Feature lines, corridors, surfaces, point data, pipe networks, alignments, and profiles can be exported with Export to Civil View for 3ds Max.
Sites
- Grading Feature Lines
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All grading feature lines are exported as 3ds Max shape objects. A 3ds Max shape object may contain multiple splines, with each spline consisting of a continuous sequence of linked points.
Any feature lines within an individual site that use identical feature line names will be exported to a single 3ds Max shape containing multiple splines. All feature lines within an individual site that do not use feature line names will be exported to a single 3ds Max shape containing multiple splines. This approach is essential to allow Civil View to retain a unique reference from each shape object created from imported feature line geometry.
Corridors
- Corridor Baselines
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A corridor baseline is exported as a 3ds Max shape object containing a single spline.
In AutoCAD Civil 3D, corridor baselines are derived from AutoCAD Civil 3D alignments and profiles. If two or more corridor baselines are references to the same alignment, a baseline will still be present in the VSP3D export file for each baseline definition.
- Corridor Feature Lines
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All corridor feature lines are exported as 3ds Max shape objects. A 3ds Max shape object may contain multiple splines, with each spline consisting of a continuous sequence of linked points. One 3ds Max shape object will be generated for each unique feature line name per corridor region.
If multiple feature lines using common feature line names exist within a single corridor region, resulting splines will be ordered firstly by start station/chainage, and then by sequence from left to right across the corridor assembly. This consistent use of spline ordering is essential when imported feature lines are used as the basis for constructing swept objects in Civil View such as bridges, tunnels, and retaining walls.
- Corridor Surfaces
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Export to Civil View for 3ds Max generates its own corridor surface mesh based on the raw contents of the AutoCAD Civil 3D model.
It is not therefore necessary to manually generate a corridor surface in AutoCAD Civil 3D in order to export corridor surface geometry to Civil View.
VSP3D generated corridor surfaces are split by corridor region, which allows individual portions of a corridor to be imported into Civil View.
This approach means that far more information can be considered when constructing the export mesh. For instance, station, offset and elevation data for each mesh vertex is used to apply independent alignment-aware texture mapping to each subassembly or link when imported into Civil View (see the following illustration).
VSP3D generated corridor surfaces are written to the export file but are not actually created in the active DWG file.
If traditional corridor surfaces do exist in the active DWG file, they should not be selected for export to avoid the possibility of duplicate corridor surfaces being written to the VSP3D file.
- Offset Assemblies
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Corridor surfaces and feature lines derived from offset assemblies are treated in the same way as normal corridor feature lines and surfaces except that one surface / feature line definition (per name) is created per offset assembly rather than per region.
In AutoCAD Civil 3D, offset assemblies cannot be divided by region.
Surfaces
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Surfaces are always exported to 3ds Max as editable mesh objects regardless of the surface style which has been applied in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
It is usually necessary to generate hide boundaries in existing ground surfaces to cut holes in the surface where corridors have been designed. This is particularly vital if the designed corridor passes below existing ground level.
Hidden portions of AutoCAD Civil 3D Surface objects which have been created using hide boundaries will be ignored upon export to VSP3D files.
Point Groups
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Point groups are exported to Civil View Point Systems. Point Systems in Civil View are derived from the standard 3ds Max Particle System functionality.
Civil View supports point groups containing up to 1000 points.
Pipe Networks
Pipe network geometry is exported to 3ds Max as a grouped collection of swept pipe and parametric structure nodes. There are no user configurable options for exporting pipe networks to 3ds Max.
In 3ds Max, materials are not automatically assigned to imported pipe network geometry.
Known limitations when exporting pipe networks to 3ds Max
- Headwalls, flared ends and certain other complex geometric structure shapes are not fully supported. These structures are interpreted purely from the basic bounding shape of the structure.
- Two-tier structures are not fully supported. The cross-sectional dimensions and shape of the upper tier of these structures are ignored.
- Structure frames are exported with the same basic shape as the underlying structure. For example, a rectangular frame on a circular structure will be exported as a circular frame.
- Pipes with user-defined custom cross sectional shapes are not supported and are therefore ignored.
- For pipes, although all standard cross-sectional shapes are supported in the VSP3D file format, only the following pipe shapes are recognized in 3ds Max: circular, egg-shaped, elliptical, horizontal elliptical, rectangular. Pipes of any other cross sectional shape are ignored.
- For structures, rectangular frame dimensions are not exported with their correct values. Frame length and width are always set to zero. This issue does not affect circular frames.
Alignments and Profiles
Alignment and profile combinations are exported to 3ds Max as a special extended shape object. These shapes carry sufficient intelligence to permanently retain geometric information specific to alignments and profiles, such as:
- horizontal and vertical radius, bearing, grade, and station information at every point
- tangent points for all alignment and profile entities
- crest and sag points for curved profile entities
- design speed data
Alignment options
You can configure the following options when exporting alignments:
- Point Interval for Tangents: Determines the exported point interval for straight alignment entities.
- Point Interval for Curves: Determines the exported point interval for curved alignment entities.
- Point Interval for Spirals: Determines the exported point interval for spiral alignment entities.
- Default Elevation: Determines the default elevation to be assigned to each alignment point in situations where profile information is not available.
Profile support
Support is provided for design (or finished ground) profiles only. All other profile types are ignored.
Where multiple design profiles are associated with an alignment which is selected for export, all design profiles are automatically exported and permanently retained by Civil View. However, the first detected design profile is considered "active" by Civil View.