Creating stations and cross-sections

[Nakii]

I'm a beginner at AutoCAD and don't know anything beyond the very basics. I'm working on a road design where I have to estimate required cut and fill. I've added in a road layout using dline, but I don't know whether there's a more proper way of doing this. I also want to put station markings on my road layout, and if possible generate cross-sections of the road. I know AutoCAD Civil allows you to do all this, but my company has only provided us with AutoCAD LT 2008. Is there a way I can do this using my current program?

[ReMark]

You really should have insisted on AutoCAD Civil. AutoCAD LT really isn't up to the task.

[Car5858]

The stations can be marked with points on the centerline.

 

Create centerline on it's own layer. Start at sta 0+00 draw the center line to the end of project point.

 

Format your points to a size that you can see easy, with the vertical and horziontal line.

 

Select the centerline and check the length with the "list" command.

 

This will tell you the bearing and the length.

 

With the centerline the next step is to use the "measure" command

 

Type Measure on the command line> select the centerline> length of segments?= 100'> press enter. Points will be added to the centerline at 100 foot increments. This will give you the station points.

[ReMark]

Great answer. Still can't do cuts and fills. What's the point of setting up stationing then? Doesn't the OP want to determine volumes?

[Car5858]

We need some more info in order to do the cross section/cut fill.

 

What is the cross section station location?

 

Have you drawn the conture lines?

 

What is the elevation of the road?

 

What is the type of pavement, drainage requirements?

 

Do you have the surveyor's data?

 

What is the angle of repose?

 

Suggested reading:

 

http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/manuals/road_design/pdf/04_cross_section_elem.pdf

http://www.delmarlearning.com/companions/content/0766816346/release3/web_chapter_2.pdf

 

These two documents are really good basics to start with.

 

This is all the info that I can give without surveyor's data.

 

Thanks Remark for the bump, knew I was forgetting something:oops:

[Danse_Macabre]

Even if you have all the info mentioned by Car5858 I doubt you will be able to do automated cross sections in AutoCAD LT. I think in order to do cross sections where you do cut&fill volumes you need either Civil 3D, or AutoCAD Land Desktop.

 

I don't even think you can run cross sections in the full version of AutoCAD 2008. You would need to draw each cross section manually and calculate areas/volumes manually. Depending on how many cross sections you are doing its probably not a big deal, I have done it before manually.

[Car5858]

Danse_Macabre

 

Everyone has to start some where.

 

Learning the manual way of drawing the cut sections to me is one of the most improtant exercise's. This way you learn what data is needed to draw the cut section and calulate the cut/fill.

 

You are correct about the Acad 2008 having a hard time with the sections. This in one reason that I upgraded to Acad 2009.

[Danse_Macabre]

I completly agree, I just meant I do not think AutCAD 2008 itself has the ability to do an automated cross section, the commands are just not there. I didn't mean to comment on ability of the user, if that is how you read it.

 

A lot of times I would just prefer to perform the cross sections manually anyways because sometimes the process of doing them in Civil3D or LDD is extremly convoluted and sometimes a bit sketchy.

 

I am just looking around in my AutoCAD 2008 and I can't see any command anywhere that would allow me to run a cross section, other than doing it manually. Does Acad 2009 have such a command without using Civil3D or LDD? Or does 2008 have it as well and I am just missing it somehow?

[ReMark]

The OP has AutoCAD LT! If he had the full version then I'd suggest doing it in 3D and cut sections that way.

[Car5858]

Danse_Macabre

 

Acad 08-09 do not have that feature to genernate the cross section automaticly as far as I am know. I think it can be done using a lisp as long as the contures have a Z value assigned.

[Nakii]

Thanks guys! I guess I will be going through this manually. At least now I know I'm not wasting time doing this when my program can do it for me automatically.