Product Description

Understand concepts, create perfect designs, and manage every stage of a project with this thorough guide to Autodesk's powerful civil engineering software. Authored by experts with close ties to Autodesk and the Civil 3D community, it features an in-depth, tutorial-based approach grounded in real-world examples so that you get the very most out of Civil 3D. This practical guide focuses squarely on how to use the software in a production environment and provides insights, insider tips, and advanced techniques you won't find anywhere else.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30143 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-30
• Released on: 2007-07-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 984 pages

From the Back Cover
Design Your Way from Field to Finish with This Expert Guide to Civil 3D

Understand concepts, create perfect designs, and manage every stage of the project with this thorough guide to Autodesk's powerful civil engineering software. Authored by experts with close ties to Autodesk and the Civil 3D community, this book features an in-depth, tutorial-based approach that is grounded in real-world examples so that you can get the most out of Civil 3D.

Full of advanced techniques and insider tips, this practical guide focuses squarely on how to use the software in a production environment—and provides insights, tips, and techniques you won't find anywhere else. Whether you're new to Civil 3D or want to expand your skills, this is the comprehensive tutorial and reference you'll use again and again.

Coverage includes:

• Digging deeper into the Civil 3D tools to get more from the program

• Working field to finish with in-depth information on field surveying

• Applying simple techniques to tackle more complicated corridor construction

• Managing team and project environments with Autodesk Vault

• Creating construction documents in a flash with the Plan Production tool

• Migrating your Land Desktop data to Civil 3D

• Building project visualizations that don't break the bank or the schedule

Cut Office Time with Automated Linework Direct from Your Survey Crews

Create Accurate and Dynamic Surface Models Using the Best Techniques

Design Subdivision and Lot Layouts with Precision and Ease

Build Complex Corridors to Model Everything from Streams to Roundabouts

Collaborate More Efficiently with Autodesk Vault

Featured on the CD
The CD includes tutorial files and numerous third-party utilities and plug-ins.

About the Author
This book was written as a team effort from day one. Dana, Mark, Jason and I have covered the country and parts of the world training and teaching Civil 3D. Here’s a bit more about each of us.
Dana Probert, E.I.T., received her BSCE from Georgia Tech in 1998. Since then she has worked for consulting engineers in the United States and Canada, doing a variety of civil projects such as large planned residential communities, small subdivisions, commercial site design, stormwater management, road design, sanitary sewer networks, stream restoration projects, and municipal GIS. For most of this work, she has used AutoCAD-based products, including Land Desktop, Civil Design, Raster Design, Autodesk Map, and Civil 3D. Dana began instructing Civil 3D users in October 2004, and since then has used Civil 3D herself for subdivision layout design, road design, grading, stormwater management, and utility projects.
In addition to her own design work, Dana has been working closely as a team member with several firms on their Civil 3D pilot projects and implementation plans, and taught many Civil 3D training classes. Oh, and she also built the best 52-baseline corridor known to man.

James Wedding, P.E., spent nearly a decade in the Dallas/Fort Worth land development industry before partnering with Engineered Efficiency in February 2006. A graduate of Texas Tech with a BSCE in 1997, he worked as a design engineer focused on private development. His design experience includes small commercial to multiphase single-family and master planned communities. James has served as president of the Preston Trail Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, and was selected their Young Engineer of the Year in 2003.
One of the earliest gunslingers for the Civil 3D product, James has worked extensively with the Autodesk product team to shape and guide the software’s development. James is a highly rated repeat presenter at Autodesk University and a presenter on the Friday Civil 3D webcasts.

Mark Scacco, P.E., has been a consultant in the land development and construction industry for over a decade and has experience in all phases of development, from conceptual preliminary design through final platting and construction. He has designed projects ranging from small, oneacre sites to 500-acre, multiphase subdivisions and is still currently active as a civil designer. Mark received his BSCE from Purdue University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Illinois. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the Geospatial Information & Technology Association.
Mark has authored several training manuals, frequently writes articles for industry magazines, and is a regular presenter at training seminars. Mark is a member of the Autodesk Civil 3D Gunslingers, authored the Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert training material, and has trained dozens of the top resellers. He is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and has provided training and consulting across the United States and internationally in Korea and Japan.

Jason Hickey has 13 years of experience using Autodesk software for civil design. He started off his career surveying, and has progressed through the ranks of the industry since. With extensive experience in surveying, civil design, CAD management, and network administration, he fully grasps the concept of “field to finish.” Jason is a noted AUGI CAD Camp instructor and has trained companies both large and small in Civil 3D and, along with Mark, James, and Dana, maintains www.civil3d.com.

Customer Reviews

Close, but not good enough.
At this point, I will say this book is the best out there for Civil 3D training.
With that being said, however, the book is LOADED with errors. Features are called one thing in a step of the tutorial, then called something else a few steps later. Some steps don't work exactly as they say it will. (They leave certain "tricks" out - tricks that make the feature work as it should) I've contacted the publisher several times regarding the mistakes I've discovered that weren't covered in their errata page, and only received patronizing responses or no response at all.
It is quite obvious to even the least experienced user of Civil 3D, that this book was rushed to print. For the authors to be practicing P.E.s and an E.I.T., the mistakes are inexcusable.

Mastering it isn't
With a title like "Mastering" I expected a lot more. While it is about the only current offering on the subject the title should be "Beginning", it does not teach you to "Master". Within a few pages I had doubts about the credibility of the book. Words were missing and the general feel was rather amateurish. I also strongly suggest that they have a practicing Land Surveyor review the next edition before publishing, it is painfully obvious that like most engineers they know just enough about surveying to be dangerous.

Example: On page 7 in the first paragraph: "Many engineers continue to work in an arbitrary coordinate system using the settings as shown earlier, but using a real coordinate system is easy! For example, setting up a drawing ...." and they procede to show how to choose the North Central Zone, US foot, of the NAD83 Texas State Plane. There is a lot more involved in obtaining state plane coordinates then just choosing the zone of a state plane coordinate system. Very expensive equipment with highly trained and skilled people to operate it are necessary. The implication above is that all you need to do is pick a coordinate system and go. WRONG!!!!! I have had managers that would refuse to purchase up to date equipment after reading such a misleading published statement, saying what do you need it for, all you have to do is click on the right coordinate system.

I suspect their friends are the ones who post the glowing 5 star reviews.

If you have Civil 3D 2009 and are counting your pennies, work your way through the tutorials included with the software first. AutoDesk has greatly improved their help files. Search the Civil 3D newsgroup for any specific questions. You will probably find you don't need this book.

Great teaching tool
Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008
I bought this book the week it came out and used it to teach myself Civil 3D from the ground up. I was able to, in a short time, use Civil 3D in a production environment. This book along with the web site for it have been invaluable in expanding my knowledge of the software.

Recently in a new position at a new company we purchased a dozen of these books as the text I will be using to teach Civil 3D to the entire company, as we transition from Land Desktop to Civil 3D.

As a self teaching guide or a classroom text this book is the best.