About import x,y data to Hammer through DXF file.

Question

I'm just starting to learn hammer for long distance water transmission pipeline analysis. 
 
 What I have in hand are, 
 1. polyline in DXF file with X,Y coordinate only. 
 2. PDF format pipeline profile with elevation details along the pipeline(Invert level, pipeline slope can be found and has to be extracted manually to a spreadsheet). 
 
 What I need to do is add the elevation data to the dxf polyline, then import to hammer to build model. 
 
 My idea is ,(I'm not sure if it's right or clever) 
 1. mark the station point on the polyline in DXF, exract the x,y coordinate to a spreadsheet(Excel file) 
 2. extrac elevation details from PDF pipeline profile manually, with corresponding station code(0+100, 0+150, 0+225 for example) 
 3. then paste the elevation on that spreadsheet, then import to hammer through a specific Exel format. 
 
 I can take care of second steps manually, however for step 1 and 3 is not easy. 
 Did anyone face the similar situation before? If you have better solutions, Please guide me. 
 Thanks a lot.

Sushma Choure · Answer

Hello Lei, 
 You can use Modelbuilder tool to import the polyline dxf file in Hammer which will build the model out of it, how to do that is explained below please go through it. 
 Importing an AutoCAD or MicroStation CAD file using ModelBuilder 
 About importing elevations using excel file, here again you can use Modelbuilder with your data to import elevations. However with excel file you will need to specify which junction has what elevation (after building model with modelbuilder), which will be a lot manual process. I.e. you will need to specify in excel file that junction J-1 elevation is x (m) likewise. 
 However If you have contour data then you can use TRex tool to import the elevations, more details below. 
 Using Terrain Extractor (Trex)

Sushma Choure · Answer

Hello Lei, 
 First you need to break that polyline at points where you wish to have nodes in AutoCAD itself, a start to end polyline will create a single pipe in Hammer which wouldn't help. 
 Or to build model correctly using excel spreadsheet , X and Y coordinates and Start and Stop nodes will need to be specified. 
 You can apply the dxf file as a background layer as well to help you locate the elevations.

Jesse Dringoli · Answer

Lei, 
 You may need to contact Autodesk for help with that. However I have put some thought into your situation and would like to propose a possible workflow: 
 1) Use AutoCAD to convert the polyline vertices to points. You may need to contact Autodesk for help with this but I did find what appears to be a related article here . 
 2) Import the resulting DXF using ModelBuilder (steps here ) which should generate junctions at the bends connected to pipes. 
 3) Configure other parts of the model so that your initial conditions can be computed. Even though the junctions still have zero for their elevation for now, appropriate hydraulic grades should be calculated if you at least identify the boundary condition elevations (reservoirs/tanks) and nodal demands if needed. 
 4) Compute the model and ensure the HGLs are appropriate 
 5) Use the information in this article to add a new station attribute to junctions. Note that the process will be a bit different in your case because you will need to assign the "cumulative length" (station) to junctions instead of pipes. 
 6) Set up a new junction table (use the "tables-hydraulic model" section of the Flextable manager) with just the label and the new station user data extension field. Click the export button in the upper-left corner to export to a CSV file. 
 7) Use your PDF data with elevations and stations and convert to Excel format 
 8) Use Excel to take the spreadsheets from steps 6 and 7 and use interpolation to determine the elevation associated with the junctions. Meaning, if you know the elevation at station 50 and 60 from the PDF but there is a junction at station 55, interpolation can assign the appropriate elevation to that junction. 
 9) Use ModelBuilder to "update" the junctions using an Excel file that has junction label and associated elevation (from the interpolation done in step 8). Uncheck the "create" option (since you are updating existing elements) and map the elevation field. Use this article for guidance on ModelBuilder.