Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014

Louisa Holland is a civil engineer who has been training Civil 3D users since 2006. She has worked extensively with the WisDOT, Caltrans, and various consultants on Civil 3D implementations. Louisa is an Autodesk Approved Instructor (AAI), an AutoCAD Civil 3D Certified Professional, and a regular speaker at Autodesk University (AU), AUGI, and other industry events. Cyndy Davenport has 27 years of experience in the land development industry and multiple Civil 3D certifications. She speaks regularly at AU and blogs at c3dcougar.typepad.com. Eric Chappell, EIT, is a Civil 3D consultant and award–winning trainer with more than 20 years of experience in the civil engineering field. He is the author of Civil 3D 2014 Essentials, a developer of Autodesk certification materials, a highly rated AU speaker, and an Autodesk Certified Instructor. He blogs at ericchappell.blogspot.com.

Introduction xxiii


Chapter 1 The Basics 1


The Interface 1


Civil 3D Templates 26


Creating Basic Lines and Curves 32


Creating Curves 40


Using Transparent Commands 52


The Bottom Line 55


Chapter 2 Survey 57


Setting Up the Databases 57


Description Keys: Field to Civil 3D 64


Using Inquiry Commands 91


The Bottom Line 94


Chapter 3 Points 97


Anatomy of a Point 97


Creating Basic Points 98


Basic Point Editing 112


Point Tables 119


User–Defined Properties 121


The Bottom Line 123


Chapter 4 Surfaces 125


Understanding Surface Basics 125


Creating Surfaces 127


Refining and Editing Surfaces 145


Surface Additions 149


Surface Analysis 171


Comparing Surfaces 179


Labeling the Surface 184


Point Cloud Surfaces 189


The Bottom Line 195


Chapter 5 Parcels 197


Introduction to Sites 197


Creating a Boundary Parcel 204


Creating Subdivision Lot Parcels Using Precise Sizing Tools 214


Editing Parcels by Deleting Parcel Segments 223


Best Practices for Parcel Creation 227


Labeling Parcel Areas 234


Labeling Parcel Segments 238


Creating a Table for Parcel Segments 244


The Bottom Line 246


Chapter 6 Alignments 247


Alignment Concepts 247


Creating an Alignment 249


Editing Alignment Geometry 271


Alignments As Objects 280


The Bottom Line 296


Chapter 7 Profiles and Profile Views 299


The Elevation Element 299


Editing Profiles 322


Profile Views 329


Editing Profile Views 340


Profile Labels 355


Profile Utilities 359


The Bottom Line 363


Chapter 8 Assemblies and Subassemblies 365


Subassemblies 365


Building Assemblies 368


Specialized Subassemblies 393


Advanced Assemblies 402


Organizing Your Assemblies 404


The Bottom Line 407


Chapter 9 Basic Corridors 409


Understanding Corridors 409


Recognizing Corridor Components 410


Working with Corridor Feature Lines 424


Understanding Targets 429


Editing Sections 435


Creating a Corridor Surface 438


Performing a Volume Calculation 447


Building Non–Road Corridors 448


The Bottom Line 452


Chapter 10 Advanced Corridors, Intersections, and Roundabouts 453


Using Multiregion Baselines 453


Modeling a Cul–de–Sac 456


Moving Up to Intersections 466


Using an Assembly Offset 493


Understanding Corridor Utilities 500


Using a Feature Line as a Width and Elevation Target 504


Tackling Roundabouts: The Mount Everest of Corridors 510


The Bottom Line 524


Chapter 11 Superelevation 525


Preparing for Superelevation 525


Applying Superelevation to the Design 537


Oh Yes, You Cant 545


Superelevation and Cant Views 548


The Bottom Line 552


Chapter 12 Cross Sections and Mass Haul 555


Section Workflow 555


Creating Section Views 563


It s a Material World 574


Section View Final Touches 579


Mass Haul 581


The Bottom Line 585


Chapter 13 Pipe Networks 587


Pipe Network Setup 587


Creating a Sanitary Sewer Network 600


Editing a Pipe Network 612


Creating an Alignment from Network Parts 624


Drawing Parts in Profile View 626


Adding Pipe Network Labels 633


Creating an Interference Check 636


Creating Pipe Tables 639


Under Pressure 644


Part Builder 660


Part Builder Orientation 661


The Bottom Line 668


Chapter 14 Grading 669


Working with Grading Feature Lines 669


Grading Objects 701


The Bottom Line 711


Chapter 15 Plan Production 713


Preparing for Plan Sets 713


Using View Frames and Match Lines 714


Creating Plan and Profile Sheets 729


Creating Section Sheets 740


Drawing Templates 746


The Bottom Line 749


Chapter 16 Advanced Workflows 751


Data Shortcuts 751


Using LandXML 772


The Bottom Line 775


Chapter 17 Quantity Takeoff 777


Employing Pay Item Files 777


Keeping Tabs on the Model 785


Inventorying Your Pay Items 799


The Bottom Line 801


Chapter 18 Label Styles 803


Label Styles 803


Line and Curve Labels 824


Pipe and Structure Labels 829


Profile and Alignment Labels 834


Advanced Style Types 851


The Bottom Line 860


Chapter 19 Object Styles 861


Getting Started with Object Styles 861


Linear Object Styles 872


Surface Styles 877


Pipe and Structure Styles 889


Profile View Styles 900


Section View Styles 911


The Bottom Line 917


Appendix A The Bottom Line 919


Appendix B Autodesk Civil 3D 2014 Certification 963


Index 967