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Civil 3D Connector

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Table of contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3Welcome .................................................................................................................................. 3

Workflow ....................................................................................................................................... 4Workflow .................................................................................................................................. 4Send data from Civil3D to Quadri ......................................................................................... 5Update data from Civil3D to Quadri ..................................................................................... 7Conversion Rule Editor .......................................................................................................... 8

Supported Civil 3D Objects ...................................................................................................... 10Supported Civil 3D Objects ................................................................................................. 10Alignment ............................................................................................................................... 10CogoPoint ............................................................................................................................. 11Corridor .................................................................................................................................. 12Profile ..................................................................................................................................... 13Surface ................................................................................................................................... 15Pipe Network ......................................................................................................................... 16

Pipes ................................................................................................................................. 18Structures .......................................................................................................................... 22

Featureline ............................................................................................................................. 25Grading .................................................................................................................................. 26Parcel ..................................................................................................................................... 27

Frequently asked questions ...................................................................................................... 29FAQ ........................................................................................................................................ 29

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Introduction

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Welcome

Welcome

The Civil 3D Connector is an extension on top of Novapoint Base that allows the import of NATIVE Civil 3Dobjects into a Quadri DCM model.Using this toolkit, the Civil 3D design data can dynamically get imported into Novapoint Base and reusedthere for further design or analysis.

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Workflow

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Workflow

Workflow

Workflow: the workflow to set up a connection between a Civil 3D drawing and Novapoint Base is twofold:

1. you need to set up the intial connection:

o create a CivilConnector Task in Novapoint Baseo use the VNNP_ImportC3D_to_DCM command in Civil 3D and choose the task you wish to

connect to

2. If you wish to update the design in Novapoint Base, you need to update an existing connection

o use VNNP_UpdateC3D_to_DCM command in Civil 3D and choose the task you wish to update

Note : Data Shortcuts (See Civil 3D help) are supported as well, since the tool is scanningthe active drawing for the geometry.

So also if the source drawing modifies, and the reference is synchronized, issuing the VNNP_UpdateC3D_to_DCM command will refresh the features connected to the task inNovapoint Base

The tool allows to send/update the following CIVIL 3D native objects to Quadri DCM (NovapointBase)

o Alignments / Profiles (FG)o Surfaces o Corridor information (Feature Lines and Surfaces)o Gradings (Features Lines used and Detached Surfaces)o Featurelineso Pipe Networks (both pipes and structures)o Parcelso CogoPoints

For a detailed description of each object, please navigate to the chapter Supported Civil 3D Objects

During the conversion, the user can also activate the Novapoint Conversion Rule editor, and matchthe Civil 3D geometry to Quadri DCM FeatureTypes

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Send data from Civil3D to Quadri

Send data from Civil 3D to Quadri

1. Create a task in Novapoint Base

On the modelling ribbon you can find the Civil 3D Connector task.

You need to define a Civil 3D Connector task, before you can assign Civil 3D data to it.

The task requires a name, which will be displayed later in your Civil 3D environment once you wish toattach data to itYou can then hit the finish button to complete the task definition.This completes the work on the Novapoint Base side, the rest of the task is done in AutoCAD Civil 3D.You need to start your Civil 3D session from Novapoint Base (using the button in the lower right corner)

2. Attach Civil 3D objects to the defined task

Make sure that you have a license of the Novapoint Civil 3D Connector module. You can get a licensefrom the Novapoint Module Loader (MENU : Novapoint > Module Loader).

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This should activate the ribbon where you will have 3 commands :

o import : to import data from Civil 3D in Novapoint Base (this section)o update : to update an existing Civil 3D connector task (see further in this document)o help : access to the help file

Click on the import button and choose the task that you wish to connect your data to.

Optionally you can launch the conversion rule editor (activate the check box), where you can define/change what and how the Civil 3D objects are converted. For a more detailed description of the conversion rule editor, please read the conversion rule editorsection.

Note : If you leave the option 'show conversion rule editor' unchecked, all supported Civil3D objects will get converted, using the default conversion rule

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For a list of supported Civil 3D Objects, click here

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Update data from Civil3D to Quadri

Update data from Civil 3D to Quadri

Updating an existing Civil 3D Connector task is done in the Civil 3D environment

Make sure that you have a license of the Novapoint Civil 3D Connector module. You can get a licensefrom the Novapoint Module Loader (MENU : Novapoint > Module Loader).

This should activate the ribbon where you will have 3 commands :

o import : to import data from Civil 3D in Novapoint Baseo update : to update an existing Civil 3D connector task (this section)o help : access to the help file

Click on the update button and choose the task that you wish to update.

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Optionally you can launch the conversion rule editor (activate the check box), where you can define/change what and how the Civil 3D objects are converted. For a more detailed description of the conversion rule editor, please read the conversion rule editorsection.

Note : If you leave the option 'show conversion rule editor' unchecked, all supported Civil3D objects will get converted

For a list of supported Civil 3D Objects, click here

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Conversion Rule Editor

Conversion rule editor

The conversion rule editor is a very powerful tool to define how you wish to convert your source geometryinto intelligent features.

The following columns are available :

· Active : defines if the rule is active. If the rule is active, it will be used, if the rule is not active, it remainsavailable in the list, but will not be used for the actual conversion

· Source Feature : defines the GeometryType of the source data. For Civil 3D we support points, lines,surfaces, and solids

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o LegacySurface : to be used for surfaces in Civil 3D (terrain, corridor surface, grading surfaces,parcels...)

o LegacyCurve : to be used for linear elements in Civil 3D (alignments, feature lines,...)o LegacySolid : to be used for pipe networks in Civil 3D (pipes and structures)o LegacyPoint : to be used for CogoPoints in Civil 3D

· Source Attribute : should always be set to legacyTaggedValueList, and is used for filtering the sourcedata

· Conversion Key Name can be either Civil3DObjectType or Civil3DObjectNameo Civil3DObjectType : filter is based on Civil 3D Object TYPEo Civil3DObjectName : filters the Civil 3D Object base on the NAME

· Conversion Key Value will show a list with available Civil 3D Object types (if conversion key name =Civil3DObjectType), or Civil 3D Object Names (if the conversion key name = Civil3DObjectName)

o if Civil3DObjectType is choosen: you will get a list of supported Civil 3D Objects (that areavailable in your drawing), based on the geometrytype set in Source Feature value

o if Civil3DObjectName is choosen: you will get a list that shows the objectnames of the availableCivil 3D Objects in the drawing, based on the geometrytype set in Source Feature value

· Destination Feature defines the FeatureType to create on the Novapoint side.

Each line in the conversion rule editor defines a filter to apply on the source data. Using this technique youcan define whether and how a specific Civil 3D object should get converted.The first filter applied is based on the geometryType in Civil 3D. This is done by setting the Source Featurecolumn.Once that we have specified the geometrytype to filter for, we can narrow this filter by setting and additionalconversion using the conversion key name. This can be either Civil3DObjectType if you wish to create ageneric filter that is applied to all objects of this specific type, or you can use Civil3DObjectName if you wishto filter for a specific object with that name.Finally, you define what FeatureType you wish to create in Novapoint.

This technique is also used to import a subset of your Civil 3D data into Novapoint.

Examples :

To import the TinSurface's only, you could use the following single rule :

To import all the alignments available in your drawing, you can use the following single rule :

To import only the (corridor) surfaces where the name= TOP, you could use the following single rule :

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Supported Civil 3D Objects

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Supported Civil 3D Objects

Supported Civil 3D Objects

The following objects are supported and can get imported to Novapoint Base. Click on an object in theCivil 3D Object column to find out about the details

Civil 3D Object Quadri DCM geometry type Remark (based on default conversion rule)

Alignment DesignCurve Horizontal geometry FeatureName = Alignment nameCogoPoint Point Point feature name = CogoPoint RAW DescriptionCorridor Feature Line CurveString FeatureName = Featureline codeCorridor Surface TIN Surface FeatureName = Surface nameFeatureline CurveString FeatureName = Featureline nameFG Profile DesignCurve Horizontal + Vertical

geometryfeatureName = alignment / profile name

Grading Feature Line CurveString FeatureName = feature line nameGrading Surface Tin Surface feature FeatureName = Surface name (requires detached

surface)Parcel Surface feature featureName = parcel nameTin Surface TIN Surface feature FeatureName = Surface namePipes Solid feature FeatureName = pipe nameStructure Solid feature featureName = structure name

The actual destination FeatureType can be set in the conversion rule editor, during conversion.

Note : Civil 3D Objects through Data Shortcuts (See Civil 3D help) are supported as well,since the tool is scanning the active drawing for the geometry.

So also if the source drawing modifies, and the reference is synchronized, issuing the VNNP_UpdateC3D_to_DCM command will refresh the features connected to the task inNovapoint Base

There is NO CONVERSION of units during import. This means that a drawing containingCivil 3D objects in IMPERIAL system will get imported without RESCALING

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Alignment

Alignments

Alignments can get imported using the Civil 3D Connector toolkit

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In the conversion rule editor you can decide what kind of Quadri DCM FeatureType to use

By default, all Alignments are translated into featureType Alignment, and the name of the feature will be setto the name of the alignment

Note : If the alignment has Finished Ground (FG) Profile definitions, then there will be afeature instance for every FG profile in Novapoint. (see Profile section)

If the alignment has no FG profiles defined, there will only be horizontal geometry attachedto the feature

Existing Ground profiles are not converted, since they can get recreated using alignmentand terrain as calculation basis.

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Roundabout-Slip Lane-Add.dwg)

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CogoPoint

CogoPoints

CogoPoints can get imported using the Civil 3D Connector toolkit

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In the conversion rule editor you can decide what kind of Quadri DCM FeatureType to use

By default, all CogoPoints are translated into TerrestrialElevationPoint, and the name of the feature will beset to the raw description of the CogoPoint

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Points-4e.dwg)

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Corridor

Corridors

Corridors can get imported using the Civil 3D Connector toolkit. The toolkit supports:

· Corridor surfaces

· Corridor featurelines

In the conversion rule editor you can decide what kind of Quadri DCM FeatureType to use

By default, all Corridor Feature lines are translated into RoadEdge features, and the name of the feature willbe set to the point code of the featurelineBy default, Corridor Surfaces are translated into UnspecifiedLandCoverarea, and the name of the feature willbe set to the corridor surface name

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Corridor-5c.dwg)

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Profile

Profiles

FG Profiles can get imported using the Civil 3D Connector toolkit

Since FG profiles are always connected to an alignment, you will find this vertical geometry on adesignCurve feature

The conversion rule editor will decide what kind of featuretype you will get

Each FG profile defined for an alignment will create a feature type instance, one for each vertical profileproposed.

For details, please check the chapter on alignments

Note : If the alignment has multiple Finished Ground (FG) Profile definitions, then there willbe a feature instance for every FG profile in Novapoint.

the name of the feature will be a combination of the alignment name and the profile name

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Profile-6c.dwg)

The alignment Ridge Road, has 2 FG profiles defined : Layout (1) and Layout (2)

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In Novapoint Base, you'll get 2 features, one for each Finished Ground Profile. The horizontal geometry isduplicated on each instance. This gives the advantage that both features can get displayed together (forexample to compare alternative vertical designs)

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Surface

Surfaces

TIN surfaces are supportedGRID surfaces are currently not supported

The conversion rule editor will decide what kind of featuretype you will get, default will be set to"UnspecifiedLandCoverArea".The name of the surface on the Civil 3D side will be the name of the Feature in Novapoint.

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Surface-8.dwg)

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Pipe Network

Pipe Networks

Pipe networks are supported, both with regard to pipes and structures

The pipes and structures will get imported as features with their geometry set to SOLIDS. The names of thefeatures correspond to the pipe and structure names in Civil3D

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\PipeNetworks-3C.dwg)

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Pipes

Pipes

Pipes from pipe networks are supported.

The pipes will get imported as features with their geometry set to SOLIDS. This means that any shape thatcan get defined in Civil3D (using PartBuilder for example) can get imported to Novapoint Base

The names of the features correspond to the pipe names in Civil3D

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\PipeNetworks-3C.dwg)

swapped the pipe shape from circular to egg shape in Civil 3D:

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swapped the pipe shape from circular to rectangular box in Civil 3D

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swapped the pipe shape from circular to elliptical in Civil 3D

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results in Novapoint Base :

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Structures

Structures

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Structures (such as manholes, outlets etc) from pipe networks are supported.

The structures will get imported as features with their geometry set to SOLIDS. This means that any shapethat can get defined in Civil3D (using PartBuilder for example) can get imported to Novapoint Base

The names of the features correspond to the structure names in Civil3D

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\PipeNetworks-3C.dwg)

swapped the part to rectangular structure in Civil 3D

results in Novapoint Base:

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Featureline

Feature Lines

Featurelines are supported. By default, feature lines are converted to RoadVergeOtherRoadArea featuretype, but this can be specified in the conversion rule editor during conversion of the data.

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Grading-8.dwg)

But, if you want, you can also specify different feature types, if you filter the Civil 3D featureLines based ontheir name, and set a specific feature type for each of them :

results in Novapoint Base:

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Grading

Gradings

Grading surfaces are supported, but you need to create a detached surface from the Grading Object first.

This can be done in Civil 3D (see screenshot below)

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Grading-8.dwg)

Grading Object and Detached Surface in Civil 3D:

Result in Novapoint Base :

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Parcel

Parcels

Parcels are supported and get converted to Parcel featuretype.the name of the parcel corresponds to the object name assigend in Civil 3D

Example (based on C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\Parcel-3A.dwg)

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Frequently asked questions

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. user created a CivilConnector task and has send the data from Civil 3D to NP base (C3D2DCM)a) user deletes a feature from the CivilConnector task in NP Base and runs the

Update_C3D2DCM commandè Feature are read with Handle, it updates to the NP base if Civil3dConnector task contains the

Handle. If task doesn't contain Handle of the feature The Connector will create new and addto the NP base.This case the new feature will be replace by new feature.

b) user deletes a feature from the CivilConnector task in Civil 3D and runs theUpdate_C3D2DCM command

è All the Civil3d are storage of the task are update, the Civil3d Deleted features should bedelete from the NP Base.

 c) user modifies a feature's geometry from the CivilConnector task in NP BASE  and runs the

Update_C3D2DCM commandè The modified will be updated by information of the Civil3d.

d) user modifies a feature's attributes values (name, metadata...) from the CivilConnectortask in NP BASE  and runs the Update_C3D2DCM command

è The same point c.

e) user adds new object in Civil 3D, runs the Update_C3D2DCM command, and launches theconversion rule editor to add this new object

è New objects are not update to the existing civil3dConector in NP base.

2. what happens if user created in Civil 3D an Alignment objecta) that has only horizontal geometry, and no profile defined

è Alignment is created without Vertical in NP base

b) that has horizontal geometry and 1 profile definedè Alignment is created with Vertical in NP base

c) that has horizontal geometry and multiple profiles definedè Civil3dConnector select the first Profile with type FG to make the Vertical information.

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