Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D

Transcription

1 Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D For WSLS 2019 Institute by Russ Nicloy, MACER Technologies, Inc.

2 Contents Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D... 2 Setting up the Survey Database... 2 Traditional Setup... 2 Set the Working Folder... 2 The Survey Database Wizard... 2 The WisDOT Trick... 3 Copy/Paste/Rename Pre-built Survey Database... 3 Inserting Data into Civil 3D Files... 4 Inserting points and linework into files... 4 Survey Queries... 4 Building Survey Queries... 4 Suggestions on Queries... 5 Referencing points and linework directly into surfaces... 5 Highly recommended... 6 How to Maintain a Surface Through the SDB... 7 Editing Points or Figures... 7 Editing Survey Points by Properties... 7 Editing Points in the Database... 7 Editing Points that Observe... 7 Editing Figure Linework... 7 Editing Survey Data by Reimporting... 8 Conclusions... 8 This document is reference material for attendees of the WSLS 2019 Institute. We respectfully ask that you not make copies for those outside your organization. Copies for coworkers are encouraged with the intent of sharing knowledge within your organization. While this document may be enough to explain functions in Civil 3D by itself, you may find it useful to download the PowerPoint presentation that was used during the live presentation. You can find the download of that PPTX file and this PDF document at this link, or using this QR code: Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 1 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

3 Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D The Civil 3D Survey Database is a location to store and protect survey-gathered data with the intent of inserting that data into design files as needed. Because this database is stored outside of any given drawing it can share point and linework data to multiple files concurrently. This also allows the data to be displayed differently in different design files. This course will discuss the methods for setting up the Survey Database (SDB), show an alternate workflow for setup used by Wisconsin DOT, discuss the creation of surface objects from data stored in the SDB, and then the editing process to ensure surface objects stay current when edits to the SDB are necessary. Setting up the Survey Database The Survey Database (SDB) set up process creates the locations where data will be stored, and the settings that will affect that data as it is used. There are two methods that we will look at, the Traditional Method that most Civil 3D users would use be default, and the Wisconsin DOT trick that is a slightly different workflow to make sure their SDBs are consistent from project to project. Traditional Setup This setup process is done through Civil 3D. You would first identify the folder that the survey database will be housed in, then walk through the SDB wizard to assign he proper information to the SDB. Set the Working Folder This working folder should be in a location that is available to any member o the team that wil need access to it. While it is not absolutely required that the SDB working folder be inside the project folder structure, it may be considered beneficial in case the project needs to be moved somewhere off your network. You can have more than one SDB in the working folder, but to avoid confusion you may want to only have one in that location. In the Toolspace > Survey tab right-click on the Survey Database header and choose Set Working Folder. Browse to the folder and select it. The Survey Database Wizard By addressing the prompts in the SDB wizard you will build and populate the SDB. In the Home ribbon > Create Ground Data panel pull-down menu choose Insert Survey Data. This command also appears in the Insert ribbon > Import ribbon. You create the initial SDB by clicking the Create New Survey Database button at the bottom. Give the SDB an appropriate name. If there are settings to assign the SDB choose the Edit Survey Database Settings button. Here you can assign the coordinate system or the measurement units, among other properties. For WisDOT projects it is recommended to NOT have a coordinate system assigned top prevent unintended coordinate transformations, unless that is your specific intent. Import Survey Data from either location will start the SDB creation process. Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 2 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

4 In the Next tab select what type of data source you are importing into the SDB. Point File would be an ASCII text file (example: TXT, PNT, NEZ). These files will have point data and linework related to those points. FBK is an electronic Fieldbook file which has more data regarding how the data was picked up, including setup points, what shots were observed from each setup, Control Points, or traverse information. LandXML file would be an XML format file exported from a drawing or platform. Data in this format needs to be checked carefully since not all survey data is defined the same depending on the source of the LandXML export. Points from File are points from a drawing file that you are adding into the SDB. If you chose Point File you will then need to identify the file(s) and the format of the files being imported. Next, you identify the Network that will hold the data inside the SDB. This will provide a level of organization if you need to separate existing survey from construction or as-built survey data, or even data from different surveyors. It also provides a location for the survey data to be edited from. The Import Options is an area for assigning control of the import. Here you can choose to import linework or not, what filters are used for the import, and if the points, linework, or (in the case of a FBK import) the network parts are inserted into the current drawing file. The WisDOT Trick Whether you are working on a WisDOT project or just want to use this method to maintain better SDB standardization, you can use the WisDOT process for creating a project SDB. A good portion of this process is done outside of Civil 3D in the project folders through Windows Explore. Copy/Paste/Rename Pre-built Survey Database This process depends on the use of a pre-built survey database. Before any project use you can create a survey database with all your settings (including survey queries). This is basically just building an SDB as if you are using it, then move it to a storage location with a generic folder name for later use. The file will be an SDBX, and be accompanied by several support files (.sdbx.info,.sdxx) and the query file formats are.qml. The next step is when you start your project, and have the project folder structure created, you can copy the general SDB folder into the location where the SDB should be in your project folder structure. IMMEDIATELY change the name from the more general name to the project-specific name. In Civil 3D, in the Tool space Survey tab, set the working folder to where the SDB folder is stored. You will see the new SDB in the tool space Survey Databases list. At this point the survey database will function normally as if you d created it in the more traditional method. Expand the survey queries (most likely open already) and any points or figures that the queries should find should be able to be inserted into drawing files immediately. The location of both the 2018 and 2016 WisDOT SDBs. Copy the appropriate folder into your project folder location, rename it, and you have an active survey database ready to use. Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 3 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

5 Inserting Data into Civil 3D Files One of the major advantages to using the SDB is that you can insert points and linework into multiple files and that data stays consistent through all those files. It is conceptually like data referencing for survey data. That data can then be used for surface creation and maintenance, or other orthographic displays. Inserting points and linework into files You can insert or remove points and linework to a file in the SDB for the project. Right-click In the Survey Points group choose the Points flyout then Insert into drawing. Right-click on Figures and choose Insert into Drawing. Notice, right below he Insert option is a Remove option. This removes the point or figure, not just makes it invisible. Make sure that is what you intend if you do this. Right-click menus for inserting data into design drawing files. Notice that the points have one more level of flyout menu to Insert/Remove than the figures do. Once the points are in the drawing, you can control them graphically through point groups or the Edit Points panorama as you would normal points. You cannot change the northing, easting, elevation, or description since those define the point object, but you can change the style or the label for the points. Survey Queries Survey queries are searches that find and group point and linework data for insertion into files. Queries can be saved for use in later files. They also can serve as surface definition. Building Survey Queries In the Survey ribbon > Modify panel > the Survey Query tool will open a purple context ribbon. In the Manage panel click New Query. In the Survey Query Builder panorama name the query, then define the points and figure portions of the query. First identify a property, then the operator against that property, then what value the query is looking for in the property. If a second, or more, property needs to be added, make sure to set the And/Or option before the next row. Repeat these steps in figures are needed in the query. After all the properties have been added you can Preview the query in the drawing to make sure you are getting the info you believe you should be seeing. There is a button that appears in the upper left of the drafting window while the preview is active. You must left-click this button to remove the preview in the file. You can also Preview in the Editor panorama to check the data before continuing. You can save the query to an external file (extension. qml) or Save the Query to the survey database. It will be listed in alphabetical order and can be inserted or removed from a drawing file with the right-click menu. Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 4 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

6 Suggestions on Queries Don t forget that points usually have Descriptions, while Figures have Names. In the Operator field contains means anywhere in the text, and starts with limits the entry to only the beginning of the property which is VERY helpful in proper query definition. If you add more than one property to a query, AND means BOTH where OR means EITHER. You can have points and figures, points only, or figures only. Previewing the query can give you a quick visual confirmation that you have built the query correctly. Referencing points and linework directly into surfaces This process allows you to define a surface from survey points and linework WITHOUT importing into the file. This keeps the design small, but still builds the surface with precision and keep it dynamic to edits in the SDB. Open the Survey ribbon. In the Manage ribbon, select the query that you want to define the surface with in the Query pull-down. Select Add to Surface. In the Survey tab > Survey Query context ribbon, select the query then Add to Surface. An option in the dialog will then allow referencing rather than inserting the points into the file and surface. Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 5 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

7 Identify the surface you want to add this data to (you can create it here if it is not already available). Make sure to check mark Reference the Survey Database for Dynamic Query Results. Select the survey queries to add to the surface then click OK. Making these choices will NOT insert the query results into the file but will create and manage the surface. Highly recommended Referencing SDB data into a surface has a couple of compelling reasons. First, the data updates more directly when it is referenced rather than inserted into a file. This means you do not have to go to each file to update the points or the figures to make sure the surface is updated. You may still need to rebuild the surface, but the survey data will already have been updated. Second, referencing makes the destination file smaller, or at least requires less control over objects. Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 6 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

8 How to Maintain a Surface Through the SDB Building a surface from the data in the SDB means the surface will update when the SDB is updated. Editing Points or Figures You can edit points and figure linework in the SDB graphically through the drawing file or through the SDEB data panoramas. These edits obviously change the SDB, but they also advance those changes into files and surfaces that use the SDB data for their definition. Editing Survey Points by Properties You can edit the survey data points that are not included in a SDB network directly through the point properties. In a drawing file that has points inserted from the SDB, select one of the points and choose Survey Point Properties. This will open a dialog that allows you to edit northing, easting, elevation, and description of the point. Editing Points in the Database If the SDB has a network as a method for organizing the points in the SDB you need to edit the points through the network. For this you go to the SDB s Network that holds the given point, right-click the network and choose Edit Points. Find the point number that you need to edit by scrolling through the point list. Any edit that you make will turn that row of the SDB Edit Points panorama a bold text until you save it. This allows you to stop updating if you realize you updated the wrong point data. Editing Points that Observe This process is only available when you are using the FBK import. The FBK file tracks a setup points location, but also its backsight and shots that are related to it. One of the benefits of this Is that you can fix the observation point, and it will update all the points that point observed. For example, you find out that in one of your setups you entered an incorrect instrument height or rod height. If you update that point s setup information to correct this, all of the points that were observed would be updated without you having to fix each one independently. Editing Figure Linework To edit a figure, select it in the drawing file and select the Survey Figure Properties from the context ribbon. In the top of the dialog you can change many of the properties of the line, including the layer, style, the site, and whether the line is a breakline or not. In the bottom of the dialog are a ordered list of points that the figure is related to. The toolbar above this list will help control what you are editing from this line, including adding points before or after the point that is selected, delete a point from the list, break or reverse. You can also assign a point to be a curve instead of a point geometry. Editing Figure Linework Properties dialog Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 7 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

9 If you add a point it does not immediately assign the point object that is related to that vertex. You can type in the point number or select the arrow icon in the point number field and graphically select the point object to relate the figure vertex to. Editing Survey Data by Reimporting Some organizations prefer to keep changes recorded in the survey data file (TXT, FBK, etc.). If this is required by your organization, reimporting the data will over write the SDB data with the new data. This overwrite, in turn updates a surface built with the data file. You may need to rebuild the surface (or set it to rebuild automatic) to see the updated surface data. When points are updated the SDB will assume that some linework may have been updated. You will get a message that the linework may need to be reprocessed. If you respond yes a new dialog will open that is really a shorter version of the SDB wizard processing page. This will lead to the data being updated. If you are only reprocessing the linework, and don t want to change the point itself, notice in the Process Linework the Insert Survey Points is set to No. This configuration will reimport the linework without reimporting points which could overwrite changes made to the SDB points with the original data file point data (txt, csv, fbk, etc.). If you updated survey point data but do not receive the update linework message, you will want to go and update the linework manually. Right-click on the Import Event that the figure came from and choose Process Linework. Conclusions The conclusions we want to emphasize are below: You can create a survey database by copying a pre-built SDB and changing the name. This is to standardize the settings and queries from project to project. You can maintain multiple files by way of the SDB You can reference data instead of inserting it into every file Editing is specific and should only be done by a single point of contact or a restrictive group Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 8 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

10 This document is reference material for attendees of the WSLS 2019 Institute. We respectfully ask that you not make copies for those outside your organization. Copies for coworkers are encouraged with the intent of sharing knowledge within your organization. While this document may be enough to explain functions in Civil 3D by itself, you may find it useful to download the PowerPoint presentation that was used during the live presentation. You can find the download of that PPTX file and this PDF document at this link, or using this QR code: Survey Database to Surface Creation in Civil 3D Page 9 of 9 MACER Technologies, Inc.

11 1/22/2019 SURVEY DATABASE TO SURFACE CREATION Russ Nicloy - WSLS Who I am Civil Drafting and Solutions Specialist at MACER Technologies Production experience for 10 years Previously with a reseller for 13 years Worked closely with WisDOT during implementation and evolution of Civil 3D standards Currently a consultant member of Methods Development Unit focusing on training 2 Agenda Setting up the Survey Database Traditional and WisDOT option Surface creation in a Civil 3D file Option to reference directly into surface How to maintain a surface through the SDB Edits and how they effect files downstream 3 1

12 1/22/2019 Before we start We will be discussing options You may not use everything that we discuss here (in fact its unlikely) I will reference WisDOT This is NOT specific to WisDOT (taking from what they have learned) This is NOT the whole WisDOT workflow, but parts will be shown Some tools have multiple ways to start, I may not mention all of those methods (for time AND clarity!) Data will be in Survey through Surface Creation and Maintenance SURVEY SDB SANDBOX SURFACE UTIL/ TOPO OTHER XREFs 5 Setting up the Survey Database 6 2

13 1/22/2019 Setting up the Survey Database SURVEY SDB SANDBOX SURFACE UTIL/ TOPO OTHER XREFs 7 Setting up the Survey Database The traditional setup Create SDB through C3D, assign settings, import data The WisDOT trick Pre-built SDB, copied and renamed to your new project, import data 8 Setting up the Survey Database The traditional setup Set Working Folder for SDB location Usually in relation to the project, folder where the SDB will be stored Home ribbon > Create Ground Data panel pull-down > Import Survey Data The SDB creation wizard Decision on creating a Network or not Provides a management structure to the database Changes how points can be edited 9 3

14 1/22/2019 Setting up the Survey Database The WisDOT trick Pre-built, standardized SDB. Copy into your project location and rename What s the benefit: Settings are consistent (US Survey NOT Int l Feet, coordinate systems) They have several very complicated Survey Queries There have been misunderstandings about these steps * 10 Inserting Data into Civil 3D files 11 Inserting Data into Civil 3D files SURVEY SDB SANDBOX SURFACE UTIL/ TOPO OTHER XREFs 12 4

15 1/22/2019 Inserting data into Civil 3D files Inserting points and linework into files Multiple files Single source of data ( source of truth ) Referencing data directly into surface objects Uses Survey Queries 13 Inserting data into Civil 3D files Inserting points and linework into multiple files First file: Sandbox to confirm SDB data, edit, troubleshoot Second file: Topo features as existing background info Third file: Surface definition points and Breaklines Etc. for what you need (scale dependent XREFs) * 14 Surface Creation 15 5

16 1/22/2019 Surface Creation SURVEY SDB SANDBOX SURFACE UTIL/ TOPO OTHER XREFs 16 Surface Creation Building from Inserted Data Building from Referenced Data 17 Surface Creation Building from Inserted Data Insert points and linework from SDB into surface design file Create point group(s) Create Surface Add point group(s) and breaklines from inserted data Breaklines can be added directly from SDB * 18 6

17 1/22/2019 Surface Creation Building from Referenced Data 19 Surface Creation Building from Referenced Data Survey Queries Stored in SDB, follows project, repeatable Combinations of points and linework WisDOT Survey Queries are complex so your work is easier WisDOT queries are written with their codes in place Referencing data directly into surface objects File does NOT need to have points and linework inserted (lighter weight file, still dynamic) Acts like a Data Shortcut for survey data Survey Queries can be used in referencing 20 Surface Creation Building from Referenced Data Highly recommended 1. Edits to SDB push to referenced files directly 2. Less objects to control 21 * 7

18 1/22/2019 How to maintain a surface through the SDB 22 How to maintain a surface through the SDB SURVEY SDB SANDBOX SURFACE UTIL/ TOPO OTHER XREFs 23 How to maintain a surface through the SDB Who should edit SDB data? Editing is specific, and meant to be exclusive Single person or deliberately small group WisDOT uses Survey Data Coordinators All data goes through these individuals, single point of contact for users Consistency in project data No need for users at large to attempt editing SDB info 24 8

19 1/22/2019 How to maintain a surface through the SDB How is SDB data edited? Some organizations edit the point file and re-import Edit SDB directly Points-select point in drawing file, Edit Survey Point Property If SDB has a Network, edit points in its network Linework-select figure in drawing, Survey Figure Properties 25 How to maintain a surface through the SDB Keeping Surface up-to-date Insert into file, the SDB updates, but the points in files and surface do not. Open file(s) that SDB points are in and update the Survey Points If Point Group is defining surface it will need to be updated Rebuild surface Data references of that surface then spreads change to other files Reference into file May need to rebuild surface. * 26 Conclusions 27 9

20 1/22/2019 Conclusions You can create a survey database by copying a pre-built SDB and changing the name. This is to standardize the settings and queries from project to project. You can maintain multiple files by way of the SDB You can reference data instead of inserting it into every file Editing is specific and should only be done by a single point of contact or a restrictive group 28 THANK YOU! Questions - Russ.Nicloy@macertechnologies.com 29 10