Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
ChAPtER 10
Creating Cross
Sections of the
Design
One of the requirements
for a successful and efficient design process is
the ability to visualize the design in many different ways. So far, you have
explored how profiles can be used to augment the customary way of viewing
the design: plan view. In this chapter, you'll examine the use of cross sections
to visualize and display your design in yet another way: by slicing through it
in a perpendicular direction.
In the AutoCAD
®
Civil 3D
®
software, there are two primary approaches
to viewing and documenting your design in cross-section view. For design
purposes, you use a Civil 3D feature called the Section Editor that enables
you to analyze and modify your design section by section. For documenta-
tion purposes, you use sample lines, sections, and section views. The section
view, just like the profile view, is the backdrop that houses the sections while
providing a grid and annotations to go with them. There are also some things
that sections can do that profiles can't, such as slice through corridors and
create multiple section views at once.
In this chapter, you'll learn to
▶
Use the section editor
▶
Create sample lines
▶
Create section views
▶
sample additional sources
using the Section Editor
To understand what the Section Editor is and how it works, let's review how a
corridor is built. An alignment and a profile are combined to create a 3D chain,
and then an assembly is repeatedly inserted along that 3D chain to create the
