US Survey Feet is Finally Here

As a Civil Engineer and Infrastructure Application Specialist at Ideate, I'm celebrating along with Surveyors, Mappers, and Civil Engineers in nine states… AutoCAD 2017 based products now support US Survey Feet! 

It's been something we've wanted for years because many of us assign our drawings a State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) using AutoCAD Map 3D or AutoCAD Civil 3D. US Survey Feet is preferred by California, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Indiana, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The issue up until now, was that although Map 3D and Civil 3D functionality understood coordinate systems, and the difference between a US Survey Foot and an International Foot, underlying AutoCAD did not. AutoCAD tools to attach External References, insert blocks, and ReCap point clouds, auto-scale based on International Feet. The difference between a US Survey Foot (~0.3048006 meters) and an International Foot (0.3048 meters exactly) is quite small. Yet it makes a significant difference when you are working in large state plane coordinate values for mapping and civil engineering projects.

Now the sobering news… because 'US Survey Feet' is a new unit to AutoCAD (INSUNITS=21), potentially undesired automatic scaling of Xrefs will occur if we are not careful. Why do I say that?

Externally referencing a ‘legacy’ engineering drawing (pre 2017), set to Intl Feet, into a 2017 'US Survey Feet' units drawing will now be automatically scaled, regardless of whether the application performing the reference is AutoCAD 2017, Map 3D 2017 or Civil 3D 2017. This will also occur even if the referenced drawing is assigned a coordinate system based on US Survey Feet. Remember that attaching an Xref is an AutoCAD based tool. The auto-scaling will not be obvious in the Attach External Reference dialog because the default Drawing Units length precision in most drawings is set to four decimal places.

Now, if you set your Drawing Units length precision to six decimal places, you'll see a scaling factor of 0.999998.

This is the ratio of Intl Feet to US Survey Feet, which comes to about 2 feet for every 1 million feet. It's negligible for low coordinate value drawings, but not for our state plane coordinate drawings. 

In the below screen shot, I've externally referenced an Intl Foot drawing into a new 'US Survey Feet' drawing. Note that the coordinates of the same point differ by -12.51, -4.07. 

Also note that 'US Survey Feet' is not understood by AutoCAD versions prior to 2017. You'll get the below warning upon changing the units. An AutoCAD 2017 created drawing can still be opened by AutoCAD 2013-2016.

Lastly, some of you may be aware of an old undocumented AEC command called -DWGUNITS. It's occasionally used to address block insertion scaling of 12x or 1/12 even when INSUNITS is correct in both drawings. Because it's old and undocumented, it does not include US Survey Feet.

Although it's great news that Autodesk finally added US Survey Feet to AutoCAD's supported units, we may not fully realize the benefit for a few more releases. Until then, I recommend setting the Drawing Units length precision to six decimal places for all drawings assigned US Survey Feet. Doing so will give you the visual prompt of the auto-scaling AutoCAD is about to perform.

For more information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

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Daniel Armstrong
ENI Application Specialist
Daniel is an Application Specialist for Infrastructure Solutions at the Ideate Sacramento office. He is a California licensed Civil Engineer and LSIT with over 9 years land development design experience and 6 years Civil–GIS software consulting. Additionally, he provided 6 years of engineering support at a municipal public works department. At Ideate, Daniel assists Civil Engineering and Surveying firms in maximizing their utilization of AutoCAD Civil 3D through consulting, training, mentoring, and technical support. He conducts standard classroom and custom training on AutoCAD, Map 3D, and Civil 3D.

Ideate, Inc. Expands Tech Expert Team with Hiring of Daniel Armstrong

 

SAN FRANCISCO, California, 02/24/2015–Ideate, Inc., an Autodesk Platinum Value Added Reseller, today announced the Ideate Tech Expert Team has been expanded with the hiring of Daniel Armstrong, P.E., LSIT – ENI Application Specialist. Ideate is also currently seeking qualified candidates for additional positions.

Daniel is an Application Specialist for Infrastructure Solutions at the Ideate Sacramento office. He is a California licensed Civil Engineer and LSIT with more than 9 years land development design experience and 6 years Civil–GIS software consulting. Additionally, while attaining his B.S. in Civil Engineering at San Jose State University, he worked 6 years for the City of Morgan Hill Public Works Department. 

At Ideate, Daniel assists Civil Engineering and Surveying firms in maximizing their utilization of Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D through consulting, training, mentoring, and technical support. He conducts standard classroom and custom training on AutoCAD, Map 3D, and Civil 3D. His varied skills are currently supplementing the ENI Team’s Civil 3D training support of Caltrans at various Northern California district offices.  Prior to joining Ideate, Daniel worked for Open Spatial Inc., an Autodesk Independent Software Vendor located in Rocklin, California where he lives with his wife and son.

“Our Tech Experts are key in our mission to help our architectural, engineering, and construction customers achieve their greatest possible success through application of advanced design solutions and expert training,” says Bob Palioca, President. “Daniel Armstrong’s skills and experience are a welcome and vital addition.”

To support the Ideate mission, the Ideate team of technical experts is a unique blend of architects, designers, and civil engineers; professionals with years of experience in their respective industries.

Ideate is growing and looking for talented qualified candidates to join the Ideate Tech Expert Team. Complete details on job descriptions and application process can be found on the Ideate, Inc. Careers page.

 

About Ideate, Inc.

Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM). As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Platinum Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Autodesk’s highest level of authorization.

Autodesk and ATC are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Ideate, Inc. Tech Team Member Kate Ming Earns California Engineering License

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 01/21/2014 - Ideate, Inc., an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that Ideate AEC Application Specialist Kate Ming, having passed all required Professional Engineer (PE) and Civil exams, was awarded her Civil Engineering license through the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and Geologists (BPELSG) on December 18, 2013. 

Kate Ming has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to joining Ideate in May of 2013, Ming was engaged in general civil design on large infrastructure projects for a multinational company. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. As a Civil 3D Autodesk Certified Professional Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and InfraWorks.

“We congratulate Kate on this achievement,” says Bob Palioca, President of Ideate, Inc. “Her continued professional growth only enhances the expertise she brings to the Ideate team and her ability to assist our customers as they implement fast-evolving BIM technologies to maximum advantage.”

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk solutions provider, offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting to AEC professionals. Established in 1992 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Ideate is recognized as a Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk's highest levels of authorization. Ideate, Inc. operates Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATC) in California, Oregon, and Washington. For more information visit www.ideateinc.com

Ideate, Inc. is also an Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and Ideate Software has specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM).