I've got Land Development Desktop 3, and Carlson 2012. Thinking I might upgrade to Carlson 2014, which will not run on LDD 3. State DOT requires submissions be made using Civil 3D. I do not have a license of this software, nor do I think purchasing one is a good business decision for me (cost of software plus training exceeds benefit).
I provide survey base services to engineer. Engineer submits to State DOT. Engineer has indicated willingness to work with what I can give him, but I want to do everything I can to provide him with a deliverable that is as close to "seamless" with respect to Civil 3D as reasonably/economically possible.
The question I have is - are any of you familiar with whether there are service providers that specialize in converting a DWG produced by Carlson 2014 into a DWG (and associated files and folders) that will read into Civil 3D?
Another thought I've been chewing on is doing my work in Land Desktop 3 and submitting the entire file/folder structure to the engineer and allowing him to upgrade the LDD3 objects to Civil 3D. The trouble with this approach is that because LDD3 is now getting antiquated (based on ACAD 2002), it no longer cleanly reads newer drawings. ARX error, etc.
Other thoughts would be appreciated as well.
Great post.
Watching with interest.
Lurker mode back on.
Lurking here too. I am using a newer version but still have problems with going from newer c3d to my 2010 copy. AutoCAD does not play nice!
> I've got ... Carlson 2012.... State DOT requires submissions be made using Civil 3D.
I'd do all your mapping using the Carlson but otherwise to the DOT CAD standard, then convert to C3d.
If you completed your survey mapping in Carlson with the layering/symbology, etc. all to DOT specification, and the DTMs, alignments, point databases all in order but in Carlsons formats, the conversion to C3d should be fairly simple and quick.
You would export those data files (points, DTM, alignments) to an xml, which would then be imported to the C3d. If the points are coded properly, and a Descriptor Key set made to order, the points can be added to the C3d drawing, and the symbology will be correct. Feed in the linework from your Carlson drawing. Generate contours in C3d from your imported DTM. There will be some cleanup required, but it should be minimal. If you collect and process your data with the mind to creating data files, not just a drawing. You just need to find somebody with C3d that you can work with. At least, you can smooth the conversion work your client is doing for you.
I'd estimate CAD time to perform this sort of conversion on a typical DOT survey to be between 2 - 4 hours. We do a similar process to convert from LDT to Microstation/Inroads.
Norman,
That's really helpful what you've written. Thank you. I am not familiar with XML, but I've heard enough about it that I know I need to learn about it. I'm gonna see what I can learn.
Al
> ...I am not familiar with XML, but I've heard enough about it that I know I need to learn about it. I'm gonna see what I can learn.
Don't let the cryptic letters fool you. It's just an import/export routine. Very simple.
> Norman,
>
> That's really helpful what you've written. Thank you. I am not familiar with XML, but I've heard enough about it that I know I need to learn about it. I'm gonna see what I can learn.
>
> Al
XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language and like HTML is text formatting of data. Looking at raw XML is like looking at the formatting in the draft messages on this site. If you understand the format codes "" being a link, with the *** being the http link and desired display text for example, you can read and edit the files in notepad or any plain text editor. Much like reading a data collector raw data file. For Civil/Surveying applications an industry standard, LandXML, was developed for data exchange.
Best place to start learning about XML is [url= http://www.xmlfiles.com/xml/ ]Introduction to XML by Jan Egil Refsnes, What is XML, and how does it differ from HTML.
Then for Civil/Surveying applications is the LandXML.org web site. I was on the LandXML.org email mailing list for years. Both Autodesk (AutoCAD/Civil3D) and Bentley Systems (GEOpak/Inroads) have been members of LandXML.org since development of the standard began. The LandXML.org site includes a partial list of the LandXML.org participating organizations that are ". . . working together to establish and maintain the LandXML schema."
