For example, if using the pave link to calculate an asphalt value, the pay item report uses the link to calculate an area in square yards. This file does not calculate an estimate, but provides a means to convert values for an estimate. The last element of the pay item master list is a formula file. To organize and better manage this potentially lengthy list, a category file is added to create divisions, groups, and sections, or any user-defined category system. The master list is an ASCII file with a CSV extension.

To create a quantity take off (QTO) report, you must first create a pay item master list. While pay item reports are useful, like anything else, they are only as good as the user assigning the pay item entries to objects in a drawing. Should a drawing change, a new pay item report file is generated containing the changes, and when imported into the estimation spreadsheet, it produces a new estimate. The estimation spreadsheet contains a costing formula column that produces an estimate from Civil 3D's pay item reports. With this process, it's possible to miss subtle changes, which are easily overlooked.īy using Civil 3D pay items, drawings can produce reports with item counts, areas, or volumes, which are used in a spreadsheet to create an estimate. In this workflow, if the design changes, new sheets need to be plotted and the estimating team must determine the differences and create new counts. Although this time is usually thought of as costly, if used wisely, the resulting setup changes a job's workflow and expands the resulting work's value.įor example, a plotted sheet is passed to an estimating group, and it is marked up to produce an item count and estimation. AutoCAD Civil 3D and Pay Items 3 Nov, 2010 By: Phillip Zimmerman CAD Clinic Civil 3D Tutorial: Set up your drawings to produce reports with item counts, areas, or volumes that are updated if the drawings change.Įditor's Note: This tutorial courtesy of Imaginit.Īll of the elements that implement AutoCAD Civil 3D require setup time.

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