Explore the intricacies of using swingline creation and freeform creation methods in Civil 3D. Discover how to set new standards for parcel sizing, the benefits and drawbacks of each method, and the importance of precision in parcel design.
Key Insights
- The swingline creation method in Civil 3D allows users to subdivide parcels based on custom parameters, including minimum area, frontage, width, and depth. However, it tends to result in parcels with narrow, radiating endpoints and tight corners, which may not be suitable for all applications.
- The freeform creation method, by contrast, provides greater flexibility but less precision. Users can select any point within a parcel as an attachment point and specify the direction of the line, but without existing entities to attach to, precision can be challenging.
- Regardless of the method used, parcel design in Civil 3D requires a careful balance between precision and aesthetics. While precise parcel sizing is important, the overall look and feel of the parcel layout can significantly impact its usability and appeal.
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In this video, we're going to talk about our Swingline creation method and our Freeform creation method. So to do that, I'm going to go back up to the Parcel dropdown, enter Parcel Creation Tools, and get my Parcel Layout Tools window back up.
So I'm going to go ahead and start zooming in on my Property Four here. We're going to do our Swingline creation method inside this property. I'm going to go ahead and set some new standards for my parcel sizing.
So I'm going to set my Minimum Area here as 400. I'm going to set my Minimum Frontage as 10 feet. I'm going to set my Minimum Width as 10 feet as well.
And I'm going to set my Minimum Depth as 15 feet. So from here, the reason we're doing this is because we are working with a property that is the minimum size that we had from our previous parameters. So our new parameters need to be smaller than our first set of parameters.
We're going to go ahead and drop down, and we're going to go to Swingline Create. Civil 3D is going to prompt us to start working with parcels again. I'm going to go ahead and do my site of Development, my Parcel Styles Property, my layers the same, and my Area Labels Only.
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So I'm going to go ahead and click OK. Civil 3D is asking me to select my parcel to be subdivided. I'm going to select Property Four.
Then I'm going to select my start point on my frontage. I'm going to start at this point here and make my frontage come around this corner and end at this point here. Now Civil 3D is going to ask me to specify a Swing Point.
And so what a Swing Point is, is a point that is going to radiate our sideline. So in the previous creation method when we did our Slide Lines, our lines originated off the frontage going outwards to a set depth or a set line. It would basically intercept our back lines or our front lines depending on where our frontages are.
In the Swingline creation method, we're going to set a Swing Point and then the lines will originate from the frontage and go to the Swing Point. So what we're going to go ahead and do now is we're going to set our Swing Point for this intersection back here. Civil 3D is going to come up with some parcels that radiate from our Swing Point and head out to our frontage.
Now I do not like using swing lines. I don't use them in my normal day-to-day work career. That's simply because I don't like to have parcels that have these narrow radiating endpoints here with very tight corners and angles.
If you were going to create maybe two parcels out of this, it would make more sense. But more often than not, you don't want to do something like this because they just don't make nice-looking parcels. So I'm going to go ahead and move on to our Freeform Create.
Inside of Freeform Create, when you initiate the Freeform Create command, Civil 3D is going to start looking at where your cursor is in the drawing. It's basically going to determine whether or not you're inside a parcel. So see, it's showing me a red X inside a circle.
That means I'm not inside of a parcel. Or if I'm inside of a parcel, it's going to tell me to select an Attachment Point. So it's going to give me an idea of what a line would look like.
Then it is going to show me that little circle at the end of the line. That is my Attachment Point. So I can move around here, and Civil 3D will automatically update as I rotate and move around this parcel.
So I can select any point I want, set an Attachment Point, and then it's going to ask me to specify a direction for that line. It's going to start at the Attachment Point, and it's going to go off in a direction of the line that I create. If I click here, I've now created a parcel by drawing a line there.
Now I can set an Attachment Point here, and I can do an angle to that point there. I can go ahead and do something along this curve like this, and then set it there. Let's just go ahead and do one more.
I'm going to pick somewhere along here, and I'm going to go at this angle here. The Freeform Create is interesting because it's very simple. It's much simpler than drawing a line or an arc.
It's basically a simple command of where I want to attach my line to and what angle I want to put my line at. But it's a little less precise unless you have entities that you're trying to click into and click on. We're going to go ahead and save our drawing, and then in the next video, I'm going to talk to you about two creation methods that are simpler but also useful.
