Civil Road Design – Typical Workflow

The following is a typical workflow outlining the required steps usually required to undertake and basic civil road design project.

  • Create a new 12d Model project.
  • Import, check and triangulate Survey data and create CADD drawings for basis of design and contours.
  • Import company standard road design Templates. 12d Model is installed with some typical templates for a simple road design. These templates match with the standard 12d Model naming convention (these also match the 12d Snippets provided)
  • Create road centrelines strings Super Alignments (SA), containing both Horizontal and Vertical geometry. (link to EXDS Basic Civil Design website for IP method of design)
  • Create Apply MTF Functions and modify templates as required.
  • If an intersection of two roads is required, additional Kerb Return strings (Super Alignments) will be needed to geometrically form the intersection. These strings will require Horizontal and Vertical. The Kerb Return Function can be used to quickly provide a vertical answer, but may require additional edits after being run to ensure drainage low points etc are correct.
  • Once your kerb returns (SA) are created, additional Apply MTF functions can be run to produce the remaining verge strings. You may wish to use the Apply MTF Manager for creating these functions.
  • A design triangulation (tin DESIGN) can now be created combining your road design network (strings and sections). This triangulation can be contoured and exported to CADD for presentation.

Drawing Presentation

Users have two choices for the production of Design data. Information can be exported directly from 12d Model Software to PDF files or exported to CADD for the production of the Design drawings.

Plan information to CADD

For plan presentation information to CADD, you would typically export the required survey, survey contours, design strings and design contours information. These should all be exported using the “File I/O > Data Output > DWG/DXF/DXB > DWG/DXF/DXB” panel. This method will ensure the data remains in the same co-ordinate system and will allow files to be overlayed as required. For exporting this data you will typically require two matching files;

    • Template File (*.dwt)
    • Map file (*.acadmf)

Note: This panel allows for the correct scale to be set when exporting text and 12d Symbols (cadd Blocks). This ensures the size of the text etc, matches your required finished plans, with the use of paper scale.

Note: It is recommended that the “Write DWG/DXF” panels are either dumped to a screen layout file (SLX) or recorded into a Chain command for future processing if required.

PLAN PLOTTING

Section information to CADD

For Longitudinal and Cross Sectional information, you will need to generate separate ppf files for individual Super Alignments (Centrelines), Kerb Returns and Cross Section plots. It is recommended that all this data is plotted directly to a “Model” as the number of sheets can be merged and staggered to ensure consistent placing of data.

Example standard ppf files are installed with 12d Model and have been produced to match the “Public Works” (IPWEA Councils) standards. These files utilise standard colours and have been setup to print directly from 12d (via PDF) or exported to CADD. They include;

    • $LIB\longsection_PW*.lplotppf
    • $LIB\xsection_PW*.xplotppf

Once your data is plotted to a Model, export via the “Write DWG/DXF” panel is produced similarly to your plan information. Installed example files “$LIB\PW_DESIGN_export.dwt “ and “$LIB\PW_DESIGN_export.acadmf” are produced and can be copied/modified to your companies CADD standard.

The production of ppf drawing data (Longitudinal and Cross Sectional information) and exporting to CADD should also be entered into a Chain file for future processing when required.

LONG SECTION PLOTTING

CROSS SECTION PLOTTING

Plotting through the CHAINS Option

The Chains option allows you to automate many different processes within 12d Model.

In its simplest form, a Chain is a list of items that are run in the order that appear in the list.

Plotting is one of the options available within a Chain, the video link below will show you how to do this.

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