NEC 2104 - AutoCAD Civil 3D for Enhanced Civil Infrastructure Design

This report discusses the application of AutoCAD Civil 3D software in civil engineering, focusing on its capabilities in design, documentation, and construction data modeling. It highlights the software's use in surveying, including its ability to process raw data and compute coordinates, referencing a case study of the Linial Project in Tasmania. The report also identifies the personnel involved in surveying projects, the equipment used for data collection (such as theodolites and tachymeters), and considerations for data management and relevant regulations. The document concludes by listing references used in the study.

Designing Better Civil Infrastructure with AutoCAD Civil 3D
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Introduction
The autoCAD civil 3D software , this is a software for the civil engineers which is used fort he
purpose of documentation and the design of the civil engineering related problems and giving
solutions to them [5]. The software supports the construction data modelling workflow. It
becomes so easy and cheap to get to understand the performance of the project, easy to maintain
the data and processes more consistently and also becomes so easy to respond to the change.
Most of the civil engineers use this particular software in the design so that to make work more
easier and also increases the accuracy of the work done.
AutoCAD Civil 3D in Surveying
The autoCAD civil 3D contains the editor which is used to process the raw material which is
collected in the field, though, the software does not have the capabilities of manipulating the raw
data from the surveyor. The software is capable of bringing the fieldbook data saved with the
extension of the .fbk. The fieldbook data is the data filled due to the observation in the filed[3].
This includes the following; the distance of the slope of the land, the horizontal angle of the land,
the vertical angle of the land and any other data which can be filled in the fieldbook. the civil 3D
software then will be able to compute and calculate the coordinates.
But still, as technology improved, the developer of this particular software also tend to improve
the functionalities of the software in order to fit the need of the respective users. For that reason,
the civil 3D software which is from autodesk developers was improved and a link to be able to
collect data was added. This is in the survey pulldown menu. With this link, has a capability of
converting the raw data in .raw file to a fieldbook data in .fbk and after that, the engineer is now
able to do some editing on the data [2] .
The steps taken by the designer to transfer raw data and convert the files to the fieldbook is as
below mentioned.

In order to transfer data, click on the home tab, then create the ground data panel, then survey the
link for data collection so that the survey link for data collection might be displayed then you
create the transfer menu for receiving and sending data.
In order to convert the files with the raw data, the following steps are followed in return. First
click the home tab and again create the ground data panel as the same way with the transfer of
data, make the survey for the data collection to enable the link for the data collection to be
displayed, then click on the conversion menu then the convert file format [5].
Importance of Civil 3D to Surveyors
Currently the autoCAD civil 3D is of so much help to the surveyors due to the following reasons.
1. The software is able to convert the raw data in .raw format to the fieldbook data hence
making work so easy for the designers.
2. Once filled with the data in the fieldbook, the software is able to process the data and
computing the coordinates for the land.
3. Most of the design part is fully taken care by the 3D software for civil engineers.
Related study
The specific project is the Linial Project which is taking place at Tasmania town in Australia.
The autoCad was used to process survey data. Just after the survey was done by the use of
tachymeter and other measurement tools, the data was then filled in the fieldbook in .fbk format.
The fieldbook data was inserted into the autoCAD after which the autoCAD processed that data
in computation of the coordinates and creating sketches as seen in the below diagrams.

The surveyors collected data in the field , the data collected was entered into the AutoCAD for
processing as shown below.
The following is the results after the importation of raw data from Fieldbook in fbk format. The
autoCAD then processes the data and computes the coordinates as shown in the diagram below.
The autoCAD then creates the surface from the breaklines as in the diagram below.

Personnel involved and end-users of the specific project
Once the contract for the survey has been obtained, several individuals take part in the process.
For this reason, if the company has been given the contract for the construction, then they are
required to do the survey of the land [4]. For this reason, they will be the end users of the survey
results. But if the contactor of the construction is different from the survey company, then the
builder who is a contactor of the construction process will be the end user of the survey and the
designs.
Putting the above case study into consideration where the company was responsible for whole
construction works, therefore they themselves are the end users of the design. And once the
survey has been done, they will be designing the model of the building in accordance with the
survey results, all this is done using the autodesk 3D software for civil engineers.
Equipment used including operation, calibration and maintenance
The process of survey is simple as long as the right tools for data collection are available. This
includes the following; the Cosmolabe, theodolite, tachymeter, transit, graphometer only to
mention but a few. These are used in the data collection process and data is field in the fieldbook
before in it imported to the software for processing [2].

This are used for observation purposes and measurement as a method of data collection. As any
other tool, these must also be taken care of and maintained well. Measurements are taken in feets
though some simulation of angles are measured in degrees.
Legislation and regulation
The processes of survey has no specific regulation though is subjected to agreement between the
partners which includes the contractor and the surveying company or the surveying company and
the owner of the building and land.
Data capture, processing and management.
As mentioned before, data is captured from the field using the surveying tools which helps in
observation and measurement. The raw data is filled in the fieldbook then taken to the CAD
software for processing. The data management and control is for the engineers of the contractor
of the company who uses the end results.
References
[1] S. Pitty and F. Allan, WirelessHART: MASTERING
AUTOCAD CIVIL 3D 2008 (With CD)." in Control and
Dynamic Systems, Vol. 1, Multidimensional Systems, C. T.
Leondes, Ed. San Diego: Academic Press, 2013.
[2] T. H. Futty, "3D Model-Based Design: Setting the Definitions
Straight" in Softwares, 2nd ed., vol. 6, J. Peters, Ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2014, pp. 1-9.
[3] D. P. Hemmington. The Engineering Design Revolution.
Saskatoon: Univ. of Saskatchewan Press, 2017.
[4] W. Ujiy and G. Vau, "The Big 6 in CAD/CAE/PLM software
industry," in Second Int. Telecommunications Energy Special
Conf., 2017, pp. 9-16.
[5] D. Sarunyagate, Ed., A Critical History of Computer Graphics

and Animation. Information & Management. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2016.