GEOPAK-GRADING TOOLS

GEOPAK SS2 and earlier relied on Site Modeler to create 3D models of the site.

As my good friend Michael Gilham once told me... All Site does is "Build TINs fast"

A Site project contains surfaces called Objects. Objects could be created by importing a Tin such as existing ground. typically these objects are created by adding elements. The modeler commands set the elements elevation and relationships are created between the elements.

The primary tool for setting elements elevations is the new edit element command. Here you can slope an element from another element with an elevation established.

These objects can be set to automatically generate side slopes to the existing ground and also being part of the model interact with other objects.

While site modeler file extension is .gsf the model created by it is basically a GEOPAK TIN.  The Model can be visualized using modeler at any given time.

Unlike any other programs, the modeler stored the relationships between the objects and the elements that made up the objects within the model project (.gsf).  This allowed the model to be fully dynamic. light years ahead of its time... :-)

Only now with Open Roads technology are we beginning to see similar dynamic capabilities (in some ways even more).

I don't know how Geopak handled site design before Site Modeler was introduced, but as far as I know the only tools we have now are in Site Modeler. Again I only know Power Civil.

You can certainly create alignments and profiles and use the Roadway Designer to tie things together without Modeler but that is a cumbersome workflow for site design.

The transverse/longitudinal feature is a breakline.  There should be a way to perform a 3D offset of a breakline; for example to establish a 3:1 slope or 5% grade as an offset from an established breakline.  Also, there should be a way to extract a vertical alignment in plan to grade from with 3D offsets.

There are no grading tools in the DTM tools. I am not familiar with InRoads terminology so I would need to know what a transverse or longitudinal feature is in order to comment on comparable tools in Geopak.