The highly anticipated releases of InfraWorks and Civil 3D are here. Product managers Nick Zeeben and Tim Yarris share the latest features and enhancements.
Civil 3D software is a civil engineering design and documentation solution that supports Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows. Improve project delivery, maintain consistent data, and respond faster to design changes.
This release of Civil 3D delivers further improvements to performance and scalability, enhancing BIM design and production efficiencies for larger, more complex projects. The latest release is packed with new features and we’re particularly excited to introduce Dynamo for Civil 3D, which will streamline repetitive tasks and help you get more out of your model.
With Dynamo for Civil 3D we enter the next era of design automation and computational BIM. Customers will be able to iterate, automate and solve complex design challenges, significantly reducing time and improving quality. You can get started with the included sample scripts or use the visual programming environment to develop custom scripts to tackle your specific tasks. Accelerate design efficiencies with Dynamo for Civil 3D and the new features in Civil 3D 2020. Watch Dynamo in action below:
Related: Design automation for infrastructure: The future is here
Related: Get under the hood with Dynamo for Civil 3D
Engineers at Belgium’s TUC Rail, a railway infrastructure manager, are already incorporating the system for their own uses with great success.
“Dynamo gives me the means to be more flexible and quick in solution adoption. In my experience we hope that civil projects are standard, but every time you find that you need something a bit different. With the right nodes it will be easier to create a variation and test something new.
I also look forward to drafters use this tool. This is simply next level scripting with not just AutoCAD, not just Civil 3D, but geometry and data as a whole. As a programmer I am very happy with the visual engine of Dynamo to support programming with geometry.
The possibility of manipulating AutoCAD and civil geometry at the same time is one of the big advantages compared to AutoCAD lisp ( I already manipulate both with the API, but this is quicker).” –Wouter Bulens, TUC RAIL
Ready to try Dynamo for Civil 3D? New customers can start a 30-day free trial of Civil 3D. Current Civil 3D and AEC Collection subscribers can download Civil 3D 2020 through the Autodesk Desktop App or from your Autodesk Account. **Please note that Dynamo for Civil 3D is available as a separate installation through the Autodesk Desktop App and from your Autodesk Account.
New look and new capabilities
In addition to the introduction of Dynamo for Civil 3D, the 2020 version of Civil 3D also comes with notable enhancements to storm and sanitary analysis, gravity network analysis, and an upgraded user interface.
Updated User Interface
The first thing you may notice when launching Civil 3D 2020 is the look and feel – a dark blue theme running across the ribbon background, and easier navigation; these cosmetic updates were designed to create a uniform experience across the entire AEC Collection. The kicker – upgrades to the ribbon icons in order to scale with high-resolution monitors such as a 4K display, helping to make the purpose of each command clear and intuitive.
Storm and Sanitary Analysis
There are several updated features in Autodesk Storm and Sanitary Analysis, which accompanies Civil 3D 2020. When analyzing multiple storm events, you can now add separate tailwater conditions for each event and edit the outfall conditions for each storm event.
When using dimensionless hydrographs, you can now adjust the peak rate factor for the hydrograph on a per sub-basin basis. For example, if you’re running an SCS hydrology model, TR20 or TR55, the sub-basin dialog box enables a new peak rate factor field at the top of the dialogue box and for each sub-basin in the table at the bottom of the dialogue box. The factor can be entered on either location and copied from one sub-basin to another. New storage chamber systems from ADS or Cultec are available for underground attention.
Gravity Network Analysis
The updated analyze gravity network command helps users to analyze a gravity pipe network and then apply the results while in the model. This feature uses the hydraulic properties and gutter details for each structure being analyzed in this network. The wizard for the analyze gravity network command has been replaced with a mode-less dialogue box, which enables you to directly interact inside the drawing. There are three different types of analysis to choose from: pipe sizing, computing energy in hydraulic grade lines, and inlet analysis.
By selecting the network details button before you run the analysis, you can review and resolve issues before performing the final analysis. Additional outfall options have been added to give you more design options. You can look at the final results of your analysis in an Excel spreadsheet for reporting.
InfraWorks software enables AEC professionals to contextualize, conceptualize, optimize, and visualize projects – all within a real-world view of the built and natural environment.
With the latest release of InfraWorks, we continue our commitment to the integration of BIM and GIS.
In InfraWorks (2019.3), we introduced portal manager support, enabling connections to on-premise Portals in addition to ArcGIS Online. With this feature, customers can use the data contained in their in-house Esri data repository (Portals). We also offered image service support for the Autodesk Connector for ArcGIS, allowing users to connect terrain and image layers in addition to feature layers, within their InfraWorks models.
Our partnership with ESRI has allowed us to leverage the immense quantities of GIS data that were already available both publicly and on internal storage with a streamlined approach that avoids many of the past translations that needed to occur. As these tools continue to evolve we are excited with each new release to show added value and this release is no different, adding the ability to save back edited data from InfraWorks to the ESRI data stores.
Multidisciplinary civil engineering consulting and design firm, VHB, commented,
“We are excited about the potential opportunities that VHB will be able to leverage for our clients with the improved end to end data connectivity the Autodesk Connector for ArcGIS in InfraWorks delivers. This improved integration of BIM and GIS data will not only help us early in our projects, it will also allow us to maintain more robust project information throughout the asset’s lifecycle enabling us to deliver higher value to our clients.” – Ryan B. Noyes, Director of Innovative Project Delivery, VHB
More seamless connectivity to GIS data
In this latest release of InfraWorks, you are now able to make changes to GIS data that was imported from ArcGIS Online and Enterprise. With proper permissions to ArcGIS, those changes made in InfraWorks can be saved back to the ArcGIS Feature Service. For example, you may have brought sanitary sewer manhole and pipe data from ArcGIS into InfraWorks. Within your InfraWorks model, you may wish to change the location of that manhole and pipe location to meet your design requirements. Once you make that change, you simply select the data source from ArcGIS Online and select to ‘save back’ to save those changes back to ArcGIS. Now in ArcGIS Online, we simply refresh the web browser and the new locations of the manhole and pipe are shown.
Enhanced control of design manipulations
Extended Schema Tool
In order to meet BIM requirements, an aggregated model with deep metadata is often required and the schema tool helps simplify the process of managing this data. The new release of InfraWorks allows users to add new properties and information to the elements of their project. Customize data for objects in a model through the extended schema transfer tool. The data can be expanded with multiple fields and each element can be documented as needed. The schema tool can be applied to buildings, parcels, roadways, utilities, and a host of other InfraWorks elements.
Cut and Fill Display
InfraWorks now allows the user to control the cut and fill display on roads. Selecting the material display in the grading option, allows the user to specify the color or material by the impact, cut or fill. Clearly view impacted areas and make design revisions as needed. This feature will greatly help to enhance roadway and concept layouts within InfraWorks.
Spreadsheet-based edits
It is now possible to make adjustments to bridge structures using a convenient spreadsheet technique. The structure parameters are saved to a spreadsheet where multiple edits can be made to multiple areas of the structure at one time. These changes are then saved back into the spreadsheet and the structure model can then be updated. This method of making multiple changes across is particularly efficient for customers working on large bridge projects where changes in many areas of the structure may be required.
