Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
and flow characteristics. This “smart” object could be ported to hydraulic design
software for further analysis in conjunction with local rainfall data to determine
whether it was large enough to handle a storm with a specific likelihood of occur-
ring within the life span of the pipe. And so on, and so on.
Thus, in 30 years we have progressed from ink on paper to 3D intelligent objects.
The step from drawing with a pen to drawing with a mouse came early in that evo-
lution—not 3D or intelligent, but lines on a screen that could be printed. Civil 3D
contains all the basic tools to represent designs in this manner, and unfortunately,
many users are creating only basic 2D drawings even though they have access to the
dynamic 3D environment that you've seen in this chapter. My sincere hope is that
you will not be this type of end user, but instead will squeeze every dynamic rela-
tionship possible into the models you build with Civil 3D. You may not realize the
full potential of the dynamic relationships you build until you have the opportunity
to use them, but you can bet that they will pay dividends on every single project.
Building information Modeling
Building information modeling (BIM) has been a hot topic in the design, construc-
tion, and facilities management fields for quite some time now. Although some
would argue that Civil 3D has little to do with the
B
(building), it definitely has the
I
(information) and the
M
(modeling) aspects. Many civil engineering projects are
incidental to building construction and therefore present an opportunity for Civil
3D models to be integrated with BIM. No model, no BIM.
GPS-Guided Machine Control
Imagine being able to download the instructions to assemble your bike and then
upload them to your own personal robot, which would assemble the bike for
you. That might sound like science fiction, but something similar is common
practice in the land development industry. Models built with Civil 3D are being
uploaded to GPS-guided earthmoving machines. These giant “robots” synchro-
nize GPS-based locations of themselves and their digging implements with the
dimensions of the Civil 3D model until the real dirt and rock are a match to the
model. Without a model, there is no GPS-guided machine control.
Construction Simulation
If you think about it, one thing that Civil 3D enables you to do is to simulate
the project before having the contractor attempt to build it in the field. Why do
this? It's a lot cheaper to undo a CAD command than to undo the placement of
several truckloads of concrete. Contractors are taking this one step further by
