A Couple of New Tools and a Few Sub-assemblies

Hey everyone! If you are not on Subscription with your AutoCAD Civil 3D, you should be. In the last few months some great Civil 3D content has been posted to the Subscription Center. Of course, the only way you can get to the content is to be on subscription and log in to the Subscription Center.

Here are descriptions for a couple of extensions that were added to the Subscription Center. The first is HEC-RAS Extension for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009. This extension loads into your toolbox and allows you to export Civil 3D data such as cross sections into The US Army Corps of Engineers HEC-RAS software. Once your analysis is completed in HEC-RAS you can import the data back into Civil 3D. For those of you out there that perform flood analysis, this is an excellent tool.

The second is the Stage-Storage Extension for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009. This extension also loads into your tool box. This extension will calculate volumes for detention/retention facilities with a few mouse clicks! You can then create a table with the incremental and cumulative volumes and then plug that information into the Hydroflow Hydrographs Extension for pond calculations.

There were several sub-assemblies that were posted to the Subscription Center also. These sub-assemblies included a Conditional Cut/Fill sub-assembly and a Crowned Lane sub-assembly that allows for independent slope control on sub-base. This is something that people dealing with Mississippi State Aid Projects have been asking for.

Again all of this content is available only to subscription customers. So, if you are not on subscription and you think that this content could be helpful in your every day routine, contact your reseller to get your subscription started! If you are already on subscription log on to the Subscription Center and download the content!

It Will Be Here Before You Know it!

The cold of February is beginning to pass and a hint of spring warmth is in the air, at least in some parts of this great nation. I spent this past weekend on Alabama's Gulf Coast with several thousand revelers where the festivities known as Mardi Gras originated. No, Mardi Gras didn't begin in New Orleans, it began in the city of Mobile, AL in 1703!

Anyway, as we attended parades over the weekend and had as pleasant of weather as I can remember in the last few years, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement about the onset of spring in the southeast. Spring in the southeast is great, as the days get longer, the fish start to bite better and work becomes filled with the anticipation of the next release of our beloved Autodesk Software products.

I can't talk a whole lot about the new features in Civil 3D yet, but I can talk about some of the new features in AutoCAD 2010, and since Civil 3D is based on AutoCAD............

One of the new features for AutoCAD 2010 deals with pdf's. Yes, we have been asking to be able to use pdf's as underlays in our drawings and with the next release it will be possible. There are some cool features pertaining to the creation and use of pdf's in this release.

Keep tuned for more info on AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010!