This latest release features for CAD and drafting, surfaces, tunnels and corridors, mobile mapping and working with field data. The highlights are below.
CAD Command Line
Use the new Command Line to run dozens of CAD commands by simply entering command aliases, keyboard shortcuts, and values (with occasional picking in graphic views). Most commands for creating and editing 2D and 3D CAD objects are supported on the Command Line, and you can run the commands in the Plan View, 3D View, Sheet View, and Cutting Plane View. Using the Command Line is more keyboard-focused and therefore more efficient than running commands from the Command Pane.
Prompts on the Command Line guide you through the sequence and most of the options that are available in Command Pane versions of commands. As you work through a command on Command Line, your entries and any results are shown and will scroll up in the log above the Command Line. Press [F2] to open the Command Line. To see a list of all of the supported commands, enter “?” at the prompt. (See “Run Commands from the Command Line” in the TBC Help.)
Tunnel Workflows
TBC v5.3 provides enhancements for corridor workflows including:
Display road corridors in the Tunnel View: You can view road corridors that use the same alignment as the selected tunnel design (for example, a road that runs through the tunnel) in the Tunnel View. This enables you to easily compare the offsets used in the road corridor with the offsets applied to the tunnel design along the entire length of the alignment. (See “View Tunnels” in the TBC Help.)
Create and edit tunnel offsets and rotation directly in the Tunnel View: You now have the option to create and edit tunnel horizontal and vertical offsets and tunnel rotation directly on a tab in the Tunnel View, where you can immediately visualize the impact of your changes at any station along the tunnel corridor. The Edit Tunnel Rotation, Edit Tunnel Horizontal Offset, and Edit Tunnel Vertical Offset commands are still available to provide an alternate workflow when creating new tunnel designs. (See “View Tunnels” in the TBC Help.)
Display multiple tunnel designs in the Tunnel View: You can view multiple tunnel designs that use the same alignment (for example, separate east-bound and westbound traffic tunnels) simultaneously in the Tunnel View. This enables you to easily compare the offsets and rotations of the tunnels along the entire length of the alignment. (See “View Tunnels” in the TBC Help.)
Road Workflows
Export Trimble Access Road Strings in LandXML Format: The Trimble Access road string exporter has been enhanced to allow you to select to export road strings to a LandXML formatted file (.xml), in addition to the current option to export to a GENIO formatted file (.crd). The two options provide the flexibility you need to easily export road strings in the format that best matches your workflow.
Trimble Access Road Strings Exporter Flags Side Slope Catch Lines: When you use the Trimble Access road strings exporter to export road strings to a LandXML file, break lines that are identified as side slope catch lines are flagged for display in Trimble Access.
Create a Knoll Cul-de-Sac: Use the Knoll option in the Create Cul-de-Sac command to create parametric geometry for a unique cul-de-sac shape found in Finnish road design. (See “Create a Corridor Cul-de-Sac” in the TBC Help.)
Mobile Mapping
Enhanced Target Picking for Registration: TBC 5.30 has improved the target picking procedure for MX9 scan registration workflow, so users can find the target faster, and confidently pick the center of a target. The target validation window allows users to pick different target types, define target dimensions, so TBC can interpolate the best point as the target candidate.
Manual Camera Calibration: This new feature allows you to calibrate a Trimble MX9 camera directly in TBC. A camera calibration consists of manually optimizing the offsets in the orientation of the camera(s) (boresight angles: Roll, Pitch, and Heading) in order to correct the mismatch between the image data and the laser scan data.
Automatic Laser Scanner Calibration: This new feature allows you to calibrate Trimble MX9 lasers directly in TBC. A laser calibration consists of automatically correcting the offsets in the orientation of the lasers (boresight angles: Roll, Pitch and Heading) in order to correct the mismatch between the laser scan data from different runs.