Many would say that the goal in this process is to generate existing contours for the project. Twenty years ago, that would have been true, but in this era of 3D modeling, the result of your efforts will serve a much greater purpose. Although it’s true that you’ll be able to create contours from your surface model, you’ll also create an accurate 3D representation of the ground that can be used in many ways throughout the project.
Modeling the Existing Terrain Using Surfaces
on September 18, 2017
In "Establishing Existing Conditions Using Survey Data", you learned how to establish the existing conditions of a project by playing a very elaborate game of connect the dots. So far, you’ve been solving the connect-the-dots puzzle in only two dimensions—creating the treelines, fence lines, buildings, trees, and so on. Now, you’ll use the same data to establish the third dimension of your existing conditions model, and you’ll do that using AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software surfaces.
Many would say that the goal in this process is to generate existing contours for the project. Twenty years ago, that would have been true, but in this era of 3D modeling, the result of your efforts will serve a much greater purpose. Although it’s true that you’ll be able to create contours from your surface model, you’ll also create an accurate 3D representation of the ground that can be used in many ways throughout the project.
Many would say that the goal in this process is to generate existing contours for the project. Twenty years ago, that would have been true, but in this era of 3D modeling, the result of your efforts will serve a much greater purpose. Although it’s true that you’ll be able to create contours from your surface model, you’ll also create an accurate 3D representation of the ground that can be used in many ways throughout the project.