Curves on a line

RGBrown

Using GM v22.1 64 bit plus Lidar.

When defining a pipeline route GM is really good for the IP's and the Vertex Editor works very well. However defining curves for a long pipeline route is a pain. My present workflow puts it in a spreadsheet to compute the tangent points and chord length and bearings. I then use this data in the COGO arc function. EG. Editor output

Into Excel, below is the sheet I have been working on today. Note some columns are hidden.

Saving the curve data to the text file in the COGO input editor produces a file of format:

C 1730.363 R 2000.0 C N20.02019E R meters.

However, it only relates to the single curve and I manually put in the N/S & E/W bearing seed which is a pain. Could we use bearings instead? I use grid N in the vertex editor.

The main question: Is it possible to include the start TP coords of each chord in the saved file? e.g

E 463195.95 N 5737220.63 C 1730.363 R 2000.0 C N20.02019E R, from IP15 and then of course assemble all the curves in one file to read all the curves in one go, in this example over 30 curves. A route sample is below.

I dont have AutoCAD but have been looking at IntelliCAD as a work around, but GM is nearly there, it it just needs a bit of finishing.

Hopeful regards.

CarrickCon

Hi @RGBrown

I feel your pain! 😫 I've given up trying to do curve geometry in GM. I was doing something similar to you with importing curve geometry from Excel but it just got too hard.

I now use AutoCAD LT (only costs about AUD$50/month) which is fine for horizontal and vertical geometry like this if you don't need the 3D/surface modelling capabilities of full blown AutoCAD.

Cheers,

/al

RGBrown

Hi Carrick,

Thanks for your helpful comment again. I must admit to finding AutoCAD a bit daunting so was trying to avoid it but I will have a look at AutoCAD LT. I've been told you use the fillet command so will have to see if I can work out the workflow. Any ideas?

I would like to persevere with GM as I need the route profiles and other engineering type stuff. The company I work with actually have ESRI ArcGIS and use the arcmap functionality to share data with the engineers and do regulatory stuff but its a bit of a mangy dog for doing engineering things. As an Engineering GIS GM is actually hard to beat, it handles massive multibeam files when AutoCAD and ArcGIS just crash and the rectification function is really good. The biggest file I have run had 34 million points. BM just need to do a little work on updating the COGO stuff as the vertex editor is fine, well I guess it could have the option of adding the curve radii to the IP's and just do the whole lot in one go but that would be to easy - I'll put that in as another suggestion.

Looking at the new developments they do the GM team seem to be concentrating quite a lot on Lidar stuff, but if they allocated a bit of time to thinking about road and pipeline routing they would have a brilliant GIS product, that would outperform MicroSurvey and NRG software as well.

Cheers

RGB

yianni

Drawing curves in GM is a long overdue item.

If you trawl in this forum there have been many requests to that effect. I do a lot of pipeline routing and I have to draw a circle andthen trace it to simulate the lay radius of a pipeline and it has been the same way for 10+ years now.

Its ok and works fine, it is a little embarassing to do it in front of people that work with CAD or clients in general. I just tell them that mapper is not a drafting software, but GIS! Still being able to define a line and a radius would be great!

y

RGBrown

Hi Yianne,

Thanks for your comment. I agree it is embarrassing in front of autocad folks.

I use your method for umbilical and flexible lines but I like to extract the IP (and give it a radii) for reports. For larger pipelines and trunkline where an MBR is specified it is more precise.

Copying the vertex table (copy to clipboard) into Excel means you can extract the data to put into the COGO menu.

EG: From the

then doing the maths gets you the data for the Chord length, add the radii, and Chord start angle (I do the quadrant in my head. You could copy paste and enlarge to see the stages. eg:

I copy and paste the data associated with each curve by individual line, as you cannot load a file for the line, just each IP. Its quite quick but I use the yellow to keep track of where I am as you get lost with 40 curves to define.

Best

r

CarrickCon

Hi @RGBrown

Thanks for sharing your workaround, but how much simpler if the Blue Marble folks actually added some basic horizontal curve geometry tools to GM! Its seems like a really basic requirement to be able to draw and manipulate curves, fit a fillet radius to two straight lines etc...?

I'm getting pretty fed up with all the attention apparently being paid to LiDAR/drone capabilities and the "Pro" version getting all the attention. I wonder how many long term GM users are still using the "standard" version (like me) to do their daily job and provide meaningful design info and technical report figures to clients. Don't get me started on the Map Layout Editor ! (@#$%)

ta,

/al

RGBrown

HI @CarrickCon, I know the feeling about the map editor also.

I use the MS Snipping tool to paste the image in Word or Excel. I then cut and repaste the same image back in Word/Excel, but this time paste special as an picture (enlarged metafile). Then add a title block made up in word or excel depending on the complexity. Works quite well.

In the snipping tool you can also paste as a tiff, but not alas a geo tiff.

Cheers

rgb

RGBrown

If of interest below are the formulas used in the .XLSX to add the C, N/S or E/W and L/R when inputting the COGO bearing:

The input string looks like this:

Pasting from excel you add the space and delete the tab.