Creating Cross Sections in OpenRoads Designer

1.  This is the correct procedure for creating the cross sections, but the dynamic part of the cross section creation is just using the displayed information from the 3D model to generate the cross section models.  It isn't dynamically getting changed as the 3D Model changes.  If you make changes, you must recreate (reprocess) the cross sections to create a new cross section model/sheets. 

2.  The cross section sheets are all controlled by the Sheet Model DGN and how it is created and defined.  The sections fit into the sheet border based on how many can physically fit inside the boundary of the border.

3. You should be able to make modifications to any of the graphics using the edit commands.  It will not tie back to the elements in the 3D model and change those, only the graphics of the cross section.  It is dynamically slicing the model based on what is displayed, but it isn't a dynamic section in the terms that if you change something in the 3D model, the cross sections will change.

4. The cross sections in OpenRoads Designer are in fact dynamic models which contains the 3D information from the 3D model.   Since we create the named boundaries, we are creating a dynamic window for referencing the 3D model into the cross section model. 

Please forgive me for my lapse regarding my last response.  The cross sections in OpenRoads Designer are in fact dynamic models which contains the 3D information from the 3D model.  I was still thinking of the OpenRoads cross sections from SS4.  Since we create the named boundaries, we are creating a dynamic window for referencing the 3D model into the cross section model. 

As to not lead to more confusion, I have edited the response above to reflect this misstatement.

The answer ir easy, just like my company did it. We dont wait for depelopers to do this, we search another software that do the thing. Here in Mexico the law requires that you make cross sections in classic draw and revisions are in pdf or dwg files with all the cross sectios of proyect toghether, that is the faster and easy way to check a proyect for the old school engineers, in general in latin america is the way we work, we begin to use models but that models need be prepared to serve to both worlds, if not wich is the sense of the technology, a step forward is just that we can do "more" things, including the old ones. Increase the capabilyties, no reduce it.

Very interesting discussion...one thing to note is that ORD is the first Civil design package that complies with the ISO 19650 international BIM standard requirement that the drawings are a unedited live product of the 3d model, however, making this process "fit" with the traditional model of project delivery, where there is the practical need to plug holes in the model and make manual edits while the model is being developed, is currently a problem for all of us.

I think there actually needs to be 2 modes for ORD drawing output - a live 3d model mode and "static" CAD model output mode. We can do this manually right now, but maybe a tick box at export might one day give users an option...

Care to share which software you use to do this?

Here in mexico we use a cheap software, no BIM, is a CAD complement. You can export your alternate surfaces to this software and generate the sectiones, you can modify the sections and regenerate the surface with the sections. This is only for comply with the local law. We use ZWCAD and CivilCAD, a complement for cad software. In my company I am the only who use Bentley software, all the others proyect in goverment use Civil3D and others for minor jobs use CivilCAD. Actually I use Openroads to inspection and representation, the visualization in Bentley is the best, I export from Civil3D aligment and profile, survey and final design because Autodesk have the local normative in design tables and styles, also I can deliver the sections in an array, generate solids and more, Civil3D is between the 2 worlds of tradicional and BIM models. My final correctiones I did in Civil because is the best program to manage my Topographic databases for field control, later I export all to Bentley to analyze in context. Actually we have 1 bentley lisence and 20 Autodesk. Bentley for proyect and the others for field.

First of all I must say that this process works perfectly for what I am trying to accomplish...major props to Benzi Papo!!

This is a life saver, for certain.

However, I do not know how to create and run the MVBA that was so graciously provided...I got it to work by moving the references manually.  This was fine for my test but I really need to get this macro to work for our workflow.  Can anyone provide a step by step breakdown for this specific process?  Juist need to know how to create the MVBA module, paste this text, and run it.  I have tried searching for a simple explanation with no success.  Any help will be extremely appreciated.   

First of all I must say that this process works perfectly for what I am trying to accomplish...major props to Benzi Papo!!

This is a life saver, for certain.

However, I do not know how to create and run the MVBA that was so graciously provided...I got it to work by moving the references manually.  This was fine for my test but I really need to get this macro to work for our workflow.  Can anyone provide a step by step breakdown for this specific process?  Juist need to know how to create the MVBA module, paste this text, and run it.  I have tried searching for a simple explanation with no success.  Any help will be extremely appreciated.   

ok, found this:

https://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/w/microstation__wiki/21821/running-a-vba-routine-by-keyin

and was able to run macro...

Now it looks like no matter what I do the macro makes a grid of 10 rows with the columns 100 feet apart.

I need 1 row with the references spread out by 780 feet.

I thought I could simply adjust the MAXROW to 1 and DELTAX to 780, but that doesn't change anything.

What am I missing here?

I'm working on a vba form that will allow you to customize those variables. Not ready yet, but feel free to develop yourself. 

If you manually want to change it it's the three lines at the beginning of the macro, max row etc.

Chris

For some reason it worked by modifying those three numbers when I got back in today.

I used the following:

Const MAXROW = 1
Const DELTAX = 780
Const DELTAY = 0

This does what I want, but gave me a stack overflow error.  It only moved 42 of my 93 references.

Any idea why that is happening?  This macro is going to have to work with hundreds of references sometimes.

Thanks again for your time.

For those playing along:

"As Integer" needs to be replaced with "As Long" in the two places it exists in the macro Benzi provided.

To be clear, this workflow works perfectly to produce graphic/static cross sections (like we have always had with Bentley products).

Thanks to Benzi and everyone else who commented and helped with my questions.  Gamechanger...