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Are you a Civil 3D user designing commercial, subdivision, and road land development projects? I have been using Civil 3D for many years now, and I always wished there was a tool for some of the workflows I was doing. Then I discovered there actually was a tool!  

CIM Project Suite is a Civil 3D add-on that automates those tedious tasks with tools for grading, sheet production, corridors, pipe networks and surveying. Just utilizing one of the tools in CIM Project Suite pays for itself, saving you clicks and picks. This blog will demonstrate my top 5 favorite workflows using the CIM Project Suite.  

Auto Grader

Edit Multiple Feature Lines at Once

Are you grading subdivision lot lines or constantly changing slope feature lines one at a time? Auto Grader allows you to create grading templates to apply to multiply feature lines at once, saving hours of time grading and regrading a site. Therefore, its number one on my list as it saves me days of tedious subdivision grading.  

Step 1: On the CIM Project Suite ribbon, click on Auto Grader and a dialog box will open.  

Step 2: Click the plus sign to define a grading family parallel, perpendicular or template insertion.

Within the Auto Grader dialog box, users can define and create grading families to apply to Civil 3D feature lines.

Step 3 (Family Type): Perpendicular

New grading family types:

Step 4: Add the grade breaks below.

Step 5: Select the Parent and Child Feature Lines.

Step 6: Click Run. Elevation Points are added.

Adding Feature Line Elevation Points is a very time-consuming Civil 3D workflow. With Auto Grader, you can automate that task and save days of grading a site.

Label Genie

Add Hundreds of Surface Labels Along Feature Lines at the Same Time

Are you spending hours detailing your grading plans with surface labels or updating your grading plans with new labels each time the grading plan changes? Label Genie can drop hundreds of surface labels at time, and when the changes occur, we can re-run the tool to update all label locations to the new grade break locations. That’s why Label Genie is second on my list for my favorite CIM Project Suite tool.

Step 1: On the CIM Project Suite ribbon, click on Label Genie.

Step 2: Set up the Label Genie dialog box “Drawings and Objects” as seen below.

Step 3: Set up the Label Genie Dialog box “Formatting” as seen below. Select the desired Label Style and Marker Style.

Step 4: Click Add/Update Labels

If your firm produces hundreds of lots per year, you understand how much of a pain it is to constantly update all those labels and lot lines after re-grading the site and updating the labels. With Label Genie, you can detail and update grade plans with ease.

Pipe Designer

Design Pipe Runs

When designing a pipe network within Civil 3D, we usually interpolate each pipe slope from structure to structure. Have you ever wondered if there was a tool that allows you to define the slope of multiple pipes all at once? Pipe Designer allows you to design pipe runs by invert or obvert. Users can also save hours of time by dropping or raising the whole run all at once by changing elevations. This gives you control of your pipe network so you can edit multiple pipes and structures at a time. That’s why pipe designer is my third on the list for my favorite CIM Project Suite tool.

Step 1: On the CIM Project Suite ribbon, click on Pipe Designer.

Step 2: Select a Pipe Run from Structure to Structure in plan or profile.

Step 3: Edit the Pipe Run within the Spreadsheet Editor.

Step 4: Click apply to make changes to the selected Pipe Run.

Pipe Designer is a robust tool for designing pipe networks within Civil 3D. If you have spent hours chasing your tail with constant changes like updating pipe inverts and slopes, Pipe Designer is going to be your best pipe tool for getting the job done and out the door.

Pipe Planner

Create Pipe Depth Reports

Do you need a Pipe Depth Report for quantities? Are you hand calculating and adding up all the depths of each pipe run? Pipe Planner allows you to easily calculate pipe depth for quantities by adding the pipes, setting up the spreadsheet and exporting it out to an Excel spreadsheet to be added up. That’s why Pipe Planner is fourth on my list for my favorite CIM Project Suite tool.

Step 1: On the CIM Project Suite ribbon, click Pipe Planner.

Step 2: Set up the Pipe Planner dialog box.

Once you move the Pipe Depth at Interval over, it performs the calculation. See dialog box. Depth intervals can be controlled in options.

Step 3: Click export to write to the selected spreadsheet.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use tool for producing takeoffs or quantities of pipe networks with excel spreadsheets, Pipe Planner is your tool. Pipe Planner will not only export pipe depth reports, but it can also export manhole schedules and hydrology reports and even update your Civil 3D pipe network after the spreadsheet changes.

Sheet Generator – Adjust Profiles

Edit Profile View Height Elevations All at Once

Editing Profile View height elevations takes a lot of time. If you have many Profile Views that need their height at elevations adjusted, the Adjust Profiles tool will automate this tedious task. That’s why this tool is fifth on the list for my favorite CIM Project Suite tool.

Step 1: Click on the CIM Project Suite ribbon and click Adjust Profiles, which is in the Sheet Generator section.

Step 2: Select the Profile Views to edit the Elevations heights.

Step 3: Click Fixed Height and change the upper and lower elevations.

Step 4: Click OK. All the Profile Views will update to specified height elevations.

If you’re producing plans and profiles using the Adjust Profile tool, you can automate so many tasks, saving hours or even days on a project.

Todd Tilford

Sr. Civil Technical Specialist

Need help with these workflows? Don’t hesitate to reach out!

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