January Meeting

January Meeting
Topic: Various Things We Learned At Autodesk University

Presenters: Bob Gilman (Kimley-Horn), Ian Burrell (URS) and Dan Thill (Bonestroo)

We will discuss and demonstrate various things we learned at Autodesk University.

1) Civil 3D Workflow and Project Organization
2) Improvement and Use of Data shortcuts in 2009
3) Increasing move to NCS
4) Feature of Map 3D-Drawing Cleanup Wizard
5) Profile Styles for Labeling Vertical Curves
a. Creating 1 profile curve style to label both the Sag and Crest curve.b. Creating a short line on the profile from BVC to the PVI.
6) Favorite quote; “Discontent is the first necessity of progress” Thomas Edison – so why haven’t we made more progress?

Location:
URS
Fifth Street Towers
100 South Fifth Street, Suite 1500Minneapolis, MN 55402Phone: 612-370-0700 (Main)

Date: January 13th, 2008.

Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (pizza and soda will be provided)

See attached map for directions and parking.

If you are planning on attending please contact Ian Burrell at Ian_Burrell@URSCorp.com or 612-373-6424
Who should attend: CAD Managers, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Engineering Designers, and Production Drafters?

Tip from AU

Trying to remember a command someone told you about or you seen in a demo but can’t remember the name. The TAB key can be your best friend. Start typing in the command in the command line, and start hitting the TAB key after a few letters. The Tab key will scroll you through the list of command that begin with letters you typed in. If you ever wondered what all of the Civil 3D commands are type in AEC then start hitting the TAB key and it will scroll through all the commands.
Picked this tip up from a class called Best of Blogs: Hot Tips and Hacks for Autocad Civil 3D presented by James Wedding

November Meeting Review

Thanks to Avatech Solutions for hosting the November meeting and providing pizza and refreshments.

Chad Studer gave a demonstration of the Leica High-Definition Surveying system. He showed how to edit point clouds. After that Jon McNelis gave an overview of the Survey portion of Civil 3D. How to import a field book then showed how to edit a field book. He went over using the Survey Database. We also had a discussion of the difference between using points brought into the Survey Database vs. points that are brought into Civil 3D using the import points.

Thanks again to Rob Black, Jon McNelis and Chad Studer of Avatech Solutions.

November Meeting

November Meeting
Topic: Using Civil 3D Survey and a demonstration of Leica Geosystem high Definition surveying system

Presenters: Jon McNelis and Chad Studer (Detroit office) application engineers from Avatech Solutions

Jon is Avatech Solutions local application engineer and has over 20 years of residential & commercial engineering experience, Jon applies his proficiency with Autodesk software products to assist Avatech clients through consulting services, training and technical support. His spirit of detailed project and technical management help customers create a streamlined environment through the use of design technology.

With an extensive background in civil engineering, Jon has helped firms design and manage projects in a variety of situations. He was also instrumental in the design and implementation of CAD Standards at three different organizations, increasing each firm’s efficiency and training staff in the use of the software.

Location:
Avatech Solutions
101 East Fifth Street Suite 2100St Paul, MN 55101Phone: 651-298-0990

Date: November 11th, 2008.
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (pizza and soda will be provided)

If you are planning on attending please contact Rob Black at Avatech Solutions 651-298-0990 or e-mail at rob.black@avat.com

Who should attend: CAD Managers, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Engineering Designers, and Production Drafters?

Best Practices of Road Reconstruction

Autodesk webcast available for viewing. Click on the link to view.


https://www120.livemeeting.com/cc/autodesklearning/view?id=GOV_10_01_08&pw=Audience

For a copy of the white paper on Best Practices of Road Reconstruction.
Click on the link below.

ftp://TWCCivil3D:Autodesk@www.kimley-horn.com/_secure/MNCivil3D

AU 2008 Annual User Conference and Exhibition

The Premier Autodesk Learning and Networking Event:

Autodesk is expecting over 11,000 users to attend this years event.
The event is being held December 2-5, 2008 at the Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas.

Some of the highlights of the AU experience include:

• The opportunity to explore the latest trends and technologies—including concepts such as Digital Prototyping, building information modeling, and sustainable design.

• 600+ classes, labs, and lectures to help you boost your productivity and take your capabilities—and your company—to the next level.

• The chance to meet face to face with Autodesk executives and product managers, giving you a better understanding of where Autodesk is going and the opportunity to influence the future development of the products you use every day.

To signup go to.




http://au.autodesk.com/event/

Annotation Scale

Annotation Objects where introduced into the Autocad world in 2008 and have caused performance issues in Civil 3D.

With the use of External References has produced and spawned a very large list of Annotation Scales. A set of drawings end up having a large number of Annotation Scales. All the files are relatively small. But the load time for each drawing is long.

Autodesk has released a tool to cleanup multiple files of the other items that will slow Civil 3D drawing – Registered Applications. These RegApps can cause performance issues with opening, plotting or e-transmitting any Autocad drawing.

Click on the link below to download the application.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=11807875&linkID=9240618

To learn more about unreferenced RegApps click on the link

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=11817088&linkID=9240617


Bob G

September Meeting Review

Thanks to Kimley-Horn Associates, Inc. for hosting Septembers meeting and providing the pizza and refreshments. Bob Gilman presented KHA’s experiences implementing Civil 3D on various projects using Civil3D 2008 and how he see’s Civil3D 2009 changing the way projects are setup and done.

If you would like a copy of the power point Bob used during the meeting click on the link below.

ftp://TWCCivil3D:Autodesk@www.kimley-horn.com/_secure/MNCivil3D

Autodesk Whitepaper "Road Design Basics with Civil 3D"

If you missed the Autodesk webcast on Road Design Basics with Civil 3D.
You can download the white paper at the following location.

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/adeskcivilengsolutions_whitepaper_technical_roaddesignbasics.pdf

Autodesk Civil 3D Road Design Webcast

Autodesk just announced 3 new webcast for roadway design.

Additional webcast that cover introduction to Civil 3D 2009, points, parcels, earthwork.

Also you can find a link to on demand webcast. Click on the link below to see a complete listing.

http://offers.autodesk.com/7/82801/webcasts.php?src=indexRegisterNowPromo&mktvar001=82801

I've found that these are free webcast can be very helpful.

Bob G.

September Meeting – USING Civil 3D on real life projects

September Meeting – USING Civil 3D on real life projects

Topic: Using Civil 3D on real life projects

Bob Gilman from Kimley-Horn Associates, Inc. will present his experiences on four various projects using Civil3D 2008 and how Civil3D 2009 will change the way projects are setup and used.

Project description:
Approximately 1.5 miles of residential street reconstruction (6 cul-de-sacs), (existing conditions curb and gutter in some areas), new curb and gutter, new storm sewer, storm water pond and rain gardens, 1.5 miles of watermain reconstruction, sanitary sewer repairs, sidewalk, trail reconstruction,

Project description:
Approximately 1 mile of residential street reconstruction, new curb and gutter (north side first ½ mile, south side last ½ mile), storm sewer modifications, storm rain gardens, ¾ miles of watermain reconstruction, sanitary sewer repairs, sidewalk

Project description:
Approximately 2 miles of bituminous trail along TH 12, storm water

Project description:
Approximately 2 miles watermain, ½ mile of sanitary forcemain, ½ mile gravity sanitary sewer.
Date: Tuesday September 16th, 2008.
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (pizza and soda will be provided)

Who should attend: CAD Managers, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Engineering Designers, and Production Drafters.

Location:
Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc
Court International Building
2550 University Avenue West
1st floor conference room
St. Paul, MN 55114

For a map and directions,
http://www.kimley-horn.com/kha/flashmap.asp

Speaker Bio:

Robert Gilman
Mid America Regional Autocad Coordinator
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
St. Paul, Minnesota

Professional Affiliations Certifications:
City of New Prague Planning and Zoning Commissioner
AUGI Member
BRW Alumni

Experience:
Bob has 20+ years of experience in civil engineering and surveying for new construction and reconstruction of highways and urban roadways, including roadway layout, profiles, utility, cross sections, pavement marking, signing, signalization, lighting, traffic control, earthwork and bid item quantities computation.

Education:
Engineering/Architectural Drafting Degree,
Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD.

Please e-mail Bob Gilman at bob.gilman@kimley-horn.com if you are planning on attending.

Autocad Civil 3D 2009 Update 1

Civil 3D 2009 Update 1 is here.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=11687614&linkID=9240698

Issues Resolved
http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/autocad_civil_3d_2009_update_1_readme_final.htm#summary

July's Meeting in Review

Thanks to Alignex Inc. for opening their facility and providing pizza and refreshments. Their Civil 3D guru Bill Neuhauser presented his view of applying C3D to projects and in particular his method for developing the road surface of an irregular cul de sac.
There was also some discussion about forming the organization of the user’s group by the users and Bob Gilman of Kimley Horn stepped up as the first volunteer leader. He asked for assistance from Dan Thill of Bonestroo and Ian Burrell from URS.
As an Affiliated Chapter of AUGI (AutoCAD Users Group International) they agreed to work together to develop the organization for the benefit of all users.
Brad Burgess from Autodesk was also in attendance (IDS Civil Solutions Executive, Infrastructure Solutions Division, Northeast Territory) and showed support for the users group.We are looking for topics for our future meetings so email subjects of interest as well as any questions or comments you have regarding the Minnesota Civil 3D User

Minnesota Civil 3D Users Group Is Under New Management

Paul Case and Doug Benoit from Imaginit originally setup the users group with the thought at some point in time it would be taken over by users. With Paul’s departure from Imaginit someone was needed to take over. They preferred someone from outside the reseller environment. The following people have volunteered to run the users group.

Main User Group Contact:

Robert Gilman
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
651-643-0414
bob.gilman@kimley-horn.com

Alternate User Group contacts:

Dan Thill
Bonestroo
651-604-4809
dan.thill@bonestroo.com

Ian Burrell
URS Corp.
612-373-6424
ian.burrell@urscorp.com

If you have any suggestion for future group meeting please contact one of us.

Thanks,

Bob G.

April Meeting - ALL ABOUT STYLE!!

Topic: ALL ABOUT STYLE!!

Andy Parr from IMAGINiT Techologies will be covering the different style types and making styles default for object creation and labeling.

• Obect Styles
• Label Styles
• Table Styles
• Drawing Settings
• Feature Settings
• Command Settings

Date: Tuesday, April 29th
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (food and soda will be provided)
Location:

Bonestroo
2335 Highway 36 W
St. Paul, MN 55113

For a map and directions, please visit : http://www.bonestroo.com/Contact/Locations/StPaul/tabid/233/Default.aspx

Speaker Bio:

Name / Title: Alexander Parr, P.E., Civil Applications Specialist

Company: IMAGINiT Technologies

Office Location: Cleveland, OH, United States

Vertical: Infrastructure Solutions Division

Professional Affiliations Certifications:
Professional Engineer, Ohio; Surveyor in Training (SI), Ohio; Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert (ICE)

Experience: Andy has over fourteen years of civil engineering and surveying experience in a variety of positions ranging from design engineering to project management. These roles have provided him with a deep understanding of numerous survey and civil software programs encompassing many types of data collectors, survey, and hydraulic/hydrology methods, including Eaglepoint, SurvCADD, Autodesk® Land Desktop and AutoCAD® Civil 3D®. His expertise includes management and design work on commercial sites, residential subdivisions, municipal road rehabilitation, utilities, railroads, and airports.

Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cleveland State University; Surveying Certification Program from Cleveland State University; Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Ohio Northern University

About: Andy has helped many firms and government agencies align their software usage with their workflow, design, and documentation requirements. He quickly zeroes in on key issues and delivers welltargeted, energetic and entertaining presentations to both department managers and end-users.

March's Meeting in Review

I would like to thank Jerry Bartels from Autodesk for flying to MN to present at our second Minnesota Civil 3D User Group. We are looking for topics for our next meeting, so please email Paul Case (pcase@rand.com) with items you would like to see presented, as well as any questions or comments you have regarding the Civil 3D User Group. Alliant Engineering (http://www.alliant-eng.com/) has offered to host the next meeting. Look for an email from me in a couple of weeks with the details.

Below you will find several links to various AutoCAD Civil 3D resources that Jerry has been compiling.

Civil 3D Resource Center
http://www.adskhost.com/2007/03/AutoCAD-Civil-3D-Resource-Center/

Civil 3D On-Demand Webcasts
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=8894388

Autodesk University Online
http://au.autodesk.com/

Autodesk University
http://www.autodeskevents.com/au2007/

Civil 3D Civil Community Website
http://civilcommunity.autodesk.com/

Civil 3D Knowledge Base
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/index?siteID=123112&id=3571865&linkID=9240697

Civil 3D Discussion Forums
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=3615113&linkID=9240697

Autodesk E-Learning courses
http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/e-learningbk.pdf

Autodesk Student Resource Center
http://students4.autodesk.com/

Autodesk Civil 3D 2008 Course Curriculum
http://students6.autodesk.com/?nd=adsk_c3d2008_curriculum

Register for a Civil 3D webcast
www.autodesk.com/AEC-civilengineering-webcasts

March Meeting - Civil 3D Overview

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOCATION FOR MARCH'S CIVIL 3D USER GROUP MEETING HAS CHANGED TO PARKDALE CENTER IN ST. LOUIS PARK. SEE BELOW FOR THE ADDRESS.

Due to a last minute change to our December meeting, we will be using that agenda for our March meeting.

Minnesota AutoCAD Civil 3D User Group Meeting

Who should attend: CAD Managers, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Engineering Designers, Production Drafters

Date: Wednesday, March 5th

Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Pizza and soda will be provided)

Location:
Parkdale Center
5100 Gamble Drive
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
(Google and Yahoo directions will put you a block away from the Parkdale Center building. The address is Gamble Drive, but the building is physically located on Utica Avenue)


Topic: Civil 3D 2008 Overview by Jerry Bartels from Autodesk. During this 90 Minute session, Jerry will provide a high-level overview of Civil 3D including working with Points, Surface construction and Alignment & Profile creation. Using these Objects he will create a quick corridor model, generate some cross sections and demonstrate Civil 3D’s Plan Production tools. Along the way, Jerry will discuss the many benefits of using a 3D Object Model when doing design. He will conclude with a Question and Answer session.

Speaker Bio: Jerry is a civil engineering technical specialist for Autodesk. For more than 17 years, Jerry has worked in all areas of civil engineering, surveying, and mapping, providing clients with services in CAD management and implementation, and network administration. He also has 10+ years of experience teaching Autodesk products and developing curriculum at Elgin Community College in Illinois. At Autodesk, Jerry specializes in civil engineering and mapping solutions, and currently provides training and support services throughout the country. He has received two awards from Autodesk for his presentations.

If you would like to register for this event, please email Paul Case (pcase@rand.com)

December's Meeting in Review

Below is a brief overview of what was covered at the December meeting:

1. We had around 8-10 people in attendance.
2. We discussed the direction of the group. The location will vary each month.
3. There were miscellaneous questions about Civil 3D, including moving profiles and a styles overview.
4. Other topics included:

• Accessing the Survey Link extension
• Using the Annotation Scale & VP Scale functionality in Model Space and the Layouts
• Using -SCALELISTEDIT to clean-up the list of scales when using the Annotation Scale
• A brief introduction the new HydraFlow Extension
• Creating PLPR sheets using the Plan Production tools
• A discussion of Data Shortcuts vs. Vault
• Using ctrl + left click for the selection of C3D entities
• Fianlly, the importance of creating data when setting up your C3D styles

5. Doug Benoit of IMAGINiT Technologies gave a Civil 3D 2008 new features overview.