site tools should be called Shite tools

[j_starko]

i know there are a million threads about it, but i'm having trouble with the site tools

trying to figure out a better strategy for next time.

what I've done this time is made a large toposurvey, and then used split surface to split up the landscaped areas , roads and sidewalks. . the reason i just didn't use Subregions off the get go is that the project will have multiple phases and the site will be changed from it's existing phase to the newer phases.

I thought this would be a better reason to contolr what's showing up and what is changing in the subsequent phases.


what i'd like to see as far as tool changes, would be better line selection tools . trying to find the edge of some toposurfaces when there's two next to each other proved to be troublesome, often including changing worksets and hiding/ isolating elements.

this thread is more of a support group so that other drafters have another shoulder to cry on as the plow thru the shite tools . lol
still pretty green with the site stuff and learning as i go.

[dfriesen]

what i'd like to see as far as tool changes, would be better line selection tools . trying to find the edge of some toposurfaces when there's two next to each other proved to be troublesome, often including changing worksets and hiding/ isolating elements.
As you've found, you can't snap to the edges of a topo. However, you CAN snap to linework (detail lines, model lines, or dwg link), so, going on that premise, if you need to snap to an existing topo, export the view to dwg, then link it back in, and you'll be able to snap to it.

Where there's a will, there's a workaround. ;)

[j_starko]

hmm , well i thought i had been trying to do that .but when you have a curved edge it causes problems.

might just be something that i've done on my end .. or ...



the problem i'm having here is that if you've got a rounded egde. the rounded egde is defined by the points isn't it ?? so even if when you're splitting a surface and using a curved line, the newly split surface will have a segmented egde, not the desired nice smooth curved one .. Now i'm not worried about how it looks with the relatively non smooth edge .. it's just that to re selct this area . you can't use the inittially used "cutting curved line" you need to make a segmented line hitting each one of the points forming the curve .. so time consuming .

[Andre Carvalho]

What I have done a few times is to select the sketch lines defining the surface to split before exiting the sketch mode. Copy it to clipboard and then finish the sketch.

Just after that go to Modelling, Lines and paste it.
If you go back to add new split surfaces you can pick the model lines just pasted. It works great even with circles and arcs.

When the job is done, you can get rid of the model lines.

I hope it helps,

Andre Carvalho

[Dimitri Harvalias]

I would strongly suggest using sub-regions instead of the split surface tools to define different materials. As soon as you split the surface each piece acts on its own in terms of reconciling the surface if points are changed. If you make the mistake of moving one of the edge points then it can also create a hole in your site. The grading remains smoother from region to region.
If the site is changing from phase to phase then create copies of the site for each phase and modify accordingly. Andre's suggestion of using the previous sketch to define the next sketch is the easiest I've found.You can just copy from sketch to sketch without actually creating the model lines too. To duplicate previous phase lines Daniel's suggestion is quick and easy too.

[j_starko]

good point about using sub regions instead of split surface .. but another benefit i've found to splitting it was in an area where there is a large dropped section . instead of having very cumbersome and messy looking bunches of points and contour lines .. i simply split the surface and then "punched " thos whole thing down to the desired level.
afterwards i went back and used a sweep to make the retaining wall.

in hindsight some of the split surfaces could have been split regions.

like i said getting ready for the next shite .. i mean site :D

i know it's somethng dictated by the source code that makes revit .. but why do the points have to be the bounding element for the topo surface . i'm sure it's posible to start with a blank site , starting off arbatrarly with somethng like a rectange .. and then as you add the datum points , the sufarce by those points raises and lowers . and then when you do a cut region .. the cut line is just that .. it's a line forming the bounds .. and not being composed of the level points in revit .. that way for ease and simplicity in desingng and modifying the site stuff, you could just rely on the curved lines you cut the topo surface with and not those combersome and numerous points

ok end rant

Autodesk should hire me :D i can think inside and outside the box .. and most importantly . i can think in 1's and 0's