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Grading in Civil 3D takes so much time and effort. Plus, it’s one of the most difficult workflows you can do. What if I told you that you could automate that process by up to 90 percent? With Auto Grader from CTC’s CIM Project Suite, you can create dynamic grading models, define and autogenerate feature lines, refresh grading models and more – allowing you to get your plans completed faster and more efficiently.

Auto Grader Interface

1. Add new family
2. Delete family
3. Edit family
4. Copy family
5. Create surface
6. Save family to JSON file
7. Load family JSON file
8. Move family order up
9. Move family order down
10. Create surface boundaries
11. YouTube CTC tutorials
12. CTC support help
13. CTC tools version number

Grading Family Interface 

  1. Name new grading family
  2. Filter the features lines that will be used by layer, layer description,
    name, style or site.
  3. Add alignment or station range by which feature line will be affected.
  4. Create a new grading child
  5. Delete grading child
  6. Copy grading child
  7. Set the look of your feature lines by style, layer or what site it will be added to.
  8. Name grading child
  9. Choose anchor point of grading child
  10. Choose method of how the feature line will be affected
  11. Choose what side of the parent anchor to apply the grading child
  12. If distance method is selected, input the distance.
  13. If slope method is selected, input the slope percent.
  14. If elevation method is selected, input the elevation.
  15. If surface method is selected, input the surface.
  16. Child component settings
  17. This is how your grading family will look.
  18. You can save the family or immediately run the grading family in your drawing.

Small Site with Parking Lot

Below is the site I will demonstrate with. An existing surface and finished surface have been created with no data associated to it. Additionally, two sites have been created – Bldg Site and Bldg Site Grid – for the existing surface that holds the feature lines.

With Auto Grader open, you will notice that the Families column will be empty unless you have created families previously. First, we will create a simple Curb & Gutter family to add to the list. Start by clicking on the plus icon to create a new grading family. There are three options, but we will select the parallel type family for this example.

In the Parallel Grading Family window, name your new family Curb & Gutter (or another appropriate name) and assign your parent feature line to a layer or any other designation from the filter list (for this example I selected the red gutter line). Following that, add your grading child with the plus on the right and create your curb. Feel free to copy the design and values below.

Once your new family has been created, hit run either in the current window (above) or on the main Auto Grader window where you see your new family listed. Add a surface to the family from the main screen to create the surface or leave it as none to only create the feature lines.

Note: Make sure to adjust the Supplementing Factors in Surface settings next to selecting a surface. This will better define your curb corners. Distance 10, Midordinate Distance 0.1 and Weeding Factors are not needed and unchecked.

Residential Lot Grading

We can use Auto Grader for residential lot grading and perpendicular grading families. Open Auto Grader and create a new family using the perpendicular option. The interface is only slightly different from the parallel option, adding options like create and grade new and grade existing. The difference between these two would be using existing property feature lines with grade existing or allow Auto Grader to create the lots itself, like parcel creation.

As you can see above, you can create your property line out from grade break segments. If you would like the Auto Grader to close off the back of the lot, check the box in Create Parallel. At the Lot Back segment, close out the property with  a feature line. Below is an example of how I used this family to lay out part of a residential area. Again, Auto Grader will not complete this 100 percent, but it can get you close to where you want to be and you can just edit the created feature lines as needed. 

Creating a surface from this is as easy as assigning the families to a surface at the main Auto Grader menu and running the family again or running all at once.

Conclusion

Auto Grader is an excellent tool to have in your Civil 3D toolbox. This tool allows you to get your projects completed faster with dynamic and stable site grading models, feature line tools, automated workflows and more. This tool and many more tools are available with CIM Project Suite. Give this project game-changer a try free for 14 days – you’ll even get to keep some of the tools after the trial ends!

Try Auto Grader free for 14 days

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