AutoCAD Civil 3D tips pls1

Civil 3D is a beast. I’ve used it for the last 18 months or so, and only really understand a portion of what the software will do. I was told when I started learning it that I would need to use it exclusively on about 3 projects before I would really grasp the workflow. I would say that’s accurate. The parts of the program that I’ve used 3 or more times, I can pretty confidently get around in. The parts that I’ve used less, well, not so much.

We use a training tool called Pinnacle. It’s produced by Eagle Point, which used to make a competing software until a couple of years ago. It’s a paid service, but they offer step-by-step tutorials, videos, live help, etc. They may offer some content for free. There are also several books by AutoDesk or other vendors that go step-by-step through all the menus and options. I’ve personally found that process with Civil to be kind of tedious, even though I’ve used books to learn other software. There are forums and videos at sites such as CAD Tutor, Lynda, etc. Google search will bring up lots of good free resources to help you understand and solve specific issues. Civil 3D resellers also offer training. I’d say the quality of that training varies dramatically based on the company and the price point you’re willing to accept. I’d recommend Pinnacle, if your office is willing to invest in that style of training, as a good all around tool for learning C3D.

The biggest thing to understand, which actually came relatively easy for me because of my experience with SketchUp, is that your goal is to make a model. In 2D CAD, your end goal was always to make drawings. In Civil, you build the model and the model produces the drawings. There’s a big difference, philosophically and in the way you have to approach the project. Some people where I work struggled with this idea.

Are there others in your office who are proficient, or is your office just starting out? Do you have styles for everything already set up? If you want to use the software productively, that is really the first step. It takes a lot of time to think through style development, but it’s the key to automating drawing production. It will also keep you from beating your head against a wall when elements of the design don’t show up in your sheets the way you expect them to. What kind of work are you intending to use Civil for? I assume you work at a multi-disciplinary office. I’ve never heard of an all LA firm using Civil.

Best of luck as you get started. Know that it’s going to be painful, but once you get through this start-up period, it’s really pretty cool what you can do with the tools.

Andrew and Andrew, thanks for your replies. I’ve not had an issue with the WCS, but we still use 2012 so maybe that is a 2013 bug.

I understand the workflow that you both described, and it isn’t much different from what I’d expect from offices using 2D CAD. I was trying to figure out if sharing Civil 3D files created any unique problems. Naming conventions for layers and styles are critical, and it would seem to me that unless everyone on the project team was using consistent templates and/or settings that sharing data would be very cumbersome. If you’re taking civil-survey drawings with C3D objects from other firms and xrefing them, don’t you lose all of the Civil functionality? If you’ve set up data references, then it’s possible to keep the object’s intelligence, but I still think style management would be a nightmare.