Part rules are properties that affect how pipe network parts behave on creation and when you move or edit them.
AutoCAD Civil 3D pipe network objects use part rules in the following ways:
- To determine elevations for pipes and structures when they are created.
- To determine how pipes connect to junction structures.
- To warn that certain criteria is not met while creating or editing pipe networks.
Primarily, part rules automatically determine reasonable elevations for parts as they are created. The specific elevation behavior you see is based on choices you make, such as how you define the minimum slope, minimum cover, and desired drop across a structure. Rules also provide automatic validation of your pipe network design, such as checking to see if a structure is too small to accommodate a pipe size, if the length of a pipe is greater than desired, or the maximum cover above a pipe is exceeded.
Rules provide an excellent way to give a good starting point for design. They also provide a way to quickly determine if the location of a series of pipes and structures is actually constructible.
Rules are applied to parts automatically as they are created. However, you can reapply rules to existing parts in your drawing as needed. Reapplying rules ensures that unintended changes are not made. For example, if you move a structure that has pipes connected to it, you may want to reapply rules after moving the structure to ensure that the pipes connected to it still have the desired elevations, minimum cover, and do not exceed a maximum length.
The pipe network rules features provides a high level of design automation, while still allowing you to specify the design according to your judgment and site-specific requirements. When rule parameter values are violated on pipe network parts in the drawing, you can quickly review the violations and determine if you need to edit the drawing or simply allow the rule violations.
It is important to note that rules are not applied to pipes or structures when importing pipe networks from either LandXML or from the Storm Sewers Extension. For more information about rules, see Part Rules.
The default rule behavior for pipe network parts is designed to meet the needs of some typical design scenarios. You can lay out a pipe network without editing, removing, or adding part rules, and this behavior may suit your needs. If you want to change the default rule behavior, you can do so by edit part rule values, or by adding or removing rules from a part using Rule Sets. See Editing Part Rules for more information.
The default pipe network rule behavior in AutoCAD Civil 3D is controlled by the following files:
- C3DPipeRules. This Visual Basic script file is similar in design and architecture to the script file that controls AutoCAD Civil 3D subassembly behavior for corridor modeling.
- C3DPipeRules.xml. This file defines the pipe network part rule parameters and rule names.
These files are located in located in the \data folder. The \data folder installed to \\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D2013\enu\data by default.
Each part in a pipe network parts list references a set of pre-defined rules. When a pipe or structure is inserted into a drawing, the rule set is referenced by the part itself. Therefore, changes made to the part in the part catalog, or removing a part from the parts list, will have no effect on a part that has already been inserted into a drawing.
A default “rule set” exists for both pipes and structures that are inserted into your drawing. The rule set behaves like a style, except that you can also override values if desired. Rule sets simply provide a way for you to create a set customized set of rules. You can add or exclude certain rules, edit certain rule values, or change the order in which the rules are processed on a part, and you can save all these changes in a named rule set. This gives you the ability to control and customize the rule behavior for a specific pipe network or pipe network part.
See Also
Topics in this section
- Rule Violations
Rule violations inform you when pipe network part parameter values have not been met or exceed certain limits.
- Applying Rules to Parts in a Drawing
You can apply rules to pipe network parts to ensure that certain conditions are flagged, and to ensure that parts are placed in correct locations.
- Pipe Rules
These rules primarily govern how the elevations of a pipe object are determined when the object is created. There are also rules to flag pipes that exceed certain values, such as maximum length, for example.
- Structure Rules
These rules govern primarily how a structure object is placed and sized during object creation. They also can determine the elevations of connected pipes. There is also a rule to flag pipes that are too wide to connect to a structure.
- Editing Part Rules
Use the Rules tab of either the Pipe Properties or the Structure Properties dialog box to edit the values for rules associated with a part in a pipe network.
- Overriding Part Rules
Override part rules if you do not want certain conditions flagged with warnings in the Prospector list view and in the Event Viewer.
- Creating a Rule Set
Use rule sets to create customized rule behavior for pipe network parts.
- Converting VBA Rules to .NET
In drawings, you can convert AutoCAD Civil 3D pipe and structure rules that are VBA-based to .NET.