Subassembly Composer, A Primer -- Part Three, Targeting a Surface

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Article by Timothy Corey

Autodesk Civil 3D Certified Professional

Now you have a subassembly that is meant to connect to a curb subassembly. This new subassembly lets the user apply slope and offset values for creation of a new point and link.

It doesn’t do much, but there is awesomeness in its power.

The engineers in the office love this new subassembly and you have become a hero among them. Then…that new guy, right in front of the boss, asks if you can make the new point intersect with a surface. The boss looks at you, “Yeah, can you make it do that?” He has internet, he knows it can be done.

The good news is, yes, YES, it’s simple to create a surface link with Subassembly Composer. Your position is secure, or will be once you read to the end of Part 3 of this primer.

At this point in our process, we will create a new subassembly file in Subassembly Composer. We have saved the previous file in a secure location.

The new point is going to target a surface and we want the user to be able to supply the slope. As before, we will need an input parameter for slope, but we will also utilize the Target Parameters window. 

Use Packet Settings to name your subassembly as you wish.

Create your user slope input parameter like you did in Part 2 of this primer. 

Now, something new! Move to the Target Parameters tab. Create a new parameter and name it something meaningful, like SurfaceTarget. No spaces allowed in the name. The user sees what you use in the Display Name column. Preview Value is an elevation for the surface in the preview window. This allows you to test your subassemblies, especially as they become more complex. And, of course, be sure you’ve set the Type to Surface. 

Now, create P1 at the origin and then add P2 and L1. Set the point geometry type to Slope to Surface. Replace the default slope value to the name of the input parameter you created for slope. I used UserSlope for mine. For surface target, drop down the list and pick the target parameter you created. 

You’ll see its name there and once you pick it, your link will appear in the Preview window, unless you left the Preview Value of the surface target at 0. Remember that setting, back on the Target Parameters window?

Save your subassembly, import it into Civil 3D and give it a try. Pass it around to your colleagues.

What, your boss said he knows there’s a way to make it check for cut, but go to fill if it needs to? Part 4, coming soon…