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Is there a video on teaching how to build surface from CAD cross sections?

There may be one on Trimble Library but I am not sure on that. I can likely do one over the weekend and share that with you but in the meantime here is my training package on this that covers the process and has sample files etc that will show you how to do this

The key elements are 

1) Import the CAD DAta

2) Clean up the CAD data to get what you need well structured and to "fix issues with the Cross Sections" so that they will convert correctly

3) Layer the data so it is easy to select the elements required for the conversion process - Grids, Labels, Station Labels, Finished Grade, Existing Grade, Subgrade surfaces

4) Use the Track Top Surface and Track Bottom Surface functions to find the Top and Bottom of the Design as Surfaces - so you can get the Earthworks and Subgrade Volumes from the sections.

5) Run the Conversion Process and check the results.

Note that when TBC v5 releases, the Stored Cross Sections created by this process will be visible to you in the Template Editor (which is very useful).

Once the Stored XS are created, then you can set properties on the Stored Sections as to how you want to interpret between them - there are a number of options in the properties of each XS. Depending on the XS different settings will give different results. There is a bit of trial and error in there to get the best results

Making a surface is as simple as selecting the XS for a Material Layer and creating a surface from them - same as any other data - however surfaces made from XS can be problematic depending on how complex the surfaces re and how many XS you are working with.

Typically making these surfaces Alignment Based and then Densifying will make a better surface - however be aware that surfaces from XS can be hard if the XS vary a lot from Station to Station

I do want to have Volumes Computed from End Sections based on the XS only without any surface creation being required - I believe that that is by far the best model for earthworks from XS for Takeoff purposes - does anyone have any views on this or ideas around that subject?

Alan

Enclosed is a video on how to create Stored Cross Sections from CAD Cross Sections (these could also be Vector PDF Data Cross Sections also). The video also shows how to build surfaces from the Stored Cross Sections and the potential pitfalls of doing that - With some thought about how to edit the CAD Cross Section Data, you can create Stored XS that provide useful data to create a model from - it depends very much on how frequent the cross sections are placed and how well the source system generated important "additional sections".

Bear in mind that e.g. Cross Sections every 50' will not represent the starts and ends of features (like islands or ditches or gore areas etc at all well), but they may represent Pavement Areas OK (to a usable extent for Takeoff), but Cross Sections will never give you a good enough model for Machine Control

Hope the video helps

Alan

Hi Alan! 

i am trying to do this but it wont work, do you know why? It just says that my station value is wrong. I have tried to move it (Above and below), change the point and comma and text style but nothion helps. Can you help me? 

I cant figure this out, it does not work for me. It must be something i am missing here. 

Hi Alan,

is there a way to add a more manual approach to create a stored cross section without selecting grid lines and text items? I mean just punch in a chainage, select a poly line in plan view and use the snap function on that line to define where it sits on the alignment. If I have just one cross section or from a software that isn't producing nice grid and text items than the current automatic process is too complicated or not applicable.

In the following example I don't have grid lines but CAD Dimensions.

Cheers

Ronny

In this example you have a "No Grid" type of section. In the next release

you can use the Baseline (Elv 695) and the Offset Zero Line and any

linework to create 3D Lines from Sections. In a No Grid scenario you need

to know the Hz and Vt scale. You also need to know the Vertical Datum

Elevation - it can be text like in this example (695) or you will be able

to elevate the Datum Line to 695 and the offset 0 line to 0 Elevation and

the routine will pick it up from there in the absence of text. You can use

a Dimension Line to act as the offset 0 line.

If you can send me the file - I can create you a Video of how I would do

this. You can convert Section Drawings to 3D Linework in the upcoming

release and then we have added 3D Modeling and 3D Editing Tools to make

models from sections easier. I will be posting training materials after

next weeks PUG in US on this.

Alan

On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 2:06 AM ronny.schneider@sitech.ch <

Hi Alan,

thanks for the offer. It's not that urgent, was an internal training exercise. And if there are going to be changes with the next release I'll wait and test them and get back to you if there are still questions.

Or would you like the data to create your training materials?

Cheers

 Ronny

Would like to test your type of data with the new tools

Alan

On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 9:13 AM ronny.schneider@sitech.ch <

Hello Alan,

here a 7 day link to the archived project on our TCC.

ftp://www.myconnectedsite.com/quickshare/%40QYVNzX/QP-Test.zip

Not sure what software they used to create the cross sections. I can try to find out if you want.

Cheers

Ronny

Is there anything that can done if you pull the DGN file in and the data is missing? I only see the sheet view, but all of the actual cross section data is missing. Apparently this is due to the view that was open when the file was saved in MS or something like that. It happens often when getting files from the designer. 

This happens often when the designer is using reference Files and they do not select the data from the Reference Files when they write the DGN file that they put out. If you open the file in Bentley View - do you see the cross sections. If yes then they must be in the DGN File somewhere - send it to me and I can take a look. If Bentley View wont show you the sections then the data is not there and you need to go back to the engineer. We have no Magic here unfortunately (only everywhere else!) ....

Alan

Thank you for the response. Attached is a file we received for a FDOT project. I cannot see anything but grid lines and border stuff. Let me know if you see anything different. I do not fully know what you mean when you say “Bentley view”. Again, thanks.

Sean McCarthy

Senior Party Chief

6429 Causeway Blvd    Tampa, FL 33619

T (813) 699 5900 | F (813) 699 5901 | M (813) 401 7958

smccarthy@princecontracting.com<mailto:smccarthy@princecontracting.com>

Bentley View is a free viewer for Bentley Files look for Bentley View Connect Edition in Google and you will find it

Alan

Sent from my iPhone

Got it, thanks. I can see everything in Bentley view. But it still doesn’t show up in TBC.

Sean McCarthy

Senior Party Chief

6429 Causeway Blvd    Tampa, FL 33619

T (813) 699 5900 | F (813) 699 5901 | M (813) 401 7958

smccarthy@princecontracting.com<mailto:smccarthy@princecontracting.com>

I fixed your DGN file for you so you can access the data you need - in future Rockpile can do that as a service if you need yo get at data like this - send me an email on that if you want help - we would charge you ~$100 / file (or set of files within reason) to take care of that for you and deliver you back a VCE file. (alan_sharp@rockpilesolutions.com).

Alan

The problem here is that in the File there are 4 separate "Models" and we only import one of those today - I have sent your file over to Trimble Development to look at to see if we can improve the DGN importer to read all of the 4 models and set them as Selection Sets (just like each file is a selection set) so we get at all the data from the DGN.

Alan

That would be great. This is all too common and I'm sure others in the industry have had the same issue. The impetus should be on the designers to stop doing this with files they are sending out to the contractors, but I'm sure that will take some serious arm twisting. I have people in the company that can open these in MS and then get back to me. I was looking for the solution using only TBC, which is exactly what you have sent to your team for review. If TBC could do this on it's own, I'm sure it would solve a lot of peoples headaches. Fortunately for me FDOT is going to be using TBC soon,  and I'm hoping the deliverables we will get will be compatible straight away. At least down here. Any work outside of FL I could have the same issue. As always, thank you for your time looking into this and passing along for possible development. 

We are looking at it Sean.

Alan

I would love to see TBC import DGN file.  Few times for estimating we will receive DGN files and we would have to send them out to another company to have them converted for us. 

We do import DGNs and Mondays release of 5.3 enhances that further - I use DGN sections all the time - we did find that a DGN File can have multiple Models and that we were only reading one of them - Monday’s release of 5.3 has a switch on Import of DGN Files that allows import of all Models. It also supports Mesh objects in DWG and DGN. The DGN importer creates a selection set from each of the Models imported so you can use selection set in View Filter to see each model separately.

On the subject of converting CAD sections - there is a blog on the forum with Videos, the Rockpile Community has videos in the TBC work processes section and there is a video in the Become an Expert series on the Trimble Library - so lots of material out there

I also did a power Hour that the video is posted on the Trimble website under TBC for Construction at the base of that web page there are links to recent webinar - they are also on the Trimble Community Forum (there is a Blog for these also)

Alan

Sent from my iPhone

I just wanted say thank you for taking care of this. The ability to import all models will be extremely helpful for me moving forward.  

DGN, I was thinking of XSR.  We at times get XSR for surfaces to use in estimating not DGN.  DGN are the cross section files and those do come into TBC.  This would help at times and not have to send those out to be converted. my apologizes.

We also support XSR Files in TBC already

Alan

Sent from my iPhone