Contour Map (Autocad) to 3D profile in solidworks

[CivilEngrStudent]

Hi

 

I have a contour map in Autocad and I'm trying to figure out the best way to draft it in 3D w/ solidworks...

 

Any ideas?

[ReMark]

Wouldn't that be like using a 20 pound sledgehammer to drive a 3" nail? Why not Civil 3D? As a student you should be able to download a free version.

[CivilEngrStudent]

"Wouldn't that be like using a 20 pound sledgehammer to drive a 3" nail? Why not Civil 3D? As a student you should be able to download a free version."

 

-I only know how to use Autocad and Solidworks and don't have the time to learn Civil 3D. Also, Solidworks is more interactive and eye appealing, which I need for my presentation.

 

The question isn't why, but how...Please only post helpful replies.

[ReMark]

"The question isn't why, but how...Please only post helpful replies."

 

I will certainly try to do my best in the future. Thank you for that sage advice.

[ReMark]

Three dedicated Solidworks forums:

 

1. Solidworks Discussion Forum

2. Solidworks Forum

3. 3DCADForums/Solidworks

 

You can locate them via a search on Google by typing as your criteria "Solidworks forum". I'm sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for. I wish you every success in your project. Please consider posting it back here upon completion as we would enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor. Good luck.

[shift1313]

almost all autodesk products use a very similar interface and i would venture that you would have very little to learn. that being said our university doesnt carry civil 3d, actually they dropped acad off the map in favor of ugs.

 

To answer your question by asking another one. what are you planning to do with your contour in solidworks? Do you plan on using this to create a surface by extracting edges? What have you tried so far? Have you been able to import your contour or have you tried. If so are you able to extract geometry from it or not? What file formats have you tried? With the solidworks package you should have something called solidworks dwg editor. If your contour is a dwg file, just right click and open with, search for the dwg editor.

 

I havent tried what you are asking but i know when i first installed solidworks it took over every file type on my computer and for awhile every dwg i clicked on opened in solidworks.

[CivilEngrStudent]

I have my contour lines imported into SW but it only transfered my x and y dimensions and not my z. Making extrudes seems to crude and may not give me the accuracy I'm looking for. What I think I might do is put each set of equal elevation countour splines on its own sketch and make a lofted surface for my plot of land. I'm not convinced this is the best way because I would have to make a new plane for each contour interval, which I'm not excited about...

 

If you have any other ideas I'm open to suggestions.

[shift1313]

does each contour have the same Z coordinate?

 

 

If your going to make a lofted surface you can do this in acad 07. Did you try the dwg editor? You may also try other file types. im not sure which ones will export the info you need. i think i had luck with a step file for a 3dmodel before.

[CivilEngrStudent]

No, each contour interval has a different elevation, which I represented in Autocad. I'm somewhat new to Autocad and I think I would have more success lofting surfaces in SW.

[shift1313]

i drew these contour lines in cad, each 1" above the last. typed loft. selected the guides in order from bottom to top and then played with the options given. in my second shot they are normal to each cross section. It really depends on how your lines are laid out and what resolution you have.

 

im going to play with trying to get those lines into solidworks now.

 

i dont think you ever answered my question on what you tried to do so far?

[shift1313]

i should also mention if you are going to be working with this kind of data autocad has a program called map3d. its gis specific. I know my school has it available for free. Its made for this so it may be worth looking into.

 

and the info above was done without any guides. if you create guides or paths if your contours are far apart the result will look much better.

[shift1313]

in solid works, Open, scroll down to filetype dwg. import to new part. there are lots of document settinsg. you can import as a 2d sketch or 3dcurve/model(***). This lets you use the curves to create a loft in solidworks.

 

there was no issues at all!

[CivilEngrStudent]

Below is a few pics of my Road in Autocad and SW. The SW pic is only of the left third. The scale of the breadth and width is negligible to the depth which makes the SW verison somewhat unappealing. The curvature feature in SW was of no use because the radius of curvature of my contours was powers of 10 less than the lowest readable value. It appears that I'm stuck...

 

What I might end up doing is changing the scale of my depth on the SW version for clarity so I can use the curvature feature.

Road.pdf

Road 2.pdf

[shift1313]

honestly acad will do the surface model you are trying to do. Yes solid works has a better surface modeling interface but the result will be extremely close.

 

so you never answered any of my questions. Did you try to do any of this before you asked the question? im just curious as to where the problem was.

[CivilEngrStudent]

"so you never answered any of my questions. Did you try to do any of this before you asked the question? im just curious as to where the problem was."

 

I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this is SW. I'm not very good with autocad and I want to get suggestions for my SW options.

[shift1313]

i mean did you try to import your dwg file into solidworks before you asked the question. I want to know if you had a problem with a certain file type or method of importing so if it comes up with someone else we can be aware of it. I am a relatively new solidworks user my self but my software package didnt have issues. Since i do not have knowledge of prior versions id like to know where hiccups are to let others know in the future.

 

Thanks

[CivilEngrStudent]

Yes, I did try to import my dwg into SW. I had alot of problems w/ it like i mentioned before. I've imported dwg's into SW before but not because the dwg is extreemly useful for making parts/assemblies but because they can be useful if you just want to import a sketch. I had an internship with a company one summer where all I did was convert autocad parts/assemblies to SW and I've found that its easier to just make the part in SW then try to extract geometry from autocad. It's usually more headache than its worth. All of the senior drafters who I worked with also agreed with the benefits of SW over autocad and they use to be cadjunkies. The dwg converter in SW is very primative and at best it could be used to import dwgs as sketches but there is usually some geometry missing (like i mentioned earlier how my depth was neglected in the transition).

[shift1313]

thats odd because the dwg importer in sw 09 was great as long as you clicked the 3d option. which version are/were you using when you had trouble?