Using Civil 3D alignment station equation in pipe networks and troubleshooting
- Antonin
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Civil 3D alignment station equations are extremely useful when different station values are required along an alignment. A common example is when a horizontal alignment must be modified, resulting in a change to the alignment length. Station equations allow you to maintain the original stationing after these adjustments, helping you avoid the need to update and re-print all the existing drawings. This is particularly valuable during the construction phase.
Adding station equations to an alignment is straightforward and can be done in the Alignment Properties dialog:
The image below shows a station equation applied at structure HB8:
However, difficulties arise when trying to display station equation values in a pipe network profile view. Both pipes and structures display only raw station values, and there is no built-in option to label them using station equation values.
In the image below, the station value at structure HB8 should be 508.961m, and the station value at structure J6 should be 511.845m. For the 20m interval station values, both the raw and station equation values are shown for reference:
To resolve this problem, pipe profile station labels at geometry points must be used. For detailed steps, refer to the video provided further down. In the image below, the station equation values are shown at structure HB8 and J6 instead of raw station values:
If you display the structure table in the drawing, the table might display either station equation values or raw station values. If the Structure Station property is used for the table, then the station equation values are used as default. However, if a station with an expression is used, then the raw station is displayed, which can be quite confusing.
First of all, you might wonder why an expression would ever be used for station values. One practical example implemented in the Devotech iDAS® Civil 3D template assigns a very large station value (e.g., 999 999 999) when a structure’s offset from the alignment exceeds zero. This allows users to easily spot structures that are not located directly on the alignment.
If you want to display station equation values in the structure table, use the Structure Station property directly and avoid any labels with expressions. For more guidance on adjusting the structure table, refer to the video below.
The video is also available on our Training Videos webpage, Pipe Networks channel:
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