JamCAD Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I would like to be reasonably proficient in Civil 3d in as short a time as possible. I have dabbled with it before but haven't had much experience with it. Do you think it's possible in such a short time? I have experience using other civil design packages, mainly 12d model. I do have a very high level of proficiency in vanilla AutoCAD. Do you think these skills will translate easily to civil 3d? Also do you have any suggestions as to the best learning material. I know there are plenty of freebies on youtube for example. But I'm looking for a complete course that is well structured so I can hopefully learn as fast as possible. I looked at local training courses, most of which run for 1-2 days, but they only run every second month and the next one isn't for a while. If you have any thoughts please share :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBox Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Your prior design experience, and proficiency in AutoCAD may be invaluable - presuming that you can open your mind to learning a fundamentally different design tool and methodology. Civil 3D is like an onion, in that it is built on top of Map 3D, which in turn is built on top of vanilla AutoCAD. Practically everything in Civil 3D is Style based, and dependent on another Civil 3D Object, which can be utterly confusing for some, particularly to setup and manage, especially to troubleshoot. Sure you can learn about Civil 3D in such a short time frame, but your resultant proficiency with same will entirely be dependent on your individual aptitude, and the quality of the source(s) you learn from. Given that in-person training isn't available in your area, you're then relegated to either remote/virtual instructor-led training, or reading a quality book reference yourself. I'm a fan of virtual instructor-led training, as I've just completed a course myself albeit unrelated to this topic (Windows Server Administration, for MTA certification)... That said, even with training, you may still be obligated to setup all of your own Styles, etc. yourself. If you're going to fork out a fee, make sure you get the most bang for your buck, otherwise you're better off purchasing a quality book such as Mastering Civil 3D 2014, which I personally own the Kindle version and can recommend. Hooray Calibre! You've chosen quite an undertaking - Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerMG Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I went form 3D modeling to Civil and have been working with it over a year now and I still am learning a lot. All of the different designs is what I thought was the hardest part. Profiles, corridors, alignments, parcels, sites, surfaces, points...etc. all have a lot of information in them and require understanding of how each builds off of the other. I agree with BlackBox about the book I have the same one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBox Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I went form 3D modeling to Civil.... NURBS or Polygons? I went to college for Computer Animation myself; our 3D character modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, and rendering was done using Maya (before Autodesk acquired Alias|Wavefront), and we did environmental modeling in MojoWorld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerMG Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 using inventor lol. Had to design stuff and build them by putting multiple files together. Then off to the 3D printer LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBox Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 using inventor lol. Had to design stuff and build them by putting multiple files together. Then off to the 3D printer LOL Oh... That sort of 3D... nvm then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerMG Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yep. Sorry for the misdirection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBox Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yep. Sorry for the misdirection Not sure what version you're using, so FWIW - What’s New In Autodesk Inventor 2015 Hybrid Parametric Direct Editing, N.U.R.B.S with T-Splines and more… ... Freeform Tools (N.U.R.B.S with T-Splines) If you use CAD for surfacing, need to design complex geometry or create designs where aesthetics are important, then T-Splines will make you question your current CAD tool and how much time you have wasted in the past. ... See this basic video of the new Freeform (N.U.R.B.S with T-Splines) tool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamCAD Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thank you for your advice. I will look into purchasing a good book or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerMG Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 That video was awesome!! Really amazing what they have achieved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBox Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Thank you for your advice. I will look into purchasing a good book or two. You're welcome, JamCAD; I'm happy to help. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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