Autodesk Civil Visualization Extension

Available NOW via subscription center.

What does this mean?

"The Autodesk® Civil Visualization Extension provides an easy-to-use, purpose-built design visualization workflow for civil engineers using Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design with AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software or other civil design applications.

With this extension, civil engineers can create high-quality visualizations of their projects, enabling them to validate designs through simulations and communicate design intent during planning, zoning, and public involvement meetings.

Even if they have little-to-no experience with 3ds Max Design, engineers using the Civil Visualization Extension can:

* Establish a direct link between AutoCAD Civil 3D and 3ds Max Design so that visualizations can be automatically updated as the design evolves
* Enhance realism of the visualization with civil engineering-specific materials and content such as signage, vehicles, and road striping
* Visualize realistic traffic simulations in context

In addition to significantly improving the workflow between 3ds Max Design and AutoCAD Civil 3D, the Civil Visualization Extension also enables 3ds Max Design users to create visualizations from a range of civil engineering design file formats, including Bentley® MXROAD, Bentley® InRoads®, GENIO and Bentley® Geopak, along with 12D and LandXML.

The Autodesk Civil Visualization Extension includes two components:

* The Autodesk Dynamite VSP Plug-in for 3ds Max Design 2010 or 2011, which also integrates the Dynamite SIM traffic simulation technology
* The Autodesk Dynamite VSP Exporter for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 or 2011

Also included is an instructional whitepaper entitled, “Using the Autodesk Civil Visualization Extension for 3ds Max Design and AutoCAD Civil 3D.” New feature videos, customer stories, and additional resources can be found at www.autodesk.com/civilvis."

What's new with Civil 3D 2011?

AutoCAD Civil 3D software, the building information modeling (BIM) solution for civil engineering, helps teams deliver higher-quality transportation, land development, and environmental projects faster. Its model-based approach helps keep project information coordinated while delivering higher-quality documentation and visualizations. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps users gain the competitive advantage of BIM to deliver more innovative project solutions. Key new features include:

o Scalability and performance improvements, as well as an optimized 64-bit version of Civil 3D

o Tools to better manage the creation and editing of corridors

o Enhanced superelevation functionality that provides a dynamic link to the alignment and flexible editing options

Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs... OH MY

Ever wonder why you are paying an annual subscription on your Autodesk licenses? Now if you're like MOST of the medium to large engineering firms out there you are NOT upgrading your users to the current version every year even though you are paying for the latest and greatest. If you are a smaller firm with only a couple of users you may be installing the current version each year.

Well... Here are some AWESOME downloads that you get FREE as a subscription customer, check out what you get and the links are at the bottom. Enjoy!!!

This is what AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2010 has to offer!

Point Clouds, Roundabout Layout, and General Enhancements
Extend the capabilities of AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2010 software with the following features:

Point Clouds—Import and visualize large sets of point cloud data, such as 3D laser scanning/LiDAR data sets with millions of points, in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 with the Point Clouds feature. The point cloud feature enables you to:

Import LiDAR data in LAS format and all point file formats supported by AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010
Visualize large point clouds in 3D
Stylize point data based on LAS classifications, RGB, elevation, and intensity
Filter point data by style
Snap to points within the point cloud using standard AutoCAD® software tools
Some common uses of LiDAR data in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 may include using the point cloud data for site surveys, developing an understanding of the site context, and digitizing as-built features (for example, building footprints and curbs) for design projects.

Roundabout Layout—More quickly lay out roundabouts, including signage and striping, based on common design standards using the Roundabout Layout feature. Once the horizontal geometry of a roundabout has been defined, you can dynamically move and edit the roundabout throughout the optimization process.

General Enhancements—Streamline existing workflows in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 with a variety of powerful enhancements for transportation design, survey, visual analysis, and general production. Capabilities include:

Transportation Design Tools

Best-fit alignment creation tool
Split (create subset) alignment
Join profile tangents (extend tangents to point of vertical intersection [PVI] by grade intersection)
Set PVI by elevation and grade
Create spiral by sweep angle
Import superelevation from Microsoft® Office Excel® files (XLS)
Survey Tools

Crossing breakline utility
Survey import (TSS format support)
Survey import (SRV format support)
Survey change report
Survey point and chain edit utility
Visual Analysis Tools

“Drive Along” visualization
Line-of-site analysis
Vertical distance analysis
General Production Tools

Save as DGN format
Create surface from GIS data
Zoom to point
Calculate minimum vertical distance between surfaces
Calculate minimum vertical distance between entities
Divide/crop surface (create subset for use in other drawings)

http://subscription.autodesk.com

There are Subscription Advantage Packs for all of the following:

AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2010
AutoCAD® Civil 2010
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2010
Autodesk® Navisworks® 2010

AutoCAD Civil and Civil 3D 2010 Update 2

Here you go!

Have a great day!!!

AutoCAD Civil Update: Click HERE

AutoCAD Civil 3D Update: Click HERE

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 Update 1 is HERE

CLICK HERE for the update available on the Autodesk website!

Happy Friday!!!

Civil 3D 2009 Hotfix posted

Check it out!

Hofix for display/calculation of Section Volumes in 2009 is posted:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/index?siteID=123112&id=2334435&linkID=9240698

Civil 3D 2009 Update 3

Civil 3D 2009 Service pack 3 is here.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13357575&linkID=9240698

I will be downloading it momentarily and if I find any issues I'll post them ASAP.

Cheers,
Melanie

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is here!!!! YAY YAY YAY!

And the best part about it is that I can finally talk about it. I've been BETA testing the software for some time now and the curtain has finally been lifted and I can share in my excitement!!!

FIRST THINGS FIRST... I want to tell you about my TWO favorite things... In order...

The Field to Finish tools ROCK, to put it mildly, NO MORE NASTY FIELDBOOK FILES (.fbk) I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to a new tool in the Survey Database know as "Linework Code Sets". What these nifty little babies will allow you to do is code your point descriptions so that you can begin, end, draw curves and so on within your point file. YOU CAN FINALLY DOUBLE, TRIPLE, SHOOT... QUADRUPLE your point codes and your linework will come through the ASCII file, HIP HIP HOORAY!!!! What this means for all of you Surveyors out there is that AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is FINALLY a viable tool... wait, it's now an AWESOME tool!!!

And I would like to give MANY kudos to the second runner up in my list of EXCITING new tools inside of 2010... Drum roll please... INTERSECTION DESIGN WIZARD!!! Yay!!! This makes designing intersections MUCH MUCH MUCH more streamlined!

Please stay tuned for some fun "How-To" guides once I get the BETA software off and the full version installed.

Cheers!!!

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1

Well, it's been a LONG time coming but it looks as if the second version of SP 2, which is SP 2.1 actually works and to the best of my knowledge does NOT break anything.

Here's the link:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=12624522&linkID=9240698

Cheers!!!