Not all news here has to be about Civil 3D, right? Some of you use some of the functions in Map 3D as well - especially since it’s built right into Civil 3D. Well, here’s a bit of information that you may or may not know about Map 3D and some new (returned?) functionality for it. Follow the link for more information.

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Yesterday I was browsing around the Autodesk Civil 3D discussion group for a few minutes. I go there from time to time to research quick questions or to see if anyone needs help. I was talking to a user who was having trouble with Trimble Link and Civil 3D - well, part of the problem was with Trimble Link and Civil 3D…he couldn’t import a .JOB file using Trimble Link because he didn’t have the data collector available. I ran into this same problem when I first installed Trimble Link a few years ago, because I don’t have any physical data collectors that I can hook to my computer. I have emulators for TDS Survey Pro, Microsurvey FieldGenius 2008, Leica GPS/TPS 1200, Trimble TCS and SCS900, Topcon TopSurv PC and Carlson SurvCE, and have successfully transferred data from them into Civil 3D, but it took a bit of work. So if you find that you don’t have access to the data collector BUT you have the .JOB files stored on either a local machine or a network, then this is the article for you.  Follow the link to find out more.

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Last week, Dana presented a very informative webcast on surface modeling and TIN theory.  Personally, I’ve been building TINs now for almost 15 years and still learned a lot while watching her perform her magic. In two weeks, I plan on presenting what Mark and I have dubbed “Surfaces, Episode 1 - The Phantom Mesh.” This webcast will explore how to get the initial surface created in Civil 3D, and will showcase one of Engineered Efficiency’s solutions offering, VRMesh. This post isn’t really a plug for the webcast, even though we love when you sign up.  This is an effort to explain exactly how VRMesh can help you, especially if you are working with very large point files. Follow the link to find out more.

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Well, yeah, ok maybe we do. Especially if we’re running Vault. Somehow, the boys and girls in Manchester managed to get the patch for 2008 to play with ADMS (Vault) 2009 uploaded and it slipped by us. Read on for more info and the link.

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Quick reminder, the EECast worldwide tour continues today! I’ll be looking at a intersection design and cul-de-sac design, and how you can do both without ever touching a profile again (after setup of course). Register here, and check out the full schedule at left.

While popping through Google Earth today, I noticed a familiar site had a new image. If you’ve worked through Mastering at all, here’s a new view of the subdivision that serves as your sample data set.

Oh, and I’m testing a new blogging app, so forgive me if you get some funk on this one.

Next Wednesday, May 14, 2008, Joshua Modglin will present the next EECast! Please SIGN UP and SPREAD THE WORD! This is a great way to help us get to know you, show you live demonstrations of key Civil 3D skills, and introduce you to Engineered Efficiency.

This week’s session will feature an in-depth review of the EE ProPack Base suite of productivity tools. After the presentation, attendees can request a full working 15-day trial copy of the EE ProPack.

PLEASE NOTE THAT PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESSES (e.g. @yahoo.com; @gmail.com; etc) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE USE YOUR WORK EMAIL ADDRESS. THANKS!

Reserve your seat now by clicking here.

More Information after the jump.

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To better serve our clients, the team at Engineered Efficiency is always investigating new solutions to make your life easier. Sometimes this means that we will find a piece of software that we recommend to users. Other times, we come across something so great that we don’t just recommend it to our users, we supply it to them.

What if I were to tell the surveyors out there that there was data collection software that got rid of the whole “how do I code” discussion once and for all? What if field coding beyond descriptions were a thing of the past? What if you could export a FBK file directly out of your data collector? Would you want to know more? If you’re intrigued, click the link to find out what all the fuss is about. Read the rest of this entry »

In a bit of a surprising move, Riverbed essentially hung Autodesk out to dry with a conference call and webcast pointing the finger directly at Autodesk for issues with Riverbed hardware and 2007 format DWG files. You can view the webinar here, and download the PDF they released here.

It seems that Riverbed has been catching a lot of heat from users complaining about the lack of updates and functionality. It’s not unusual for developers to point the fingers at each other during a support call chase, but to air the laundry in public points to a breakdown in communication between the two parties. Based on casual inquiries, and out own attempts to get definitive answers on this subject over the years, it doesn’t seem that chatter was ever as open as it should be. For Riverbed, a company that made the AEC industry its bread and butter, this smacks of a desperate attempt to deflect some heat.

Edit: Someone pointed out that I’d given some serious love to Riverbed just over a year ago in this post. I did. I think they’re marvelous tools. Here’s the problem with that older post: the test was done with Inventor. Inventor doesn’t use dwg files. Damnit, that means all bets are off.

Have a Riverbed? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

We’re working on the next release of EE’s ProPack tools, and looking for your input. We’ve set up a survey, so go tell us what’s on your mind and win cool stuff.

Click Here to take survey