Text Box: Text Box: White PaperAutodesk Land Desktop

 

CAiCE versus Autodesk Land Desktop Software:
An Independent Comparison

Autodesk commissioned this review by Harry O. Ward, P.E. Mr. Ward is a Registered Professional Engineer and an Autodesk Authorized Consultant with more than 23 years of experience in civil engineering and computer-aided engineering, design, and drafting. He is well known in the industry for his pioneering efforts in computer animations, computer forensics and litigation, consulting, teaching, lectures, and publications. He has held the positions of Engineer, CADD Manager, and Director of IT for consulting and industrial firms and is currently the Vice President of OutSource Inc. Mr. Ward is a recurring author for several magazines including CADence and Point of Beginning and has been a member of the engineering faculty at George Mason University since 1997, where he teaches CEIE 290, “Engineering Computations and Design.” He was recently appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of Point of Beginning magazine and was a featured speaker at Autodesk University®.

The following report has been minimally edited for editorial and formatting consistency.

The software described below was reviewed comprehensively and from a workflow point of view. I analyzed the interface, algorithms, and functionality as a practicing engineer or surveyor would in an on-the-job fashion. The sections covered include the following:

·        Project management, interface, and settings capabilities

·        Primitive geometry and geometric layout capabilities

·        Terrain modeling, terrain analysis abilities

·        Alignment design and editing features

·        Profiling and vertical alignment design and editing features

·        Road design and cross-sectioning features

·        Plan preparation

·        Site design

·        Hydrology, rainfall analysis, drainage, and utilities

·        Retention pond design and pond routing

·        Special features

My method of operation was to look at CAiCE software (see www.caice.com) in an objective fashion and to compare it to Autodesk® Land Desktop 3 software.

Project Management, Interface, and Settings Capabilities

CAiCE: The interface is a Windows® compliant interface. There is no traditional CAD system in the software such as AutoCAD® or MicroStation®, but there are strong translation tools that allow the import and export of data between these drafting programs. Several state departments of transportation use this software such as Virginia, Colorado, and Michigan. The software translates well to the MicroStation used by these agencies. There are significant tools for AutoCAD translations as well, but I did not perform any research on who uses in it in this environment. Tutorial files are included with the installation of the software. During project creation, a geodetic library is available to incorporate into the project database. Other features, such as units, coordinate state plane and UTM zones, project elevations, horizontal and vertical datums, coordinate labeling, and report formatting, are available as well. All of these can be edited any time during a project's life. The data can be stored in the user’s choice of directory and it is capable of being run from a server.

Menus are arranged by function so that viewing commands allow for viewing tools and for the display of viewable data. The data is contained in a project database and hence the viewing commands are needed to display the data to the screen. Toolbars can be customized by the user and recalled during the next working session automatically. Feature tables are very important in the use of the software. They control the text heights, symbology, layers (levels), and colors of the objects. Passing the cursor over a line or linestring immediately displays a “tool tip” that shows these features. Settings are established once you are in the project and they control the algorithms and the display of elements.

Feature tables can be attached and edited on the fly. Feature tables are the main force behind element display. The user interface allows for immediately switching between 2D and 3D viewing. This automatically sets up a perspective view at the user’s choosing and occurs very rapidly. A fast shading mechanism is also available to render TIN surfaces in both 2D and 3D perspectives. Real-time flythroughs are also supported for wireframe and shaded views, and they use VCR type controls for controlling movement.

Onscreen measuring commands provide automatic snapping to point data, single distances, cumulative distances, angles, and an elaborate array of additional data such as coordinates, elevations, slope distances, horizontal distances, cumulative slope distances, slopes and average slopes, and vertical distances. It can be customized for reporting and outputting as well.

The project management is well organized. Projects can be named and described and are shown in a table format. The most recently used project is the one ready to be opened upon launching the software. A project manager comes up first and allows for project administration, creation, and deletion. The ability to archive the project can occur in two ways, one through a zip-like compression and the other a “long term archive.” The long-term archive is a text-based archival system that stores every point, chain, DTM triangle, and so on in a text format. The idea is that even as software changes versions, there will always be compatibility with the text format. This format looks a lot like XML data, and perhaps these people are pioneers in this concept.

The CAiCE database is 3D and work can be done in plan or perspective views, 2D wireframe, or shaded views. The program has an interesting feature which contains an audit trail of all work done in the working session. This report log allows users to access a project history of that session. This is managed in a text window that also serves as a text editor and can be toggled on and off. It stores user information, time, date, and all actions in that session. When working in project teams, managers have the ability to track usage of a project. The only drawback is that this portion of the database is stored in memory and is cleared at project closeout. However, since it is an editor, the report log files can be printed and stored in the project paper file.

Another project management feature is the use of project segments, which are like subfolders to the project. Data can be loaded from the segments in many different formats including ASCII-type data. I could read and write files both in DGN and DWG format. Consider that today’s data collection data can be Segment 1 and tomorrow’s data collector data can be Segment 2.

Autodesk Land Desktop: The interface is a Windows compliant interface. Land Desktop works inside the industry-standard AutoCAD 2002 CAD system. The main package is essentially for 2D project work plus terrain modeling and earthwork takeoffs. The Autodesk® Civil Design and Autodesk® Survey modules are add-ons and each has menus specific to their function with parts of Land Desktop integrated into them. The menus are customizable by the user and there is a facility to support this. Land Desktop is the leader in being able to develop an enterprisewide set of CADD standards. Project settings, drawing settings, and AutoCAD settings support the development of graphic objects for viewing and plotting. They can be centralized on a server or set on a machine-by-machine basis.

The external project database method is mature and flexible and has had feedback from thousands of customers over the past 10 years. XML is supported in Land Desktop 3. A feature evident throughout the software is the ability to access point data via the use of point filters. This allows for easy access to points that exist in either the CAD system drawing or the external project point database. Land Desktop comes with tutorial files and with the advent of Autodesk Map™ software being included, it has enormous capabilities to handle geodetic data and perform geodetic conversions. Land Desktop allows translations to ARC/INFO®, ArcView®, MapInfo®, and MicroStation. The tools offered in Autodesk Map allow for drawing cleanup, GIS, and external database linking and querying. It also allows for super cross-referencing of huge spatial data sets consisting of graphic data, database data, and object data.

Land Desktop makes great use of the 3D Orbit command in AutoCAD for viewing data in 3D and in perspective. Several types of shading are built in and can remain shaded while working. Although CAiCE has many specialized commands for civil and survey functions, Land Desktop has a myriad of commands to achieve similar results.

Land Desktop can also track who logs into the drawing and what changes have been made to graphics through the Revision Additions command. It stores the information in a database that can be searched at a later time and interacts with the graphical elements to highlight modified data.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit by CaiCE in that it is a pioneer in the concept of XML, as the long-term archive has been there for over 10 years. Users benefit with CAiCE since translations to MicroStation are well supported, as much of CAiCE information was developed with MicroStation in mind. Users benefit by the use of feature tables and the way they were implemented in CAiCE. The tooltips that fly out as a user moves the cursor is effective in a producing a constant flow of data to the user. Users benefit from CAiCE in that the switch between 2D and 3D is much more rapid than in AutoCAD, which has to perform regens each time. Users benefit in CAiCE because of the project segmentation abilities. Land Desktop users would have to develop new projects for this function. Once a Land Desktop user does this, however, transferring data into another project is directly supported.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit with Land Desktop because with AutoCAD as the graphics engine it already has most of the vector manipulation tools needed for modifying and plotting civil/survey data, therefore the software concentrates on performing functions required by engineers and surveyors. Users benefit with Land Desktop because of the industry-standard use of AutoCAD, which needs no elaboration here. Settings can be set up ahead of time for all users across the enterprise. Users benefit from Land Desktop because rendering is an entire feature within AutoCAD and allows for materials and light sources to be placed on objects. Users benefit by Land Desktop in that the flexibility of locating project data, settings, and software is completely up to the user and is strongly supported both stand-alone or on a network. Users benefit from Land Desktop’s ability to enforce employee tracking enterprisewide and from the excellent querying commands built into it.

Other Benefits: Users benefit with both packages because both handle geodetics well.

Primitive Geometry and Geometric Layout Capabilities

CAiCE: Points can be angle points or curve points. Geometry chains define linear and curvilinear geometry and can be feature objects or ground objects. Alignments are special geometry chains because they control stations and tick marks automatically. Visual cogo creates geometry. It is based on older cogo systems and has the ability to describe standard data items in a variety of ways. Bearings (azimuths), distances, offsets, and elevations are supported. Station offsets can be directly input for point creation all from the same input dialog. It uses an English “syntax” for conversing with the software. A “picker” allows shifting angle types from bearing to azimuth or other types. It allows for point referencing for angles and/or distances. Chain editing allows for subdividing, breaking, and combining. Chains can be defined as ground objects or feature objects for differentiation in dtm modeling. Resections, bearing distance, station-offsets, even stations, locate along alignment, and other operations are supported. The bad news is that if the command is not in the menus it may not be possible since there is no cad system to provide underlying support for commands. Displays can be switched from n/e to sta-offset so that dynamic readout occurs by cursor movement. Curve creation is strong, and there are over 2000 ways of storing a simple curve. An example of the effectiveness of the curve commands is the nonconcentric curve command which creates tapers needed for highway design. Spirals and sophisticated spiral conditions are directly supported as well.

Autodesk Land Desktop: Land Desktop has excellent land development geometry tools because the user can use the graphics commands in AutoCAD supplemented by well thought out routines in Land Desktop. It has many productive tools to build horizontal geometry. Some good examples include the following: users can draw lines with a “double snap” such as the Perpendicular and Tangent commands and they can use the Create Multiple command which allows for the creation of lines, arcs, and spirals from lines, arcs, and spirals. There are also many commands for settings points in 2D and 3D, and they are designed to operate the way a civil designer or surveyor needs them to. The method of prompting is also well thought out because the command sequence steps users in and then steps them out of the process.

The Autodesk Survey module has additional geometry commands that build traverses and sideshots in 2D or 3D and it can be done graphically or via dialog box entry. A batch file captures commands and allows for editing and playback.

The TDS Survey Link within the product allows for data collection from most of the data collectors in use. Links exist for those that remain proprietary. The methodology is simple and can be augmented by the Survey Command Line commands if they are added as notes.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit from CAiCE’s background as a leader in the development of COGO in the industry, as the founders hail from Dr. Miller’s CEAL software.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit from a well-rounded set of commands designed for geometric layout in a CAD system. Curvilinear linework and points are easily created and modified and have a mature prompting sequence that will aid users in production. The Autodesk Survey add-on may be needed if users want the ability to traverse around a lot in a single command or if they want to be able to develop a nontangent curve from curve table data. The use of the Survey Command Line is a valuable tool for those creating geometry in Land Desktop, as it has built-in batch file ability and they can edited and run as needed.

Terrain Modeling, Terrain Analysis Abilities

CAiCE: There is a dtm database manager within the project database. A statistics display lets users know what the status of the dtm is—loaded, triangulated, contoured, and so on. The terrain modeling abilities of the software are quite strong. A command to “Resolve survey chain crossings” finds and rectifies crossing dtm breaklines. It steps through the location of all findings and allows users to decide how to rectify each offense. A number of potential resolution mechanisms are suggested to assist the user in an interactive and visual way. Quick sections for Q/A are available that are fast and informative. They display in a window that pops up on top of the main display. Again, the ability to switch between 2D and 3D perspectives is strong. The ability to switch between wireframe and shaded mode is also rapid and powerful for assisting the user in analysis. Merging dtm databases is easy and directly supported. Clip files indicating boundaries are used to identify where the boundaries of the merge should occur.

Autodesk Land Desktop: The Terrain Explorer provides an excellent interface to the DTM and isopach data. It has a Windows feel to it. Generating a TIN is fast. Statistics are readily available for the data and condition of the data. The analysis tools are among the industry’s most robust because AutoCAD can provide many graphical functions for displaying vectors, fills, and quick graphics. The TIN editing is also powerful and has unique commands for automatic slope annotation, nondestructive breaklines, surface pasting, and object technology for quick sections, contouring, and labeling.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit from CAiCE because they have a feature for resolving crossing breaklines. They suffer somewhat from limited ability to edit the terrain model when compared to Land Desktop.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit from Land Desktop’s terrain abilities because of excellent TIN editing and TIN analysis. They benefit from the ability to use USGS DEM file data for large-scale terrain analysis. They suffer somewhat because often contours representing the tops and bottoms of hills and valleys are missing if there are no spot shots within the contour source data. For some reason, these “flat areas” often do not produce contours although they are accurately reflected in all TIN data computations for profiling, sections, and earthworks.

Alignment Design and Editing Features

CAiCE: Alignments can be defined numerically via a dialog or graphically using display data. If alignments are being constructed using the dialog, they can be displayed in the graphics window as computations occur. Stations can be entered and modified in the dialog easily. Once done, the user stores the chain. The display is controlled via a dialog which can flip on or off such things as stationing, control intervals, show curves or not, and more.

Autodesk Land Desktop: Land Desktop uses vector graphics to define alignments. There is no way to develop alignments other than AutoCAD entities or Point Objects. Alignments are contained in an external database and can be freely used in any drawing at any time. Multiple users can work in the alignment database simultaneously, and record locking protects users from stepping on each other. Many commands exist that interact between the alignments and the development of other data such as alignment-based points and offsetting alignments.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit by CAiCE’s flexibility in using chains and feature tables for display. They are hampered by not having a CAD system for final drafting.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit by Land Desktop’s well-known interface and ability to easily define and redefine AutoCAD graphics as alignments. However, once the beginning station is typed in it is difficult to change later unless station equations are used. Editing of alignments is numerical only; graphical changes would require redefinition. There is no link in the numeric dialog allowing for graphical selection of locations. It does update the graphics automatically upon exiting, though.

Profiling and Vertical Alignment Design and Editing Features

CAiCE: Vertical profiles can be accomplished similarly to horizontal alignments, that is, through a numerical dialog or via digitizing. When laying out the numeric data, a visual displays of the work providing length ahead and length back for vertical tangents easily supports symmetric and asymmetric vertical curves. Visual editing is strong and effective. You can hold the grade back and vary the grade ahead or vice versa.

Autodesk Land Desktop: The new Vertical Alignment Editor allows for very good interaction between the numeric dialog and the screen graphics. This is about as state-of-the-art as can be. All AASHTO parameters are built in, and the right mouse button produces a menu with many of the editing functions. The Calculator allows for experimentation and visuals are produced if the customer has a subscription to obtain the Vertical Alignment Extension. Graphics are updated automatically upon exiting the editing function.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit by CAiCE’s ability to create asymmetric vertical curves. Land Desktop does not directly support this often-needed function. Although Land Desktop has strong vertical editing abilities, many users can’t use them because they didn’t purchase the subscription to obtain the appropriate extension.

Road Design and Cross-Sectioning Features

CAiCE: Cross sections are generated from “scan lines” which are typically perpendicular. They automatically catch intervals, odd stations, and curve/spiral locations. You can give it a swath width. The scan lines are then used to create sections. They can be created from the dtm surface or directly from breakline data. Multiple surfaces are supported as well. Display of the sections can be tiled with the plan view so you can correlate which section is being viewed in plan. The breakline locations can be viewed within the section viewer so the user can differentiate tin data from hard breakline data. Sections can be navigated via a VCR interface.

“Fragment technology” can be used for road design. This is a very well done concept and deserves attention. A section station is selected. The profile grade line is shown as the road is designed in a section view. The existing ground is shown in the section view for the design as well. Fragments can be lanes, shoulders, curbs, drainage structures, sloping, topography, bridges, barriers walls, and more. Miscellaneous items can be added also such as sidewalks. This is well done. The lanes might go in first, then the curbs and then the slopes. Parameters display as each fragment is selected and can be changed before insertion. They can be edited later just as easily. The user could use existing ground as part of the template easily. Superelevation parameters are included in the section development. The fragment templates are then applied to other stations by identifying begins and ends. As they are applied the user sees the road laid into each section tied out. Cuts and fills and quantities are automatically computed and displayed as needed. Multiple design profile grades can be added to the template to control vertical movement of template sections for such conditions as bifurcated highways or multiple alignment roadways.

Autodesk Land Desktop: Land Desktop has strong tools for single alignment based design. It is powerful enough for corridor design consisting of roads, tunnels, and aqueducts. It is a template-based system and allows for transitioning templates horizontally for lane widenings and contractions and intersection collapsing. It also allows for vertical transitions for sophisticated conditions such as bifurcated highways and nonstandard ditch design. The viewing and ability to edit sections is excellent and very fast. Superelevations are AASHTO based and allow for superelevation-based cross-sections to be automatically created. The software supports subassemblies, which allow users to assemble roadway components into final templates. Land Desktop makes nice use of point codes on templates to mark certain locations for use later in analysis and drafting. The software can automatically create surfaces from roadway data, tying out daylight contours nicely. It can also create 3D breaklines directly from roadway data, which makes it very easy to design cross-sections and cul-de-sacs.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit by CAiCE’s fragment technology.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit by Land Desktop’s use of transitioning using AutoCAD graphics and subassemblies. Its ability to edit cross-sections for specific conditions on the fly is also excellent.

Plan Preparation

CAiCE: Plan production and quantity takeoffs are accomplished via vba macros. Settings dictate how and where annotations occur, then translations from the screen send the data to AutoCAD or MicroStation. Vba macros determine quantity takeoffs as well. The drafting is limited since it is not in a traditional cad system. Annotation tools are flexible as far as where things can be annotated and how. Tables are automatic when items can’t be fitted. Table formats are created and stored through dialog boxes. Freehand drafting is supported for flexible drafting. Lines, linestrings, and symbols can be entered based on current settings. Labeling can also be done dynamically or freehand. Sheets can be laid out and either plan or profile sheets can be created. Sheet templates are created and placed on top of the data for visual inspection. They can be moved or rotated into place, then stored and can be recalled for plotting. A series of windows can be placed along an alignment using the alignment. Overlap and the scale can be set. Additional and odd location sheets can be added, saved, and recalled as needed. This is reminiscent of Land Desktop’s layout sheet editing tools. Profile sheets are created based on the profile data and combined with settings for min and max elevations. The terrain profile for a particular chain is then viewed into the profile sheet with pulldown commands. Cross-sections are plotted using custom tools from the pulldown menu commands. They were created for a client and then absorbed into the CAiCE menus. Sheet layout, grid settings, and section point and station annotations are controlled through this dialog box. These settings can be saved for future use.

Autodesk Land Desktop: The Sheet Manager has been around for some time and is one of the industry’s most powerful such tools in that it pulls data directly from project databases to assemble plot sheets. It is highly customizable to meet customers’ CAD standards requirements. It can assemble P&P sheets, cross-section sheets, or single profile sheets.

Benefits: Users benefit by both systems in their abilities to produce construction plans. Land Desktop is more likely to develop a finished product because the user is in the CAD system at all times.

Site Design

CAiCE: Chains are used to describe the grading geometry; for instance, building pads can be chains. The beginning elevations can be varied based on fixed elevations, design data, or terrain data. They can be designed parametrically, say, by tying to a dtm surface, to fixed elevations, fixed offsets, to design profiles, or other geometry chains. Slopes can be defined as typical or “steep slope” conditions. This works similar to the grading object in Land Desktop but with a couple additional parametric-based options. The data can be saved in external text format files which can be edited as the site changes. Volumes are computed using isopachs or delta surfaces. The two surfaces in the earthworks are “subtracted.” The delta-z values are then stored. The dtm for this is then computed for earthworks takeoffs.

Autodesk Land Desktop: Very little on the market can compare to Land Desktop’s ability to design sites in 3D. The software has had the ability to do so for a long time and allows the user to use typical AutoCAD entities. The addition of the Grading Object and the powers it has for modification as a design changes is awesome. Land Desktop provides tools that interact with surface data and can extract elevations from any surface on the fly. Between the use of point objects, breaklines, and the grading object there is virtually nothing that can’t be accomplished. The site analysis routines augment this nicely.

Earthwork takeoffs are performed using one or more of the four methods supplied by Land Desktop: the grid method, the composite method, average end area sections, and prismoidal section based methods.

Benefits of CAiCE: Users benefit by CAiCE’s sophisticated routines for such conditions as steep slopes that can vary the design on an as-needed basis, automatically.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit by Land Desktop’s robust 3D tool set for site design and the multiple methods for performing earthworks. Autodesk has had the philosophy that users should be working in 3D for over a decade. In this area the users need to catch up to the software’s capabilities.

Hydrology, Rainfall Analysis, Drainage, and Utilities

CAiCE: Visual Hydro provides tools that can solve fairly demanding water resource projects. It is used to model the full hydrologic cycle, including stormwater and wastewater quality, buildup/washoff, and the treatment of stormwater and sanitary sewer flows. It can also perform best management practice (BMP) analysis, which is required in Virginia and other localities. This automated process includes the automatic or assisted computation of the catchment area, average slope, overland flow path length, and time of concentration for hydrologic data, and the computation of inlet spacing, inlet spread, inlet flow, carryover flow, manhole invert elevations, manhole rim elevations, conduit upstream and downstream invert elevations, conduit lengths, and channel cross sections. Water, wastewater, and drainage systems can be designed. Structure locations can be digitized while automatically picking up rim elevations. They can be differentiated as outfalls or structures. Manning’s equation is used, and the number of barrels can be varied. Hgl and egl can be computed. Simulations can be run. Stage vs. time or flow vs. time simulations can be done. Junction information, conduit data, channel losses, iterative information, overbank conditions, pumps, continuity errors, and more can be computed and reported on.

Using FHWA methodology, the culvert design components compute performance and optimization curves taking into account culvert flow, roadway overtopping, and culvert end treatments. Visual drainage offers gutter design which computed crests and sags to assist in locating structures. Gutters, ditches, and channels can be inserted as needed. Inlets can be inserted at intervals in downflowing locations. They can also be digitized into place or automatically placed by flanking based on edge of pavements or gutters. Inlets can be edited via a dialog and can be relocated or raised or dropped. Other inlet layout tools include inlet spread computations. Once inlets are located, the spread analysis is then computed. The traditional HEC 22 is used to compute this with a clean, descriptive interface. The flow data, gutter data, and gutter design data are computed and reported on once the return periods are input. The spreadsheet immediately lets the designer know if the inlet passes or fails. The hydrology tools are strong. Idf tables are included and can be edited. HEC 22 and tr-55 are installed. Drainage is based on the rational method. A water drop tool assists in watching flow go into inlets. Storm drain comps occur in the hec 22 format as well. Tailwater elevations are entered to begin hgl comps. The hydrology database and settings populate the spreadsheet and violations are shown in red when they occur. Computations are generally numeric in nature.

Autodesk Land Desktop: This software has good tools for watershed development and rainfall analysis. TR-55 based methods are routinely used for generating hydrographs. Land Desktop has good tools for storm, sanitary, and waterline drafting. The user can edit pipeline data more readily in this software than virtually anywhere else. Although Darcy-Weisback, Hazen-Williams, and Manning’s equations are available for design and analysis, the Manning’s equation seems most applicable. Because Land Desktop provides a VBA editor/compiler and the pipe database is in Microsoft Access, great potential exists for users to integrate their pipe sizing spreadsheets into Land Desktop. The Sheet Manager produces P&P sheets directly from the pipe database to meet users’ requirements.

Benefits: Users benefit by CAiCE’s ability to design inlets, which is missing from Land Desktop. However, Land Desktop has excellent graphical previews of the hydraulic results in its calculators. You do not need a PhD in hydraulics to understand what happens in Land Desktop when the flowrate is increased or decreased as graphics preview the results. Land Desktop stores all of the pipeline data in Microsoft Access databases that are conducive to access by Visual Basic for customizing reports. Land Desktop has the Visual Basic Editor and compiler built in.

Retention Pond Design and Pond Routing

CAiCE: Basin delineation and subbasins can be created. DTM-based flow vectors help define these. Basins are generated based on the flow vectors. Then the hydrology editor is used to grab this basin, to which impervious conditions can be added or edited. It uses the q=cia method, computing the Tc times and the idf tables to compute runoff. Open channel analysis is supported via ditch analysis. It is also hec-22 based. It also supports a variety of ditch lining conditions. It reports flow conditions and shear stress locations for erosion and bend protection. Pre- and post-developed hydrographs can be generated using scs methods, rational or manually entered. The initial water surface can be entered for wet ponds. Tailwater conditions can be specified. Control structures can be developed using a wide variety of outlet devices. Pond design is done based on some uniform bottomed ponds with side slopes. The prompts are clear as to where the structure elevations are applied and as to what the parameters are for each structure. Multiple structures are then run in batch modes that include the outfall devices selected. Pond volumes are estimated and computed and iterated as needed. Report generation is done using HTML reports and includes hec-22 storm drain and hgl losses. They can be exported to Excel for customization.

Autodesk Land Desktop: Land Desktop has the best interactive features for pond design and analysis in the business. A pond can be built in 3D using such criteria as the storage capacity needed for the pond, depth of pond, pond templates, and more. Once the pond is created, its characteristics can be sent directly into the pond routing and sizing functions. They use the Storage Indication Method for routing and Detention Basin Storage method for sizing ponds. Outlet structures can be developed and set to required elevations. They can further be turned on or off to simulate a variety of conditions. TR-55 and TR-20 are supplied. A variety of hydrograph formats are supported and created. HEC-II card generation is also supported but lacks input for sophisticated conditions.

Benefits of Land Desktop: Users benefit by using Land Desktop because of the interactiveness of the software between pond design and pond analysis. Both systems offer benefits, but these days uniform bottom ponds are rare and hence the results could be slightly off. Land Desktop can develop a pond with real-life bottom conditions such as low flow channels and forebays.

Special Features

CAiCE: Smart objects allow control of the size, shape, or look of points and chains. Points can convert to symbols (such as tree symbols) or 3D tree symbols that shade in perspective view. The height of the trunk, the canopy, and the diameter of the tree can be altered on the fly. Survey chains can be displayed as lines or as 3D objects like curb and gutters or sidewalks. Feature tables control all of this.

CAiCE also offers an add-on product called Visual CADLinks that lets you link Visual Survey to the CAD system of your choice. AutoCAD can be dynamically linked into CAiCE to compute with CAiCE and get graphics by AutoCAD. One can draw simultaneously in both programs. Or you can go back and forth between the two programs. Objects can be linked and tracked for change as well. Snaps can be achieved in AutoCAD and sent to CAiCE. AutoCAD has an additional menu pulldown for converting data into CAiCE. Object layers can be mapped between each other.

The software allows for overlaying a background image underneath the survey data. CAiCE includes a complete image library allowing any type of background file to be loaded including digital orthophotos. Another valuable feature of Visual Survey is a legal writer that performs similar to Legal Aid. Legal descriptions are supported through vba macros which allow for state required flexibility. Microsoft Word is used for the description with computations that come from a Microsoft access database. The database is populated by CAiCE from CAiCE data. Header data can be customized as needed.

CAiCE offers additional add-ons including Visual Construction, which was developed to bridge the gap between construction plans and the actual building of the project. It provides utilities for digitizing takeoffs from design drawings; developing geometric layout; staking out points, boundaries, and design cross-sections; recalculating design models to match field conditions; and modeling as-built construction at different phases of the project. It contains tools to make revisions on the fly.

Since there is no CAD system, translations are required and a strong point in the software. Points are easily entered by several methods. Raw survey data for most formats, including TDS, can be imported directly from the field for processing in a least-squares processor. Direct links are provided to several data collectors. User-defined tolerances and standard error constants can all be edited. Corrections for curvature are also available. The most easy-to-use method to read reduced data into the database is the “Flexible File Format” utility. A huge number of options present themselves here, including the loading of line strings (which CAiCE calls chains). Data brought into the CAiCE database are maintained in a geodetic environment and not treated just as typical objects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autodesk, Inc.

111 McInnis Parkway

San Rafael, CA 94903

USA

 

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk University, and Autodesk Map are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

© Copyright 2002 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.