Lately I've been thinking our field might be missing out by not exploring the opportunities offered by 3D printing. Even though 3D printers have been around for many years, I haven't seen anything significant related to its use by agencies or firms in our field. I remember a 3D printer in use in a classroom at the college…
Category: CAD
Check us out over on the Cadalyst CAD Speed Blog!!
I was excited to be interviewed last month by Cadalyst and even more excited today to find the interview featured over on their CAD Speed blog. It was great to share what is going on in the industry particularly as it relates to CAD. We talked about the latest trends and offered information about the Public…
Free 3D Software for Civil Engineers
If you regularly read this blog, you already know we strongly believe 3D visualizations and environments will play a big role in the future of civil engineering. Over the last several years we've seen an increasing use of 3D products to help people better plan and build large-scale developments and structures. Last year, FHWA incorporated 3D…
Resources for Developing your 3D Engineering Skills
If you've been paying any attention to the Every Day Counts website, you might have noticed that 3D Engineered Models are now being promoted by the Every Day Counts program. This is because of the potential for this type of technology to cost effectively accelerate construction. However, in addition to this, 3D engineered models…
“We are engineers; we are not gamers”
Over the past several years, most people I knew in the industry chose to ignore what was going on with 3D immersive technology. At one point they might have taken a quick look, realized gaming engines like Second Life were not easily compatible with the CAD products we used, and moved on. Until more recently this…
Infographic of the Month – June 2013
This month's infographic, Improving Healthcare Buildings with BIM, is brought to you by one of my very favorite companies, Autodesk. Just like infographics, BIM makes use of visualization techniques to convey a message in a more interesing way that makes ideas easier to understand. If you have an interesting infographic related to public works or any other topic…
Are Gaming Engines the New CAD?
Over the past few years, I've spent considerable time online exploring many different virtual worlds or 3D immersive spaces. Some of these like World of Warcraft are designed to only offer a gaming experience while others like Second Life look like a game, but do not offer gaming as a primary function. My main…
Free 3D Software – Limited Time Offer!
Even though this offer has been Tweeted and posted all over the Internet, I thought I would add a quick post here to make sure our readers know about it. For the month of February Digital Art Zone (DAZ) is offering the following software free of charge – you can pick it up at http://www.daz3d.com/i/3d/free-3d-software-overview:…
Checking out West Coast Tech Talk
Part of the fun of blogging is the opportunity to connect with others who love what you do. In my case, that's anything public works related! One of the people I recently talked to online was @lahtnesorm. He's a civil engineering technology student on Vancouver Island who blogs about CAD. His site has helpful information about…
A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 5
Day 5 The main items grabbing my attention today involved the following: Striping Today the stripers were in town placing the thermoplastic paint on a few of our newly paved roads. Normally I don't get too involved in the operation because we have a project engineer and technician inspecting and managing the project. But today,…