Actively promoting interoperability and BIM in MiTS, our specific Civil 3D plugin, MCIntegrator is now upgraded to another level with the release of MiTS version 2.9. The improvement was made with the intention of providing a better user experience in this regard.
So, what exactly can the upgrade MCIntegrator plugin do? #
The new and enhanced engine of the plugin enables users to seamlessly synchronize starting from MiTS to Civil 3D and vice versa, with the option to do so at two different levels (or mode) – CAD or Civil. This means that users can now choose to synchronize their utilities as CAD objects, Civil Objects, or not synchronize at all.
Most importantly, the advanced plugin enables users to quickly and easily exchange information between MiTS and Civil 3D, covering not just utility-related items such as pipes and drains, but also survey points and earthwork platforms, with minimal time and effort required. In addition, with the newly introduced features of Running Network (for drainage and sewerage) and Running Pipe (for water reticulation), the plugin has also been enhanced to support the integration of multiple networks. This allow users to define more than one network in their utility design for a more organized and realistic presentation in both software, MiTS 2 and Civil 3D, mimicking the real world.
Let us break it down to you with the image shown below.
What is CAD Sync, Civil Sync, and NoSync? #
From the images shown, clearly the objects synced appear differently in Civil 3D depending on the sync mode.
CAD Sync mode #
It is the first level of the sync and is only available for the integration starting from MiTS to Civil 3D. It’s just a synchronization of the utilities’ parts, survey points and platforms as CAD objects such as meshes, lines, and vertices. The pipe or civil object information such as pipe diameters or invert levels are not actually available. It should be noted that as CAD objects, they still preserve the geometry correctly, and you can refer here to cross check on the geometry information! The unavailable details– the civil details – will also restrict information sharing between engineers and make the BIM modelling process difficult, something that we want to prevent.
Civil Sync mode #
This sync mode works in two ways, from MiTS to Civil 3D and back and forth. Civil sync takes things a step further by synchronizing your design as actual civil entities.
Utility #
With this being said, your utility design exported from MiTS is no longer limited to lines and polylines, but can now be represented as gravity pipes (sewage and drains) and pressure pipes (water reticulation). Choosing this sync mode for your utility design , not only preserves the pipe-related information such as description, invert levels, pipe diameter, etc., but also the information on the structures connected (nodes in MiTS)
Survey Points #
As for the survey points in your design, it will be synced as a surface with elevations and coordinates information preserved in both, MiTS and Civil 3D. With our plugin’s interface and feature, multiple survey points groups can be synchronised simultaneously and easily managed by users under the Parameters.
Platforms #
On top of that, the Civil sync mode in our newly released plugin also allows the integration of the platforms (including the slopes) as surfaces between MiTS and Civil 3D, with the elevations, coordinates, and shapes being preserved in both. For platforms, users can opt to have them sync in two methods that are:
- All Surfaces – All platforms are merged into a single surface in Civil 3D, named MESPlt
- Individual Surfaces – Each platform is represented as a separate surface in Civil 3D
A major benefit of this synchronization is that users no longer have to spend time manually creating surfaces one by one in Civil 3D for the platforms and slopes designed for Earthwork calculation. This feature sets our software apart as its eliminates the need for such a significant effort in Civil 3D, which is one of its limitation and how the Surface feature works, making our software more user- friendly.
You can easily see the information is preserved by juxtaposing Civil 3D object information and the MiTS object.
NoSync mode #
Another option available for users is the NoSync mode. Just like its name, the utilities using this mode will not be synchronised at all in Civil 3D.
What’s more to the MCIntegrator plugin? #
The upgraded plugin also comes with an improved Action Panel. It works the same way as the verification tab in MiTS, showing entities that require further actions from the users including suggestions. This tells you what to do when there are actions required.
Shown below is the Action Panel of the MCIntegrator.
For further information #
As of now, the plugin only supports integration between MiTS and Civil 3D for the three utility modules in our software – Drainage, Sewerage, and Water Reticulation; the support for Road Modules will be implemented in the future upon the request from clients.
To better help users in understanding the integration, we also provide you with a tutorial video which can be found below. As for the installation guideline for MCIntegrator plugin, you may refer here.
