CU1703

SOFTWAREreview
The complete works
Concept planning for infrastructure projects is simplified using Autodesk's InfraWorks 360
The true art of an expert is to be able
to present something that appears
to be simple, but which hides the
vast amount of skill required to achieve
that aim. This is as true of a painter as it
a piece of software. InfraWorks 360 from
Autodesk falls into this category, as it
provides a range of tools for quickly and
easily laying out infrastructure scenarios
with compelling graphics, but which
need sophisticated software techniques
to do so.
The software is used to bring together a
range of infrastructure planning and design
tools to lay out road, rail and other building
projects, but, in order to create valid
concepts, the rules that govern the
sketched elements have to operate within
the same building constraints as the
construction models. Horizontal curves in
roads and yield lines and aprons on
roundabouts must have the proper radii
and other dimensions, but all that aside,
InfraWorks 360 is not your run of the mill
3D modelling application.
The software has been designed as an
alternative to full scale civil design
applications traditionally used for planning
and presenting designs to clients - a
longwinded process that typically
originates from a couple of informal
sketches, which are then worked up into a
full CAD 2D drawing that have to be
converted into 3D visualisations so that
they can be understood by the client.
These take a lot of time and energy to
produce, and if the client is not happy and
suggests changes then it's back to the old
drawing board, extending the project by
another couple of weeks.
Hence InfraWorks 360, which provides a
mixture of civil design and 2D schematic
GIS in a pared down CAD application that
nevertheless retains the crucial civil
engineering constraints while also
delivering 3D infrastructure models for
concept project planning. It fulfils its main
aim admirably, which is to allow designers
to present their designs in real-time to their
clients or stakeholders, and to incorporate
suggestions from them at the same
meeting, allowing designers and clients to
explore alternative scenarios in real-time.
InfraWorks 360 contains all of the
elements required to define the project,
from basic building blocks and terrain
development, to the laying out of complex
road and rail networks, and then present it
in a visual 3D environment so that clients
can readily relate it to their requirements,
all accomplished within the same design
environment.
DESIGNING FROM SCRATCH
Starting from raw 3D terrain models or
GIS survey data, designers can 'build'
complete 3D models, applying grading to
level sites, digging cuttings, adding
buildings, bridges and water features - a
full range of hydrology, hydraulic and
drainage tools are included - and
populating the model with street furniture,
lighting, people, cars and plants to create
fully simulated scenes.
They can bring in files to support the
modelling from a variety of sources,
including Esri shapefiles, SketchUp,
Autodesk SDF and SWG and Revit. Once
a design has been approved, it can then
by exported directly into AutoCAD CIVIL
3D to produce construction documents
and models. Traditionally, this final step
would have seen the approved concept
model scrapped, and the construction
models developed from scratch.
It's not necessary to be face to face with
the client either. The software includes
collaboration tools that enable teams to
participate in the design process
wherever they may be based, and
because the software is optimised for
development of the project, preliminary
engineering work can be commenced
while the finer details of a project are
being sorted out.
16
March/April 2017