In this blog post I wanted to use the surface model created from Autodesk InfraWorks' Model Builder to create an existing surface in Autodesk Civil 3D. This is NOT a replacement for your survey, but a way to enhance the area outside your survey. The great thing about this it can be done in about 15 minutes.

Autodesk Civil 3D users with InfraWorks installed locally can open an InfraWorks model directly in Civil 3D. An Autodesk Civil 3D user can also bring InfraWorks model data into Autodesk Civil 3D by referencing an IMX file that was exported from an InfraWorks model.

Import Your Surface Model into Civil 3D

Autodesk Civil 3D will perform a conversion on InfraWorks model objects when you bring InfraWorks model data into Autodesk Civil 3D. InfraWorks Objects become Civil3D Objects.

Hover over the model in InfraWorks to see the path location to where the file is stored. You will need this location to import the surface into Civil 3D.

From Civil 3D select the InfraWorks tab and then open model. This is where you will navigate to your model location.

On the Open InfraWorks Model use the Refine Selection Set to pick only what you want to bring in. in this case we only want the surface.

The Surface is now imported into Civil 3D. You can see below the three surfaces were brought in. This all can be done in a matter of minutes. This can be a very useful tool for you in your preliminary design and to add a larger area to your surveyed data.

About the Author

Civil Solutions Application Expert<br><br>Richard is responsible for Training and Services around Infrastructure. He has extensive experience in numerous Autodesk products, including Vault, Civil 3D, InfraWorks and BIM360. He joined IMAGINiT when it acquired Advanced Solutions. His past work experience includes working at Autodesk as a Technical Account Manager.

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