AUGIWorld Magazine September/October 2007

Analyzing a surface The preconceived notion about surface analysis is that a sophisticated (and pricey) civil design package such as Civil 3D is required. Truth be known, Map 3D also sports an impressive bag of tricks when it comes to visualizing 3D surfaces. Just as Map assigns a random color to a new GIS layers, Map will assign your DEM a random color. At this point your surface is monochromatic, and barely qualifying as a cool picture. That is about to change as you begin to stylize your DEM to render a given scenario. AutoCAD Map 3D provides three fundamental ways of analyzing a surface: height (elevation), slope, or aspect (direction of slope). In this article we’ll analyze our surface based on its height (elevation). Making the analysis task a little easier are the numerous pre-built themes which ship with AutoCAD Map 3D. From the “Display Manager” select your DEM surface and then click the “Style” button at the top of the Map Task Pane. Pressing the down arrow under the “Theme” column for Band one will take you to the style editor for your surface. The Style Editor offers the user a number of options including the first option, which specifies the analysis to be performed. For this example I have used “Height.” Another item of interest may be the “Distribution” method. This setting is one that often comes to personal preference, and is safe to try out as you build your visualization. Next you are given two ways of defining a theme for your surface. Your choices are to either theme your DEM by “style ramp” (user defined) or “Palette.” The palette option will likely prove handy when working with DEMs, as there are a number of predefined USGS color schemes. Press [Ok] and then [Apply] to preview your newly themed surface. Tweaks can be made by making adjustments in the Style Editor for your surface. 18 Map 3D actually has the ability to create contours for your surface. The option to “Create Contour Layer” is available by right-clicking your DEM surface in the “Display Manager.” From the resulting dialog, you can specify the location of the topography reference file. A new topography reference will be added to your drawing after pressing [Ok] in the “Generate Contour” dialog. Being a map reference, the “Style Manager” can be used to adjust the display and even labeling properties of your contour reference. tical exaggeration for your DEM surface. The vertical exaggeration tool is especially helpful when viewing a surface with a minimal amount of relief. Should you choose to distribute your original DWG file, your recipient is going to need more than just the DWG file. DEM surfaces work in the same spirit as external references. Without the DEM file, the person on the other end will not be able to view the surface. Explaining how to configure Map over the phone can be rather challenging. On the other hand Autodesk’s DWF file is extremely portable and even supports 3D. Creating a 3D DWF file can be done in Map by going to “File > Export > AutoCAD Export.” Select “3D DWF” as the file type and save to your location of choice. Now sharing the surface is as simple as emailing a single DWF file (or using the online viewer at www.dwifit.com). While some AutoCAD Map 3D users have thought the 3D tag to be more of a marketing ploy than an actual feature they can use, Map 3D features such as the 3D DEM surface analysis is proof the 3D designation is the real thing. Visualization seems to play a more and more integral role in the lifecycle of projects these days, and anything 3D always seems to impress clients. Better still are the recent advances in Autodesk’s DWF technology. Such advances have made it possible to distribute large 3D surfaces within a small and portable file to recipients without AutoCAD. Donnie Gladfelter is the Design Systems Specialist for Timmons Group; an ENR 500 design and consulting firm headquartered in Richmond, VA with offices throughout the MidAtlantic. Backed by more than a decade of CAD experience, he is jointly responsible for the development and delivery of training, support, and CAD standards for their more than 200 CAD users. He can be reached at donnie. gladfelter@timmons.com, or through his CAD Blog online at www.TheCADGeek.com. w w w. A U G I . c o m Viewing and distributing your surface For all intents and purposes, your Map 3D DEM surface acts like a 3D object in your AutoCAD drawing. Commands such as the infamous 3DORBIT will allow you to look at your surface from every conceivable angle. Also worth mentioning is that AutoCAD Map 3D has a special drawing status bar that provides the option to toggle between 2D and 3D modes. In addition, the Map 3D drawing status bar provides the option to adjust the ver- http://www.dwifit.com http://www.TheCADGeek.com http://www.AUGI.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine September/October 2007

Contents The CAD Manager Feature: A Good First Impression ADT and SketchUp Team for Presentations Accessing Values: Now or Later Finding the 3D in Map 3D: Surface Visualization Rocks & Rock Walls Autodesk University 2007 Preview The Missing Link On the Back Page

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