We have been hearing for years that intelliCAD is almost there.
It is now more almost there than ever and I have made the switch from Civil3d.
There are still some quirks but there are still some quirks in autoCAD.
Formal updates are scheduled for after the holidays so be on the lookout.
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I made the switch for a few years. It took about an hour to hit equal productivity. If I had my own business it would be Carlson / iCad...
@thebionicman With permission I have been running two licenses for a few years keeping Civil3d2104 w. Carlson 2019 and iCAD w. current Carlson.?ÿ iCAD could not handle a couple of my larger working plans and it now can.?ÿ I was running point cloud and survnet through the newer versions with basic DWGs to port back into Civil3d.?ÿ?ÿ
Big Brand X priced themselves right out of my little company about 15 years ago. The final straw was when Big Brand X became a non ownership/license only/non transferable business back then.?ÿ We run various versions of icad, including Carlson Survey and Carlson Civil. We do a lot of surveying for larger design firms and none of them has ever complained about the files we have sent them, including 3d files from Carlson.?ÿ There are a number of icad programs being marketed under various names.?ÿ We like the features of several of them as it relates to selection tools, the handling of dgn files and the importing of points, to name a few.?ÿ The icad products we use are all transferable and you OWN them.
?ÿand none of them has ever complained about the files we have sent them
I'm figuring out that it's more often in-house personnel who complain about Carlson or XML file formats than clients or other engineering firms
@jph Most likely the case.?ÿ We sometimes hear from the employees working with them, usually over our mysterious (in house) point codes. We also send the complete tin and ascii files so they could create their own. Another reason why we don't hear from them.
@steve-brosemer interesting.?ÿ I have always used Civil3d for the CAD.?ÿ I export the TINs via LandXML then open the PROSPECTOR to import the LandXML making a Civil3d surface.?ÿ We have a hard time sharing points as I went alpha-numeric years ago.?ÿ The crew does not have to remember the last point number, just the last prefix (a, b, c, d).?ÿ All the stakeout points start with S and all the record points start with R.?ÿ Need to translate in the field??ÿ Just select R1-R9999 and it will do it.?ÿ All the traverse points have a two letter prefix based on the nearest landmark LB = Little Beach, LH = Lighthouse, etc.?ÿ?ÿ
@spledeus We use Traverse PC which works well with alpha-numeric codes (for the last 30+ years).?ÿ Carlson does alpha numeric from data collectors to the PC software. Traverse PC will export cad files very well and will convert imported dwg files to points.?ÿ We have moved away from alpha codes.?ÿ In many respects, I miss them.?ÿ
@thebionicman For my M-F employer, I run Carlson on top of Civil3d.?ÿ For my solo weekend business, I run Carlson/Icad all day long.?ÿ No issues.
I mostly use Civil 3d these days. I used Carlson with ICAD for about a year and a half c.2011. At that time the ICAD was not very stable. I have Carlson available to me now and just had 2022 with ICAD 10.1 loaded. I haven't had a chance to really test it out yet but I must say that it looks really good, really refined.?ÿ And the reports of good stability are encouraging.
I have been using C3d because that is what the engineers I work with use.?ÿ The F2f and surfacing of C3d works quite well. But the engineers all want my C3d surveys delivered "Export to AutoCAD" and xml surfaces. Or else they take my C3d product and create those things themselves.?ÿ I've worked with 4 different organizations since going C3d and this has been the case at all of them.?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿ
So they're taking your C3D dwg and dumbing it down, so they can work on it in C3D??ÿ That sounds a little crazy
So they're taking your C3D dwg and dumbing it down, so they can work on it in C3D??ÿ That sounds a little crazy
Yes. It sounds crazy to me as well. But a number of completely separate groups of engineers have followed exactly the same pattern.?ÿ
Perhaps the key word in your second sentence is "engineers". I can't for the life of me think of any possible reason to do something like that. I've never asked for anything exported, and I only export for others upon request. I don't even like the idea of creating a surface from your xml. If you have a drawing with a surface then all I'm doing is creating a data shortcut to your surface.
Perhaps the key word in your second sentence is "engineers".
I'm using the term loosely to include engineering techs. It amazes and frustrates me, also. But I've seen it from plenty of independent groups.?ÿ
Back in the Softdesk days I would create and deliver surfaces only to find that the engineering techs were building their own using the contour polylines.?ÿ So it goes.?ÿ?ÿ
I work mostly in Carlson, so I'm used to providing whatever additional is requested.?ÿ But so strange that you're giving them the total package, from C3D to work on in C3D
We loaded Carlson 2022 with IntelliCAD 10.1 up this week. I've been experimenting with it, running and re-running F2f on a file I collected for an ongoing job. It hasn't crashed even once. And the field file I collected for C3d F2f is mapping cleanly without any changes at all. I've got a lot more work to do to fill out the code set, etc., and iron out some details, but so far I'm super impressed.?ÿ They have really polished up the product since 2012.
I've never heard of it, is it just a cheaper alternative to C3D with all the bells and whistles?
The main alternatives used here in the UK are n4ce, NRG and LSS (not so much CAD). I've played with n4ce a little bit and it seems really good all rounder.?ÿ
I've never heard of it ....
IntelliCAD is an AutoCAD clone that has been in development since the '90s. Carlson is CAD based survey software. You can buy it as a stand-alone product based on AutoCAD or on IntelliCAD. The IntelliCAD based version is about $1000 cheaper. But the real attraction is that you can buy it, as opposed to just renting it as with C3d.
You can also load Carlson on top of your C3d, where it appears as an additional module of menus.