Section from 3D Drawing

Use this function for:

To present the cross-sections along a baseline from the '3D drawing' (below)
To present the longitudinal section along a straight line from the '3D drawing'

Each 3D Face entity is represented with a line in the resulting cross-section or longitudinal section. The non-graphical CAD properties of the line will be inherited from the source entity. All lines in the result will be drawn to appropriate layers. It is possible to prefix the layer names. If the source entity is a 3D polyline or polyline with elevation, a point will be drawn to represent its location.

Note: Ensure that PDMODE of AutoCAD is set to a value greater than 2.

Figure: Cross-sections from a 3D drawing

Procedure

Run the function from:

Ribbon: Novapoint > Terrain Information > Section from 3D drawing

The dialog Section from 3D drawing will pop up.

Using the radio buttons, choose 'Single Section' to present the longitudinal section or 'Sections along alignment' to present the cross-sections along the baseline.

Single Section

Select the section line using 'Select section line'
Treating the midpoint of the section line as a reference, the offset to the end point on the left and right sides are displayed as the Start distance and End distance.
- Section width is the width of the longitudinal section
- Reduce the offset to the end point using Start Distance to reduce the section width symmetrically
Layer prefix - define a prefix for layer names
Click Next to open the dialog Draw Cross-Sections and define the output parameters.

Notes:

The section line has to be a single straight line (a line entity or polyline with only one line element).
The first point of the CAD entity will be the start point for calculations and presentation.

Sections along alignment

Select the baseline using the buttons Select, Browse, or Pick - the baseline can be:
- an alignment/object from the terrain model - use Select
- an ASCII file with the alignment data (*.TIT, *.LIN, *.DAT, *.INH, and *.LI) - use Browse
- a line/polyline/arc or alignment from the current drawing - use Pick
Define interval for cross-sections at Calculation Interval (m)
Define the search width on the left side at Left (m)
Define the search width on the right side at Right (m)
Layer prefix - define a prefix for layer names
Click Next to open the dialog Draw Cross-Sections and define the output parameters

Note: The first point of the CAD entity will be the start point for calculations and presentation in case the baseline is a CAD entity.

Output Parameters

The active Terrain model and the baseline/section line information can be viewed in this dialog.

Define the presentation settings and execute the function with 'Draw'
Use the button Back to change the input parameters (baseline/section line, parameters, etc.)

Cross-section Selection

This option is available if Sections along alignment is the choice at step 1. Define the first and last chainage between which, cross-sections are to be presented.

Drawing Settings

Define the insertion point for the longitudinal section or the first cross-section. Use the ellipse button to pick the insertion point from the drawing or key in the coordinates at X and Y
Define the vertical spacing between the cross-sections. This option is available if Sections along alignment is chosen.
Drawing Style Settings gives you the cross-section drawing style

Tip: Negative spacing will present the cross-sections from top to bottom

3D Drawing

Polylines with elevations
3D Polylines
3D faces
Surfaces
Solids
Blocks with 3D entities

Next topic: Draw Longitudinal Profile from Quadri