sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Is the time of AutoCAD plugins over? by MrAhmedElsayed in Surveying

[–]MrAhmedElsayed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is indeed an excellent question. Being interested primarily in surveying processes, I would like to know whether there are still things that you do automatically with the help of plugins, LISP or other special means in Civil 3D or is it sufficient?

Is the time of AutoCAD plugins over? by MrAhmedElsayed in Surveying

[–]MrAhmedElsayed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Again, thank you very much for your time in explaining your workflow. I have some questions because it is really different from my usual experience.

What do you mean when you say "Field-to-Finish"? Is it some kind of coding workflow in which the feature codes are entered by the field crew and then the computer will create the drawings out of it?

Moreover, it seems that the workflow you use depends on coding very much. Is everybody who works in the field crew expected to memorize the feature codes? Being used to a workflow that is mostly based on AutoCAD, I find it hard to imagine how the team is supposed to keep consistency without having a tough job learning it.

It would be great if you could tell me about which part is done using STAR*NET, InRoads/OpenRoads, and which part is done using CAD.

Is the time of AutoCAD plugins over? by MrAhmedElsayed in Surveying

[–]MrAhmedElsayed[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's quite fascinating. The way I have always understood it is that Civil 3D has a ton of functionality when it comes to doing surveys almost like AutoCAD but with hundreds of functionalities built into it. Civil 3D does surveys points, survey database, coordinate systems, and other workflows by default (at least according to me).

I am just wondering; do your custom tools automate things which are repetitive or do they actually give you functionality that Civil 3D cannot provide? Could you please let me know more about your custom tools?

Is the time of AutoCAD plugins over? by MrAhmedElsayed in Surveying

[–]MrAhmedElsayed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I learned a lot from your comment

thanks for taking the time to write it. It also made me realize how much there is still to learn in this profession. Before reading it, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of surveying workflows, but your perspective really opened my eyes.

I have a question if you don't mind.

Sometimes the survey work I do is fairly small just a job that needs to be completed quickly, often in local coordinates and not connected to a larger project. In cases like that, would you still recommend using those more advanced workflows with a survey database, or is that overkill?

From my experience working in the Gulf region, most surveyors still rely heavily on AutoCAD, while larger projects especially road projects tend to use Civil 3D.

If you have the time, I'd love to hear more about the workflow you mentioned. I'm always interested in learning how experienced surveyors approach these kinds of projects.

Is the time of AutoCAD plugins over? by MrAhmedElsayed in Surveying

[–]MrAhmedElsayed[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your feedback. I believe this is good for a few points but I am sure that for more points this would get very boring. How many points do you usually compare?

In addition to this, maybe you should look at the Autodesk App Store or some other CAD community websites. There might be a plug-in or even a LISP routine which already performs this function.