Need Updated Software... Civil 3D???

[cmm1080]

We are a small civil company and are behind regarding software. We are growing though. With that said, we don't have a large sum of money lying around to go purchase the latest software. BUT, we know we need to do something if we want to keep up. We are currently running AutoCAD Lite 2004! Our primary draftman is running 2005 with Carlson.

We don't need the latest and greatest. We do want something that will work with Carlson, has numerous stormwater drainage analysis methods available, and has sewer/water design. We do a lot of surveying and design work for subdivsions. We also do some state highway work.

We were looking at Civil 3D 2013, but it seems as though that option may have been taken down. The websites we are looking at indicate that only 2016 is available for $6900/seat or $300/month/seat.

Any advice is appreciated. TY.

 

[beej67]

Bricscad with Carlson will be a lot cheaper and should do everything you need. The drafting environment is basically identical to AutoCAD so there's nothing really new to learn, especially if your primary designer is already a Carlson guy. It's also a lighter software and doesn't crash.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[cmm1080]

beej6... TY for the information. I looked at your website and you do some major work in the hydraulics field. Is Briscad a program that you implement for your projects?

I'm going to look into it today. I'm hoping we can find something that uses numerous analysis methods. We normally use the rational method, but we have a current project that required the modified rational method. We are stuck with using MathCAD and Excel. Of course, this is for smaller catchments such as residential subdivisions and single-store commercial.

 

[francesca]

Carlson's newer software is pretty slick. However, if you want to do highway work, you're going to need Bentley. 3D models are rapidly becoming standard deliverables, and with the prevalence of Trimble in the machine control market, Bentley i-Models of OpenRoads format data is likely to be required within the next few years alongside the LandXML that's very common already.

For H&H I've been well served with HY-8, HEC-RAS, and HEC-HMS -- all free. There's EPA-SWMM, too.