Many firms are beginning to meet the challenge by leveraging the productivity increases and new business opportunities being provided by the latest engineering design software. One of the most significant improvements in civil design software has been the move from entity-based design found in applications like Autodesk’s AutoCAD and Land Desktop to model-based design using applications like Civil 3D.
Model-based design technology allows you to create and edit design plans faster than with traditional 2D drafting technology by making the drafting process a by-product of the design process. Increasing the productivity gains is the dynamic nature of all of the design components. For example, when a surface model changes, every design component that is related to the model, including contours, profiles, cross sections and volume calculations dynamically update to reflect the change.
More than just productivity in the design and drafting process, model-based design also offers improvements to the design process and provides new business opportunities by making the leap from 2D plans to 3D visualizations an easy one. The fact that the model can be represented as 2D construction documents or as 3D visualization components from the same geometry allows firms to rapidly create realistic visualizations and animations with little additional effort. These visualizations can be used to evaluate design scenarios as well as to show clients their design from a new angle - driving through a parking lot, flying over a site, or traveling down a new road.
Leveraging the GIS features incorporated into this new generation of civil design software allows firms to increase the speed of preliminary designs, feasibility studies and to enhance the visualization of projects by linking geospatial data - satellite images, demographic data, nearby utilities and other supplemental information - into their projects.
All of these features allow firms to communicate more clearly, improving designs and increasing the speed of the approval process. Improved speed of creation, editing, visualization and the incorporation of readily available geospatial information can translate directly into increased profitability and a competitive advantage.
Overcoming the challenges associated with integrating this new technology into your organization's processes and truly leveraging the benefits it provides is where our team comes in. Our staff of vertically aligned experts in civil engineering, surveying, GIS and visualization are adept at assisting civil engineering and survey firms in making the transition from traditional workflow using AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map 3D, and Land Desktop to a model-based design workflow using Civil 3D.
We can assist you with developing processes and standards beginning with data collection using electronic data collectors from Trimble, Leica and other hardware vendors. Our expertise includes doing line work in the field and using descriptor keys for symbol generation and to ensure that your survey data maps appropriately incorporate layering standards through the design process and into visualization using products like VIZ, 3ds Max, and Maya.
Because our experts understand survey, engineering, GIS and visualization as well as both the 2D and 3D workflows now available, we are able to help firms adopt model-based design with Civil 3D quickly and with minimal disruption to ongoing projects.
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Civil/survey firms across the country already rely on Microdesk to provide the right design software, implementation, and support for their employees. Call us today at 1-800-336-DESK to find out how we can do the same for you. |
