Convert Land Plots to a Different Coordinate System

I had a query recently about how to convert digitised plots of land from one coordinate system to another in Civil 3D. This is similar to a previous post, so here is a different way of doing the same thing effectively with possibly less steps.

First open the drawing with the plots to be converted. Set the current coordinate system in the drawing by using the MAPCSASSIGN command. Then export the polygons to SDF(or SHP or whatever you wish) file format by typing MAPEXPORT. Choose the polygons/layers that you wish to export. On the Options tab you can specify a coordinate conversion as part of the export, see below:

Now in a new drawing (with or without the second coordinate system set), type MAPIMPORT and select the file exported previously and it will import your plots to the new coordinates.

Old Land Desktop Poster

Found this in the office a while back.... Loving the guys quote at the bottom! clearly very excited about it!

Autodesk Autotrack

While I am making announcements I may as well blow the trumpet one more time!

With the purchase of Autotrack by Autodesk from Savoy on 19^th August 2013, Amicus Technology, with their longstanding specialisation in Infrastructure and Road Design software,  have been recognised by Autodesk as one of only four Key Autotrack Partners worldwide for sales and support of the new Autotrack product, including the creation of new vehicles and swept-path analyses.

What does this mean for users? Well as in the previous post about the Civil Infrastructure specialisation it means that by engaging with us you are tapping into Amicus' knowledge, expertise and commitment to implement and support your use of Autotrack. We have been the sole Autotrack Authorised reseller here in Ireland for the past number of years. We have been selling and training Autotrack as well as undertaking vehicle creation and trackings for customers both here in Ireland and the UK during that time.

The most immediate thing that seems to have affected casual users of Autotrack since the purchase by Autodesk is the removal of the rental option. Casual users who maybe needed the software three or four times a years would previously have rented the software for a week and completed their work. Now that this option has gone under Autodesk it does not pay for them to purchase a full licence. Amicus Technology, as one of the recognised key partners, can (and have been) bridge the gap for Autotrack users by providing the vehicle creation or swept path analysis service direct to the user.

For queries or a quote please contact me on donal.mcmoreland@amicustec.ie

Autodesk Specialisations

Amicus Technology Earns Autodesk Civil Infrastructure & Consulting Specialisations

 

Amicus Technology recently became the first and only Irish Autodesk Partner to have earned the Autodesk Civil Infrastructure & Consulting Specialisations, and is one of only 3 such Partners in the UK & Ireland.

 

What is it?

As an Autodesk Specialised Partner, Amicus Technology has shown that they have made significant investment in people and systems, they have a business plan specific to their specialisation area, they have a range of customers for whom they have successfully carried out Civil Infrastructure consultancy, and that they can offer a high level of technical background and support to customers in the Civil Infrastructure industry.

 

The new Autodesk Partner Specialisations enable value added resellers to highlight and brand their expertise in delivering services in key industry areas. By completing the required curriculum and training, as well as meeting required levels of service and standards set by Autodesk, Amicus Technology demonstrates it can be a trusted adviser to Autodesk customers throughout the world.

 

How do you benefit?

By engaging with Amicus Technology you are working with a leader in Autodesk’s BIM for Civil Infrastructure solutions, tapping into their knowledge, expertise and commitment to implement and support your use of Civil BIM technology to streamline workflows, reduce costs, shorten project times and improve design quality.  

Not your Average Volume Calcs.

In some customised training recently I had a question on calculating the volume of material that was dumped on the side of an existing road. It turned out to be less straight forward than initially expected. The existing road is higher than the ground around it and original had a 2:1 embankment - that is all the information provided on the original condition. The fill material was dumped on top of this embankment. No survey existed for the original embankment so we had to somehow recreate the original ground level before we could calculate the volume of dumped material.

Belo is a screen shot of the current situation with a section through the fill to be quantified:

Manually drawn on one section below is the volume we need to calculate:

What we need to do is recreate the original field levels and road embankment at 1:1 to do our volume calculations - for simplicity we are going to assume the slope of the field continues in at the same grade towards the road:

 

In plan below you can see the toe of current embankment - blue line. Red line is the road edge. 

To recreate the original field slope where the material was dumped we are going to use the overlaywidenmatchslope subassembly to build a corridor and get it to look at the existing field slope and continue this back in towards the road. Insertion point is toe of current slope and setting a target (green line) further out in the field will enable the assembly to calculate the slope of the field. 

The resulting corridor surface is shown below in purple. (actual slope may have been different but it is a good estimate). 

Next build another corridor with a linkslopetosurface subassembly. Alignment is existing road edge and existing profile. We will target the surface from the first corridor. 

The resulting corridor surface is shown below. We now have a good estimate of what the original ground levels were like before the material was dumped. 

Next to calculate the volumes we can define a material bounded by the three surfaces. 

 Volumes report below.