OBJECTIVES

1. Remember and expand the information from the first post about Vehicle Tracking.
2. Learn to create simulation routes for vehicle movements and turns.
3. Gain general knowledge about the tools and possible configurations offered by the plugin.
4. Learn to generate animations.

ASSUMPTIONS

1. Use Civil 3D 2018 or higher.
2. The user has the Vehicle Tracking plugin successfully installed.
3. Basic notions about Civil 3D or AutoCAD (creation of surfaces, creation and editing of layers, ...).

SETTINGS

1. Install Civil 3D by default.
2. Install the Vehicle Tracking plugin.

PROCEDURE

1. PREPARATION OF THE ANALYSIS AREA (SURFACE CREATION / LINEAR WORK)

We will open the project file on which we are going to perform the analysis. This must contain a created surface or linear work on which the complement will draw the routes and sweeps of the vehicle.

2. GENERAL SETTINGS

Once the model on which we will carry out the analysis is ready, we go to the “Vehicle Tracking” tab that will have appeared in the toolbar once the plugin is installed. Next, we access the general settings menu.

In this menu, we can make changes to the settings that will be applied to all vehicle routes that we draw in that file or model.

• Scale
• Units.
• Layers.
• Turn transitions.
• Design speed.
• Limits of the direction.
• Articulation limits.
• Dynamics.

For our example, we have maintained the default configurations, only changing the forward and reverse speeds, which we will leave at 15 km/h and 5 km/h respectively.

From this menu, we will have the possibility of accessing the advanced configurations, of which the following stand out for their interest:

• Autoload: Shows the libraries and standards loaded by default. It also allows you to update them, add new ones,…

• AutoDrive:

• Surfaces: Allows you to select the surface on which the vehicle route will be drawn.

• Layers: Configure how the elements generated with Vehicle Tracking are generated and managed in the layers.

• Transitions: (Turn Ratio)

• Dynamics:

• Animations: Among other configurations, we can indicate acceleration and deceleration (soft, firm, heavy or emergency).

• Reports: These “reports” are visually represented on the route that we establish for the vehicle. They allow you to configure which marks are displayed on the route or the vehicle sweep. (Ex.: Drag lines, wrong route, annotation, chassis diagram, ...)

3. AUTODRIVE

Unless we want to carry out a very specific analysis or we want to adjust the vehicle's route with greater control and precision, the most convenient tool to establish the route of our vehicle will be “AutoDrive Arco”.

Once this tool is started, a window is displayed from which we can once again access the various configurations previously mentioned and edit them in a particular way for the specific route that we are generating.

One of the most interesting menus is the “Vehicle Library Browser”. This contains an extensive library of vehicles classified by country, type or category,…

From these windows, we can choose the vehicle that best suits our study needs or edit one of them, creating a new typology with the characteristics we want.

Ex: Spanish Design Vehicles -> Based on Min. Development Draft -> Van.

Once the vehicle has been chosen and configured, we will place it on the study area (surface or linear work), we will indicate its orientation and we will begin to draw its route. Depending on the established configurations, the program will limit the turning radius (given the speed), show the swept area,...

4. CHECKING AND ANIMATIONS

Finally, and once we have generated the route, the program allows us to check the design, showing us any irregularities or non-compliance, warnings for risk of overturning,... We can also access the "Animate" menu where we can view the movement of the vehicle in plan and in 3D.

Among the options available in the animation window, we highlight the playback controls, the record button, the settings button (edit acceleration/deceleration,...) or the snapshot, 3D and low-angle camera controls.

We will be happy to help you if you need more information, so do not hesitate to contact us at info@atbim.es