Recently there have been discussions about offset profiles in Autodesk Civil 3D and how to create them. I thought this would be a great opportunity to post a blog about the feature. We learn the basic tools needed to complete projects in Civil 3D and due to workload and time constraints it is difficult to learn improved features as the software evolves. In other words, we are creatures of habit. This is just one of those features that slipped into Civil 3D after we had honed our skills with creating alignments and profiles and never looked back.
Offset profiles are integrated with offset alignments and can make the process of creating and editing them more efficient. They maintain a dynamic relationship with the parent alignment and profile and will adjust when either of those two are edited.
For this blog, the example will be based on a parent alignment representing the center of a road that also has a design profile. We will create an offset alignment and offset profile that will represent the edges of pavement for the road.
Launch the workflow by selecting Create Offset Alignments from the Alignments button on the ribbon (Home tab à Create Design Panel).
The Create Offset Alignments dialog box will open and provide you with options for the number of offsets and distance for both the left and right side of the parent alignment, along with the normal name, style, and label set options.
Additionally, are the settings for the offset profile which can be easily missed. These settings are found on a tab at the center of the dialog labeled Create Offset Profile. The options on this tab include selecting the parent profile, superimposing the offset profiles onto an existing profile view, the cross slope from the parent profile, name of the new profile, and the style to be assigned.
The results will be an offset alignment and profile that is dynamically linked to the parent alignment and profile. Any adjustments to either of the parents will force the offset entities to follow suit. To make edits such as the cross slope, open the offset profile properties to locate the Offset Parameters tab. The cross slope can be changed here but also regions with varying offsets can be configured as well.
Stepping out of our comfort zone and exploring features we haven't used can help us find new ways to improve efficiency in our projects. This is one of those tools that if you haven't used it and find a need for it can do just that.
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