Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D: Working with surfaces

Name: Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D: Working with surfaces
Rating: 4.1 (51 reviews)

A compilation of tips, skills, and techniques for intermediate-advanced users with a specific focus point.

Created byAnthony Cook

Last updated 12/2019

English

What you'll learn

Expand existing knowledge of base models (existing ground surfaces), what data is available, and how Civil 3D interprets it.
Innovative techniques to work efficiently and productively to produce a solid design starting point.
Perform a civil engineering analysis of a surface from various aspects such as geo-technical and hydrological.

Course content

4 sections • 21 lectures • 2h 40m total length

Introduction to the course3:16
This lecture has general information about the course structure and it's purpose.
Exploring what a surface is4:30
A fundamental summary of the components of a surface and their uses from an engineering perspective.
How does Civil 3D work with surfaces2:33
A brief lecture summarising the toolspace inside Civil 3D in relation to surfaces.
LiDAR sources9:05
Explanation on what LiDAR is and where you can get it from. Tips on how to download and pitfalls to watch out for.
Quiz on background knowledge

Are you ready to start?5:19
Be sure to download the Section 2.pdf, the 3 Dominion.pdf and the two zip files from this lecture. Don't forget to unzip the files.
This lecture goes over some key points, downloads, and settings to check prior to starting to use the software.
Create survey surface6:18
Given some boundary and survey triangulation we will make a Civil 3D surface.
Extend survey to boundary6:47
Using the drawing from the previous lecture, we will edit it to fill in gaps between the survey boundary and legal property boundary.
Create and simplify LiDAR surface9:01
Starting a new drawing, we will import the LiDAR information from the example council website.
Setup data shortcuts4:19
We will create another drawing, and setup surface links between them all.
Adjust for vertical differences7:46
In this lecture we will calculate the average difference in heights between surfaces and make some adjustments.
Combine and view5:31
We will finally combine the data into 1 surface with smooth joining contours.
Quality control check8:48
Final lecture of the section to review the completed project for any areas of improvement.
Quiz on setting up an existing surface

Analysis types and uses5:50
Be sure to download the Section 3.pdf from this lecture.
Lecture 13 summarises various analysis techniques and tools available for surfaces.
Finding steep areas in terrain6:14
By the end of this lecture you will be able to easily illustrate steep areas on a surface. This lecture covers the worked example and two other real world projects, both an as-built surface and a modified design surface.
Defining river locations11:34
In this lecture you will learn some methods of defining where a stream invert is, how to locate the banks, and calculate the average gradient of the stream invert.
Water drops and catchments9:25
This lecture will explore the inbuilt Civil 3D tools and their limitations. You will learn how to manually determine the catchment size using engineering judgement.
Flood behaviour10:59
This lecture will showcase a real world flood example and also a simple interpretation of the ponding behaviour on our case study example.
User contours2:06
This brief lecture will show you how to extract user contours at an elevation of your choosing. We will also set up the drawing for Lecture 19.
Pond storage volumes4:39
Carrying on from Lecture 18, you will learn how to use the inbuilt stage storage functions to create a table and a graph that shows the relationship between height and volume of an existing pond in the case study example.

Closing notes / thoughts4:06
Be sure to download the Section 4.pdf from this lecture.
Summary lecture to recap the course and reinforce key points.
BONUS: Advanced techniques32:35
NOTE: There is 2 video recordings for this lecture. View part 1 in the resources section.
This is a sample video of an example design carrying on from the case study project in Section 2 of this course. It shows how easy it is to create finished ground and sub-grade design surfaces including the use of a corridor.
If you liked my teaching style, let me know of any suggested future courses that would interest you.

Requirements

1 year Civil 3D and land development project experience.
Solid foundation of civil engineering and surveying concepts.
Computer with AutoCAD Civil3D installed (version 2019 or earlier)

Description

This course will improve your existing skills of using AutoCAD Civil 3D and allow you to work more efficiently and productively. It is intended for those already in the civil engineering workforce and those looking to stand out from others and become a specialist civil designer.

The software is very comprehensive and can perform any civil engineering requirement. Yearly updates are released from Autodesk, and there is multiple third party add-ons. You can spend a life time trying to master the software and still have benefit from more training.

"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know." - Albert Einstein

There are many training courses available which are excellent for beginners or those wanting to get an overview of a specific workflow such as a designing a road. However, this course takes a step back and looks at a variety of ways of working with Civil 3D surfaces in the initial stages of a project. It focuses on one topic in detail, a resource that is not easily found elsewhere.

Having an accurate and manageable existing base model/surface is an essential step in a design project. It is paramount to ensuring the design is feasible, safe, and able to be priced accurately.

Setting up a design project correctly is an essential skill that you cannot afford not to have.

Note: This course will be done using metric measurement terminology.

Who this course is for:

CAD designers in the civil engineering industry looking to stand out from colleagues.
Land surveyors wanting to improve ground data deliverables to clients or expand services offered.

Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D: Working with surfaces

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction and background4 lectures • 19min

Case study - setup an existing surface8 lectures • 54min

Analysing an existing base surface7 lectures • 51min

Conclusion2 lectures • 37min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: