodesk software and extensions.
Regards,
Peeter
