CAD Clinic: Civil Object Styles Made Easy

Learn how to use Civil 3D's profile and section view styles.

A band set is an optional strip of roadway information traditionally located at the bottom of a profile or section view. A band set contains specific task styles that format the information and organize roadway design data that appears in the band.

A profile band set can contain stations and elevations, horizontal and vertical geometry and critical superelevation values. The additional pieces of information tell designers what's going on horizontally, vertically and within the road design while creating the vertical aspects of a roadway solution.

This month, I concentrate on the settings, values and styles found in Civil 3D's profile and section band sets. Band sets and their styles use the same dialog boxes to define their style content and the format and content of the label styles.

Band Sets
A band set is an alias for a style that contains specific task styles of different band types (figure 1). There are four basic band types: Profile Data, Vertical Geometry, Horizontal Geometry and Superelevation. Each band type has it own list of styles that define content for the band. The number of styles each band type has depends on the definition.

Figure 1. A band set has four basic band types and each band type has it own styles that define the content (left). The number of styles each band type has depends on the definition (right).

Each band style uses the same dialog box to define values for a title, the title's location, tick placement and size and the contents of a style for each entry in the At list. Each style uses specific information from the road design to define its contents. As with all styles, the settings in the Display tab of each style determine what it displays on the screen. When assigning a band style, Civil 3D places the bands under or at the top of the profile or section view in the order they appear in the set's list of styles (the Bands panel).

Let's review the task styles in a band set -- all of these styles are included in Civil 3D 2006's content templates.

Profile Band Style -- Profile Data
A Profile Data band style annotates the elevations of Profile 1 and Profile 2 at Major and Minor stations, Horizontal and Vertical Geometry Points and Station Equations. Each type listed at the middle of the style dialog box can have a label definition. To view the label definition for an item in the At list, select the At item and click on the Compose label . . . button. This displays a Text Label Composer for the selected item (figure 2).

Figure 2. A text label composer for a selected item.

To get the correct elevations to appear with this band style, you must assign the correct profiles to Profile1 and Profile2 in the Bands panel of the Profile View properties dialog box. The resulting band annotates the station and elevations along the length of the profile.

Profile Band Style -- Vertical Geometry
A Vertical Geometry band style labels and draws the tangents (Uphill and Downhill) and vertical curves (Crest and Sag) of a vertical design (figure 3). Each item on the type list can have a label and drafting definition.

Figure 3. The vertical geometry band style labels and draws tangents and vertical curves.

To get the correct values with this band style, you must assign the correct profile to Profile1 in the Bands panel of the Profile View properties dialog box. The resulting band displays the vertical design along the length of the profile (figure 4).

Figure 4. The vertical design of a project.

Profile Band Style -- Horizontal Geometry
A Horizontal Geometry style labels and draws the horizontal geometry to create the profile. The alignment's geometry is automatically extracted and placed along the Profile View. The style draws and labels the horizontal tangents, curves and spirals. The vertical design then is displayed.

Profile Band Style -- Superelevation
The last band style draws and labels the superelevation design of a roadway (figure 5). The superelevation data is extracted automatically from the alignment properties. The style draws and labels normal crown, level crown, reverse crown, full super, shoulder critical points and slope transition region. The resulting band displays the superelevation design along the length of the profile (figure 5).

Figure 5. The superelevation design is produced using data that is automatically extracted from the alignment properties.

Section Band Sets
A section band set and its styles focus on a section's sampled surfaces, not the corridor assembly. To annotate the assembly, you must assign the appropriate point, link and shape label styles to the assembly code style.

Section Band Style -- Section Data
The Section Data Styles focus on the elevations of sampled surfaces in a roadway section. The styles include EG and FG elevations and Offsets from the centerline. Its main use is to provide offset labels at the bottom of a section view. You must assign a surface for the style to create labels correctly.

Section Band Style -- Segment Length
This label style annotates the segment lengths and cross slopes of a sampled surface. The Band Sets for Profiles and Section views create annotation in a band (box) located at the top or bottom of a profile view or section view. The Profile Band Sets annotate elevations of two user-identified profiles, horizontal and vertical geometry and displays the behavior of a superelevation design. The Section Band Styles focus on the surfaces that appear in a section view.