By Michelle Rasmussen
First off, thank you to everyone who joined the webcast. It is always a pleasure to share my knowledge with you live. For those of you who missed the live presentation, you can watch it here:
https://youtu.be/gdJooBmTXnI
Next I would like to thank you all for your patience in me getting this blog written. I have been very busy trying to get a few things done in preparation for Autodesk University (AU) coming up next month in Las Vegas. In fact, I just submitted my handouts for the class I am teaching on Wednesday, November 16th. If you are going to AU, make sure you sign up for it. The class is TR20425-Do You Cross the Bridge or Fade Away? Although the class description and title are the same as the class I taught last year, the software has changed enough that you may want to learn about the amazing new workflow for designing bridges.
During the webcast we had some very good questions pop up which I have listed below. Some were so good, in fact, that I did not know the answer and had to research it. I really hope I understood the question correctly and have found a solution which will accommodate your needs.
Q: How easy is it to create a custom structure (ie. enter property data that is not found in the drop down menus)?
A: Although I answered this one during the webcast, I will reiterate my answer here. It is very easy to create new styles inside InfraWorks 360. Simply open the Style Palette and add a new Pipeline style for your pipe or a new Pipe Connector style for the structures. Below are examples to show you what setting you can set when creating styles.
However, adding property data that may not be available is something you will want to get help on from either Autodesk or an Autodesk consultant (often found within the same company from which you bought the software.) They should be able to help you come up with a workable solution to add custom fields to your structures and pipes.
Q: How can we edit the pipe network when we more than 50 structures, with different elevations, is there a table like in c3d
A: There is not a table like in Civil 3D. However, when selecting a pipe or structure, the component’s asset card appears making it easy to modify the component as shown in the images below.
Q: Can blind connections for CB leads be created? Pipe connects directly to pipe and they are linked but without a null structure or break in the main sewer required?
A: When you create a pipe network, by default you will end up with a manhole connecting the catch basins to the main pipeline. Though there is not a way to turn that off (not even with styles I found), one thing you can do is select the manholes and press the <Delete> key to remove them from the network. I’ll be completely honest though, I do not know how this affects the pipe analysis. So once you do a project with blind catch basin leads inside InfraWorks, please reach out and let me know how it turns out. You have my curious on how well this will work on a real project.
Q: The drainage area analysis looks great. Are there any tools that would work for detention storage and routing of a rainfall event through a conduit?
A: I was not able to find any tools available for that at this time. I would definitely suggest reaching out to Autodesk and letting them know this functionality is of great interest to you.
Q: Can you move the road WITH the drainage network?
A: Even though you select the design road when creating the drainage network, the two are not dynamically linked. This means that if the road moves, the drainage network does not follow it. That is why I suggested in the webcast that if you make changes to the road, delete the drainage network and re-create it. It just seems to be much more efficient that moving every structure. By the way, if you move a pipe, the structures do not follow it. However, if you move a structure, the pipe does follow it. This is similar to Civil 3D so most people are used to that workflow.
Thanks again for joining the webcast and hopefully I will see you at Autodesk University next month. If you go, definitely stop by the ASCENT booth and say “Hi.”
