<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Base module > 3D utilities > Enquire and define Slope

 

Purpose

To both find out and define the gradient between two 3D locations e.g. what is the gradient from A to B? The start and the end locations may be defined by picking with appropriate object snaps onto drawing entities, picking level blocks or any plan location covered by a ground model. Picking a 3D Polyline that only has two vertices will also report the start, end and gradient information.

 

Operation

The top section of the dialogue is for defining the start and end locations. Pick the start and end locations and note that downhill gradients are expressed as negative.

 

 

Osnap onto <

Pick locations from the drawing by snapping to entities for example

 

Spot level <

Select KTF level blocks

 

From model <

Pick points in plan and use KTF ground model to determine the levels

 

Pick Polyline <

Select a 3D Polyline within the drawing with two vertices for slope definition.

 

 

Advanced controls

While the program is mostly used for simple "show me the gradient" task it can also be used to define the slope is various ways.

 

 

Distance / Level displays and allows editing of the slope with it's horizontal and vertical components while Gradient / Bearing lets you enter the slope as a steepness value e.g. in degrees. Note that when changing the slope or gradient the changes affect the result in different ways depending on what spatial and gradiental values have been defined as static/fixed.

 

Hold start / Hold end

Specify whether the starting point or ending point of the slope will be fixed in space. When changing the slope in some ways and Start point is held the the slope changed move the End point and vice versa.

 

Keep gradient / Keep E, N

When changing the slope components either the gradient or the (2D) Co-ordinates have to give, here you specify which will be fixed.

 

Keep horizontal / Keep slope

Changing the gradient will either modify the 2D (horizontal) or 3D (slope) distance, here you specify which will be fixed.

 

Slope, Horiz. and Vert. each change the respective slope components while Fix L changes either the Start or End point's level (see Hold start / Hold end above).

 

One in, % and Degrees allow you to specify the slope steepness while Bearing pivots the gradient line around Z axis by either the Start or End point (see Hold start / Hold end above). Note that the Gradient and Bearing values are expressed as whole circle bearings from start to end.

 

 

Outputs

 

 

Draw 3D Polyline

Draw a 3D polyline onto a specified layer. If a polyline has been picked previously and the toggle "Delete old polyline..." is "on" the the selected polyline will be, effectively, modified to the new slope definition.

 

Draw Arrow

Will draw a downhill slope annotation arrow at desired scale and annotation method (%, One in or 1:)