Pipe Label – Dimension Look Part 2

In the previous post I started creating a pipe label that looked like an AutoCAD dimension. I now have Civil 3D 2010 up and running and can finish the post.

Next an expression will be used to set the elevation the pipe label should go to. In this case I’m using an elevation of 640. Using an expression will be useful since all we would need to do is change the elvation of the expression to adjust the placement of the pipe label.

 

Now that I have the elevation placement, I need to calculate how far to move the pipe label. I’ll use the Pipe LabelElev expression above and subtract the average of the centerline elevations and then divide by the Drawing Scale Conversion and multiply it by 10. 10 is the profile exaggeration, if yours is different then change the 10 that matches the profile.

So now I’ll use the above expression in the Start Point Y Offset for the horizontal lines. Then anchor all of the label components to that line component.

The label should look something like the one below. I’ve labeled adjacent pipes to show that they line up in profile.

As you can see above I’ve got everything done but the vertical lines. I could add it to the pipe labels, but I like having the vertical lines equidistant from the bottom of the manholes. The only way I’ve found how to do that is using a structure label. The first is the an expression to set the elevation the label should go to.

Next create an expression to determine how long the line should be.

Then add the length expression to the label.

Depending on the command settings for the structure label placement, you may have to adjust it. The labels should look something like this.

A drawing containing the styles may be found here.