| MX
Design Summary |
| The intent of this
document is to outline the process of designing a project using MX. It is
only a summary and not intended to cover every situation. |
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Beginning an MX
Project
Before starting work on any project,
a directory must be created on the M:\ drive to store the data. Requests
for new projects should go through Bill
Caswell. The M:\ drive has projects listed under a directory for the
town. In the case of a project covering multiple towns, the first one in
the project name is used. The format is: m:\pbt\town\projectnumber\cadd\prj
If the project currently exists on the VAX, the
model file can be transferred to the PC network with a VMS utility program.
See
the MX FAQ for more details. For details of
creating a new project, see Creating a New MX Project
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Drawing Topo
Detail
In MX plan drawings are displayed with
style sets. A number of style sets have been created for various uses.
Many of them are used to generate drawings for transfer to MicroStation. Style sets have a .pss file extension and are stored in the
m:\cadd\mx\styles and m:\cadd\mx\imperial_styles directories. Refer to Style Sets
for details about proper style set assignments.
Before drawing the existing ground detail, create
a new DPW from New Plan Display. Select the Plan with Style Set... option from the
Display menu. Select
the model to be drawn and hit the 
button next to the default style set definition. Select the EXD.pss style
set from the
selection box. Uncheck the box to draw all strings.
Transferring existing details to MicroStation J
involves creating four separate drawing files (EX1, EX2, EX3, EXU). Transferring existing details to MicroStation
v8 involves creating one drawing files (EXD). For more
information about creating those drawings, see Storing MX Data In MicroStation
or Storing MX Plan Data In MicroStation v8.
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Drawing
Additional Details
Other project details can be drawn
over the existing detail by repeating the above process and selecting other
models to be drawn and the appropriate style set for that model.
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Alignments
Alignments can be created by a
number of methods as described below. The naming
convention must be followed for alignments to draw properly.
Quick Alignment - Does not have all
the functionality of Alignment. No Point Selection Methods (PSM's) are
available for splitting existing pavement or erecting points normal to existing
lines.
Major option Alignment - More complicated,
however this option is the most thorough.
Drafting in MicroStation - Allows you all of
MicroStation's drafting functionality for creating the alignment string.
Be careful to use GDM Rule Files to get your alignment on the correct
level. Be sure that you have a valid alignment, just because the curve
appears tangent to the tangent doesn't mean it is. The drafted line then
requires transfer to MX.
Regardless of the method used to create the
alignment in MX, they should be transferred to MicroStation by using the Creating Alignment Drawings
add-in.
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Profiles
There are two primary options for
profiles: Quick Alignment Vertical and major option VERAT.
Quick Vertical Alignment - Quick Vertical is
the graphical method of generating
a profile. It requires the interactive specification of VPI coordinates and
the associated curve length of each element
of the profile. Be aware that Quick Vertical wants to work on the entire
alignment, however there is now a work-around. Quick Vertical does not show alignment stationing on the
working drawing.
VERAT - Verat is the input file method of generating
a profile. It requires the specification of the VPI coordinates and
the curve length of each element
of the profile. The profile would typically be designed on paper before
developing the VERAT input.
Refer to Transferring MX profiles to MicroStation
to transfer to MicroStation.
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Road Design
For relatively standard templates
the MX design wizards should be used. For more complex designs involving lane
tapers, turning lanes, or other non-standard features it might be easier to develop an input file.
Superelevations are done with the Superelevation
Wizard. This wizard works well unless the alignment begins and/or ends on a
curve. In those instances the wizard will attempt to define transition
points beyond the limits of the alignment.
Shoulder Design is the next item on the
Road Design sub-menu. The shoulder rollover option provides a solution that
closely resembles NHDOT standards.
Once shoulders have been designed, the next
step would be to add Curbs and Sidewalks where necessary. Curbs
Shoulders and Sidewalks... is the last item on the Road Design
submenu.
Before developing
slope lines, a level datum string (EH) must be
created to form the outermost edge of the roadway. This string is typically 0.3m (1
foot) beyond the edge of shoulder and is used by the Earthworks wizard. For more details, see Earthworks
Level Datum Strings.
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Slope Lines
This is typically done by one of two methods:
- Earthworks Wizard: The Earthworks
Wizard
creates slope lines based on user-defined criteria. Earthworks styles can be
customized to meet a specific need. See the MX Earthworks
Wizard
for more details.
- Interface macros: The traditional method of
creating interface strings. An input file is created that provides string and
model information to a macro that in turn calculates the slope lines based on
the typical sections. Sample input data and definitions of macro variables can
be accessed from the MX Macro Index.
Refer to Storing MX Plan Data In MicroStation v8
to transfer to MicroStation.
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Cross Sections
Cross Sections are generated with the Cross Section Viewer. This can be found from within
MX by selecting Analysis -> Sections -> Cross Sections. The Cross
Section Viewer has a toolbar for options available with in the Viewer, a
graphics area in which the sections are displayed, and a station selector for
navigating to other sections. The process of creating the sections is described
in detail in MX Cross Sections
Once the sections are created, detail information
can be added and then they can be transferred to MicroStation. To prepare them
for eventual transfer, please read the Summary of CAD-D Cross-section Procedures.
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