How useful is AutoCAD 3D? 7

[daylight211]

I'm researching the idea of upgrading from AutoCAD 2004 with LDD to a 3d version for use in the site design/land development field. Is 3d the way of the future? Will companies that do not upgrade to 3d be left in the dust? Will the companies that effectively use 3d models create a superior product? Thanks!

 

[francesca]

The 3D tools in AutoCAD are not particularly sophisticated. For instance, your lines through 3D space can only be straight, unless they're in one of the regular planes (xy, yz, xz). The edit tools are also a little cumbersome.

I can see how the tools may be useful to mechanical engineers, structural engineers and architects, but I can't think of any civil applications where current 3D capabilities aren't sufficient. (e.g. contouring, creating cross-sections, etc.)

 

[BelspringKen]

There are a lot of good features in Civil 3D, but there is a steep learning curve. It has plan and profile capabilities, earthwork calcs, etc.

Its integrated into AutoCAD, but it has civil tools much like LDD. LDD is more stable and there is more support info for it.

 

[jast]

civil 3d will be the way to go in the future. i sat through a three day class on civil 3d to try to learn how to use it. the company i work for sent every cad operator and engineer to this class. we all have it on our computer but right now all the problems havent been worked out so we cant be very productive with it. the things that i saw done with this program is amazing and will save lots and lots of time. i have heard of a couple people in our firm using it in the design of a subdivision and i heard it cut time in half. the best thing that i remember about it was that it updated changes so efficiently. if a street changed location then profiles updated automatically. also commercial sites can be graded so simple if you know how to set it up. SET UP IS THE KEY AND WE HAVENT USED IT ENOUGH TO KNOW.

 

[BelspringKen]

I think C3D can replace LDD. Sometimes I use both on a project, doing the grading using the C3D tools, and doing other things in LDD. The style setup is a key thing - that will speed things up a lot. There are still some bugs.

Some of the demos and "training" that I saw were more like sales demos. There are good features, but you need standards set up before you start, and training before you start would be very beneficial.

 

[RRCARR]

I am hearing that LDD will soon be dissapearing forever and so everyone will be forced to convert to Civil 3D. I have been using Civil 3D for a short while now. Getting thru the set ups can be very aggravating but once you get thru that life gets a little easier. There will definately be a huge reduction in productivity until things are re-learned. The key is getting thru setting up all the styles and saving those styles to a drawing template. If you don't use the dwg template, you will have to reset all the styles everytime you start a new project and that can be very costly.

On a lighter note the new Civil 3D is absolutely amazing. The things it can do are awesome, like the instant updating to surfaces, profiles, etc. when design changes are made. I can see a huge savings in drawing time in the future. It does have some snags that need worked out yet but I'm sure they will get it............eventually.

 

[rmadrid]

Civil 3D is what we will be migrating into in the near future. LDD will eventually be phased out and Autodesk will no longer support the software. Civil 3d if used by a skilled user is very powerfull. Advantages of Civil 3D is that the alignments and profiles are tied together so that if you make any horizontal alignment change the profile will adjust accordingly. There are also other great tools that have been added to expedite the site design work. When using LDD properly we are already doing 3D CAD design, all the autodesk has done is made it easier to work in a 3d environment. 3d modeling is the way of the future and as computers get faster eventually all cad software will follow this trend. I say if you are already staffed for Autocad you need to send at least one person to get trained in Civil 3d and go with the flow.

 

[LHA]

I just today dove into Civil 3D. I am over ten yrs fluent in standalone ACAD, and somewhat fluent in LDD. I couldn't do a thing in 3D, but it looked like what the others are saying is true: once you figure out HOW TO, 3D will do much. Back to beating my head against a wall & learning...for the life of me, I don't know how to get the elevations off a 3D PL into an alignment...or off contours into a surface...or....(head hits wall repeatedly, Steve drives home very fast and grabs a beer!!!)

Have a good weekend. A lot of mine will (apparently) be spent wrestling with 3D.

Engineering is the practice of the art of science - Steve

 

[BelspringKen]

LHA/Steve -

Do a Google search for Phillip Zimmerman and Civil3D.

There are also some good things on the net at Autodesk

Autodesk.co.uk.civil3d-downloads

 

[civilguy98418]

I have been engineering/modeling/drafting for quite some time, and have had the opportunity to get acquanted with civil 3D.

The dynamic capability is what sets it apart. Dynamic means all profiles, cross sections and corriders tied to an alignment are updated AUTOMATICALLY if you change the alignment, FG profile or surface.

What a relief this is. Also, forget messing with text. If you want it to be 1/10", one setting and for what ever scale you want, the text will be right.

Civil 3D has become more akin to computer programming than drafting in many respects (styles, labels, properties and objects). It is such a drastic modification that it will take a tremendous effort in training and setup for many in the industry to become proficient.

I am lucky, in that I have no bottom line to contend with. But, the features and benifits are there to offset the investment.

One more note. Civil3D 2006 is very much like the Beta version. I would anticipate that 2008 is much better and more "mature".

 

[francesca]

I'm currently midway through my first design project using C3D and I must say that I am impressed. I had a rudimentary knowledge of AutoCAD going in, and fairly good experience with the subdivision design process and I'm doing pretty well with a few pointers from someone across the globe via email and one of Phillip Zimmerman's books. I also joined the Yahoo! group Cadapault, which has some white papers on some of the trickier elements and they seem to be a great resource to draw from.

The bottomless pit of styles seems annoying, particularly when you're getting started, but if you stick with the default until you get to the finer points of your drafting, they're not so bad. The dynamic updating applies to styles (which include layer assignments) as well, so it really doesn't matter if your entire project is on the 0 layer until you find a reason to move something to its own layer.

I still struggle with Microstation and Geopak, but to me C3D is intuitive and that, along with the dynamic updating, is the most valuable part of the software.