Section3D 101 Introduction from Czech Republic:

Creating the Subassembly Points, Links and Shapes in Section3D

Section3D 101 videos:

: Creating the Subassembly Points, Links and Shapes in Section3D

: Creating Partial Template (TPL) files and targeting to the Civil 3D object in Section3D

: Inserting Partial Templates (e.g. Ditches) as cases to create a Full Template in Section3D

: Creating the Civil 3D dynamic corridor and Sections with Section3D

: Editing and updating the dynamic corridor/sections

The strength of Section3D is its sheer simplicity. The coding process is intuitive and easy to understand. In Section3D no programming is necessary and one Section3D master subassembly can process the graphics you created in the Section3D Viewer/Editor. Instead of installing hundreds of subassemblies you only need to install one subassembly. Likewise you only need one Assembly regardless of the number of corridors created in each drawing. Installing Section3D is one-time operation and is not any different from installing typical custom subassemblies except that there is no input parameter since all parameters and corridor controls are already defined within Section3D Viewer/Editor in advance.
View How to Install Section3D Subassembly:



4501-2010-A.dwg : Sample Civil 3D 2010 Dwg File used for this tutorial

C3DVE2011_Tutorial1.zip : Sample Civil 3D 2011 Dwg File used in the Section3D 101 Video

You have a Civil 3D surface, alignments/profiles and a group of sample lines (no corridor) - This is the starting point of Section 3D.



The Section3D selection dialog where you can select a group of surfaces, Alignments and profiles. The main alignment is the baseline along which the sample lines are created and the main surface is the ground surface.



This is the Section3D Viewer with the basic controls similar to AutoCAD. Right mouse click will let you display the Section3D Editor.



Section3D Editor is always on the top of the Viewer, but if you are using dual monitors you may want to place the Viewer on one screen and the Editor on the other. Select the root "Points" node and rigth-click to add subassembly points.



Add Points six times and the points are always added at the center of the screen.



Edit each command string as shown below. The logic should be easy to understand. Section3D key words are: "F=", "X=", "Y=", "S=", "E=" & "M=". All points, except point 1, are referenced by another point when you look at the value of "F=" which stands for "From" similar to the AutoCAD relative coordinates symbol "@" in "@X,Y". Point 1 is a free point (Free point is awalys displayed in cyan) and the free point is usually the starting point in the group. Note another interesting code "E=<3-4>" which stands for Extend to the imaginary line between point 3 and point 4 (they must intersect).



The Link is a line segment joining any combination of the previously created points. Simply select the "Links" node and right click to add a link name. An enclosed link is treated as a shape in Section3D, and shape is not drawn on the screen by default except when it is first created (shape is also displayed as a greyed node in the Editor).



Two links, TP (Top of pavement) & SG (Subgrade), are created by entering a serious of point numbers separated by comma.



You can now save this set of points/links as a template file. Let's call it "LEFT"



This is a Partial template file with the extension ".TPL"



You can mirror the current group of points/links by the following menu as shown below:



Again, save this mirrored partial template as "RIGHT.TPL"



Now you can safely clear the screen since the Subassembly points/links are saved to a permanent file



Now, let's insert the two template files (one file at a time) into the Section3D screen as shown below:



Two previously save templates are inserted at random locations and the first point (crown point) is still a free point for both sides. Note also that the numbering of the points are automatically adjusted in sequential order.



What you need to do now is to join the two sides at the match(center) point, and you must select the higher point number graphically followed by the right click to get the "Edit" Dialog option as shown below:



The next 4 steps are necessary to map point 7 to point1.



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Remove the overlapping points as shown below:



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Now you can save this partial template as "BOTH.TPL"



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You can insert the BOTH.TPL (still a partial template) as before, but let's load it this time. Load command is used typically for loading a fully developed template rather than a partial template since Load will overwrite everything rather than append to the existing data.



Both.TPL is loaded and randomply placed on the screen. You now need to map the crown to the exising Civil 3D alignment and profile (the X= value will be mapped to an alignment and the Y= value to a profile). Follow the steps shown below:



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After selecting the alignment and profile names the crown is moved to the control point and all other referenced points should follow as shown below. Note the values of "X=" and "Y=". They are now linked to the Civil 3D alignment and profile.



"Apply the current X-Section to a Station Range" will write the imported temaplate data to a selected group of stations(sample lines).



For this exercise select all sample line stations, and you can then view and check each station in the Section3D Viewer.



If you successfully followed and understood these steps this far, congratulations, you are well on the way to become the Master of Section3D ! You probably would not need any further explanation for creating the Left/Right Fill/Cut ditches by simply looking at the following graphics:



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You should be able to create the left and right ditch following the above steps. Please study the left ditch code shown below. After creating the left side, simply mirror the template code and save it as the right cut ditch template.



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