Being Civil

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 New Feature: Introduction to the Pressure Pipes Catalog

In exploring the new features of Civil 3D you may have noticed that there is a little utility included with the product that allows you to edit the default catalog. As you may or may not know, the catalog is contained in a SQLITE file in the same location you would look for garvity systems on a default install:

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Pressure Pipes Catalog

Opening this file you will see all the available parts in the catalog on the left. Clicking on each one will show the available parts in the widnows on the right. Notice that there are some values missing from the columns. These can easily be manually added and customized as necessary. Simply double clicking in the cell and adding the value will do the trick. This will allow you to add information such as manufacturer, coating SDR, schedule, etc. as you see fit. All edited information will be available to be pulled by Civil 3D label styles once edited.

You may also find that inner Diameter is missing from the pressure pipes in Civil 3D. If this is something that you require in your labels and design, a quick and simple edit is all that is needed in order to have them display.

 

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 New Feature: Pressure Pipes

In many user's eyes this is the biggest new feature that was added with the release of Civil 3D 2013. Although in the past we were able mimic pressure pipe design using the existing catalog, Civil 3D is now equiped with the necessary tools to design these networks.

Pressure networks share much of the same "feel" as gravity networks we all know and love. Similarities such as parts contained in a catalog, and populating a parts list. Layout is also very similar, meaning you will be prompted with similar options to associate the network with: surface, alignment. When actually laying out the network you will notice that will be constrained based on the available angles in the parts list. The "compass" as it is called will guide you with your available layout options.

You will also be greeted with some editing options in Profile as well as a new Ribbon displaying the profile view options.

Notice that you can perform both a Design and Depth Check on the network to ensure the design is meeting requirements.

Although this is just a brief introduction, I am sure many of you out there are excited to see this coming with the release of 2013. For more information and videos, please visit Civil 3D 2013 New Features.

How the Cover & Slope Pipe Rule Works

When working with pipe rules, specifically the cover & slope rule, you may be surprised with the end results after drawing your network, or applying the rules. There is quite a bit going on in the background when this rule gets applied, so after this is understood you may have a clearer picture of the results that are shown in your design.

When run, the cover & slope rule performs the following steps:

1. Upstream invert elevation is set based on the cover at the structure.
2. Downstream invert elevation is set based on cover at the structure.
3. Slope is checked:
• Minimum slope violation: upstream invert elevation is held>minimum slope applied
• Maximum slope violation: Flagged as violating maximum slope
4. Cover is check along entire length; 1/3 rule is applied:
• If a violation is found within the first 1/3 of the length, downstream invert is held, upstream invert is lowered.
• If a violation is found within the middle 1/3 of the length, pipe is lowered to satisfy minimum cover at low point, slope should remain the same
• If a violation is found within the last 1/3 of the length, upstream invert is held, downstream invert is lowered.
5. Slope is checked again:
• If minimum slope is violated, upstream invert is held. Downstream is lowered to achieve minimum slope
• If maximum slope is violated by constraints within the structures or by a user’s edits, violation is flagged and slope remains unchanged.

As you can see quite a few operations are happening in the backgrouns when this rule is run. Please note the underlined steps above in which maximum slope violations will just be flagged. These will not be altered by the rule, and will need to be manually edited if there are any violations detected. Hope this helps!

Creating Pipe Networks From GIS Data Part 2: Duplicate Structures

Just like in my previous post about "the data" you may get something unexpeced when you import your pipe networks via SHP files. Just like when the Null Structures are placed at excess vertices, null structures will also be placed at the beginning and ends of pipes. You can imagine these can get out of hand quite quickly, just imagine a 4-way intersection of pipes (5 null structures, and the one "good" one created from the SHP data).

The question is, how do we address them? I already explained in Part 1 how to address the extra vertices, so now we have to deal with the null structures at the beginning and ends of the pipes. This can be addressed with one of two options. See after jump.

Creating Pipe Networks From GIS Data Part 1: The Data

This is the first post of a three post series in which I will be covering pipe networks created from GIS data.

Using this feature new to 2012 you may have noticed that GIS data in the form of SHP files may not always be what you expect. Especially when you import this data and create pipe networks from it, remeber garbage in, garbage out. If the original GIS data has the correct object data associated with it, (inverts, pipe size, materials, etc.) the better end result you are going to get. Additionally you will also need to take into consideration the amount of vertices that these pipe lines have in them. If the pipes have many vertices between actual pipe start and end, Civil 3D will place a null structure at each one of these vertices. This may be acceptable if the pipe really does end there, but edits may need to be made prior to import as well as after the fact.

Unable to Save Changes Made in Part Builder

This issue seems to be a hot topic lately so I thought I would write a quick post on the subject. Have you been  experiencing issues when you try to add new part sizes or make other changes in Part Builder? In most cases this is a permissions related issue, so if you are experiencing this, please read on.

First step is to select the Civil 3D icon, right click, and select PROPERTIES. In the resulting dialog, please select the COMPATIBILITY tab and check the RUN THIS PROGRAM AS ADMINISTRATOR, then click OK. After doing this please try launching Civil 3D again, and see if you are able to make and save the edits. You can also do this directly from the icon's right click menu, but that will apply only to that session of Civil 3D.

  
Even though you may have full administrative rights on your machine, I have still seen this issue occur, especially on Windows 7 machines. Another place to check would be to ensure that you or your users have full control of the C:\ProgramData folder as this is where the part catalog is located if running a typical install. Hope this helps!

Pipes Look Like Octogons? FACETDEV

Have you ever came across your pipes in section view and they look like octagons rather than the nice 12” RCP that you drew in plan view? If so this is caused by the setting FACETDEV described in the HELP menu: Networks in Profile and Section Views

The number you specify for facet deviation defines the maximum distance from the chord to the arc—the chord being an edge that is created from faceting the curve to the true mathematical arc. The facet deviation has a range of greater than zero (0) and no upper limit. The lower this variable is set, the more segments will be used to draw the pipe. The minimum number of segments is 8.

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Beware of Display Manager Settings

Recently I worked what seemed like a very strange case in which a customer was unable to view their pipe networks in their template. All the normal places you would look such as layers, style, etc. all checked out fine. After a little more investigation, it appeared that this template had originated and/or been worked on in AutoCAD MEP.

As you may or may not know, MEP deals quite a bit with pipes and piping systems, so it it was strange that this issue only effected the pipes in this particular drawing. After a good conversation with one of our MEP specialists (thanks Josh Benoist) I learned that MEP relies heavily on the DISPLAYMANAGER to display their pipes as desired.

Being a Civil 3D user, I rarely venture into the Display Manager so this was basically uncharted waters. Sure enough, when I went in the Display Manager, the pipes and structures were unchecked under REPRESENTATIONS BY OBJECT in both Model and Plan views. Once checked, the pipe network now displayed as expected.

So although this may be a rare instance, it is another place to put on your checklist when troubleshooting drawings with display issues.