Getting costs for the yearly "update/subscription", they are very close to jumping the shark this time. It's outrageous!!!
The shark-jumping happened several years ago for me.?ÿ
I have learned how to live completely Autodesk-free.
I just got the actual numbers, it seems we were looking at the maintenance fee and not the subscription fee, the subscription fee is the one we are on. It is roughly a bit over a 1/3 the annual cost. However, if you are on the maintenance fee you can drop out at any time and stay on the latest version you paid for, on the subscription fee you are cut off, in our case on Dec.21 I think. Either way,,,,,it stinks, but I'm calmer now than I was an hour ago.?ÿ
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Does the survey need to provide a product that the engineer can use seamlessly? Yes. So I'm going to be using C3d as long as the engineers I work with do.
Since I made this statement early in this thread I've had some discussions with the engineering CAD staff.?ÿ It turns out they would prefer an AutoCAD only drawing product and a LandXML of the surface.?ÿ It's caused me to think this thing over quite a bit.?ÿ ?ÿ
It turns out they would prefer an AutoCAD only drawing product and a LandXML of the surface.
Is there any advantage to providing LandXML instead of 3DFACEs?
One aspect that does not seem to have been hit on this thread is receiving C3D files from engineers.?ÿ On the rare occasions that I do layout work, I'm supplied with the C3D design files.?ÿ I can easily extract what I need from them without bothering my clients or some third party for the data exported in a format I require.
It turns out they would prefer an AutoCAD only drawing product and a LandXML of the surface.
Is there any advantage to providing LandXML instead of 3DFACEs?
LandXML is pretty easy to Export/Import. Plus you can include other things like points and alignments. 3dfaces would be more difficult to get out of C3d (its a surface object in there, not individual drawing elements), and a bit more work to create a new surface from. But I'm quite sure that it could be done -that's how I used to roll before LandXML became a thing. So it's just a matter of convenience.?ÿ?ÿ
it's a surface object in there, not individual drawing elements
Granted, but that surface geometry is defined by the same 3D points that define simpler objects like nodes, lines, polylines, 3dfaces, etc.?ÿ I would think that converting those basic entities to a surface would be trivial.?ÿ My engineering clients don't seem to have any trouble doing so, though I've never observed their workflow.
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Getting the 3d faces, or 3d lines, out of C3d would be the trick. Creating a surface from a TIN of 3d lines would be duck soup, for those who know how to do it.?ÿ
Anyone care to send me a bare-bones C3D file with a simple surface in it? It like to see if I could do anything with it.
Anyone care to send me a bare-bones C3D file with a simple surface in it? It like to see if I could do anything with it.
I can, and have just made one 700kb .dwg file, but how do I send it to you?
j h f r a m e @ d c n . o r g
(Remove spaces.)
Thanks!
And thanks also to Mark and Cameron, who also provided files.
Civil 3D, extract objects from surface (triangles = 3D faces).
I have learned something new today. Thanks, Richard.
Whatever you turn on (display in the surface style) you can then select the surface and select extract objects from the ribbon and then you get the option to extract whatever is displayed, so that includes elevation shading, user contours, etc.
LandXML surface exports are more convenient and compatible with others but they do not hold irregular boundaries well.?ÿ I have had multiple instances in which i exported my surface and then imported it into a blank drawing to check it only to find out it is not exactly what i exported.?ÿ On square symmetrical surface it works fine though.
3d faces works too but have never had anyone request them.?ÿ?ÿ
Both Mark and Cameron sent files in 2018 DWG format (as denoted by the file header designation AC1032), which my several-years-old version of BricsCAD couldn't open.?ÿ I used TrueView to save them to the 2013 format (file header AC1027) so I could open the files.?ÿ The surfaces showed up as proxy entities, which was expected.?ÿ About all I could do is explode the surfaces to get the contours as polylines, from which I could generate a surface.?ÿ But a surface derived from contours, even unsmoothed contours, is rarely as accurate as the original surface, so this approach is of limited utility.
Richard Imrie sent a file in 2013 format.?ÿ While I could open it without having to resort to TrueView, the result was the same:?ÿ I could explode the surface to contours, but that's about it.?ÿ (Richard included the 3DFACEs that he had exported from the surface, so I could have regenerated an accurate surface from those had I chosen to.)
That's about as far as I want to take this at the moment.?ÿ Since my clients seem to be fine working with my surfaces expressed as 3DFACEs, I'll continue delivering that way.?ÿ If I ever run into a valuable client who demands a C3D drawing, I'll have to weigh the cost/benefit ratio of buying a seat.?ÿ But for the nonce, it's business as usual for me.
Thanks to all who responded!
Both Mark and Cameron sent files in 2018 DWG format (as denoted by the file header designation AC1032), which my several-years-old version of BricsCAD couldn't open.?ÿ I used TrueView to save them to the 2013 format (file header AC1027) so I could open the files.?ÿ The surfaces showed up as proxy entities, which was expected.?ÿ About all I could do is explode the surfaces to get the contours as polylines, from which I could generate a surface.?ÿ But a surface derived from contours, even unsmoothed contours, is rarely as accurate as the original surface, so this approach is of limited utility.
Richard Imrie sent a file in 2013 format.?ÿ While I could open it without having to resort to TrueView, the result was the same:?ÿ I could explode the surface to contours, but that's about it.?ÿ (Richard included the 3DFACEs that he had exported from the surface, so I could have regenerated an accurate surface from those had I chosen to.)
That's about as far as I want to take this at the moment.?ÿ Since my clients seem to be fine working with my surfaces expressed as 3DFACEs, I'll continue delivering that way.?ÿ If I ever run into a valuable client who demands a C3D drawing, I'll have to weigh the cost/benefit ratio of buying a seat.?ÿ But for the nonce, it's business as usual for me.
Thanks to all who responded!
No worries.?ÿ Out of curiosity can you send me a similar file to the one I sent you in your platform??ÿ Our Engineers have received a number of design base files from 3rd party Surveyors over the years.?ÿ The deliverables produced in non Autodesk have been marginal at best and I'm usually asked to do something with them to clean them up so they're workable.?ÿ In my heart I believe this is a function of working in a vacuum as opposed to the capabilities of the software being used.?ÿ I would love to see one that was prepared with the end designer's needs being at least a portion of the equation.?ÿ
I would love to see one that was prepared with the end designer's needs being at least a portion of the equation.
Are you only interested in the DTM elements, or the linework, blocks, text, etc. as well?
I would love to see one that was prepared with the end designer's needs being at least a portion of the equation.
Are you only interested in the DTM elements, or the linework, blocks, text, etc. as well?
As you would send to any Engineer Client who's intent would be to base a design on.?ÿ If that's flat lines and an XML?ÿof the surface so be it.?ÿ Really I just want to see one from someone who cares as much about their own needs as the next one down the line.
Okay, I just emailed one to you.