Overview

The Grading Tools in SPCAD group provide a comprehensive suite of commands designed to automate complex earthwork design and site optimization directly within SPCAD. Use these tools to create engineered surfaces, manage slope transitions, and balance volumes for roads, pads, and ponds while maintaining seamless integration with your existing terrain models.

What you can do with Grading in SPCAD

• Streamline Earthwork Design: Automate slope and graded surface creation from simple 3D polylines.
• Optimize Site Balance: Calculate and automatically adjust cut-and-fill volumes to achieve target ratios.
• Visualize Design Impact: Generate instant daylight line previews to see how your design interacts with the natural terrain.
• Automate Infrastructure Geometry: Build specialized surfaces for roads and ponds with custom crossfalls and side slopes.
• Incorporate Safety Features: Design stable embankments using automated slope benching to manage significant elevation changes.

Tools in this group

• Linear Grading
  Allows you to project slopes from a linear feature (such as a polyline) onto a target surface. This is the fundamental tool for creating basic embankments and site transitions.
• Pad/Platform Builder
  Creates leveled platforms or building pads within a project area. Use this to set specific elevations for building footprints while automatically calculating the necessary grading to tie back into the existing TIN surface.
• Road Builder
  Specifically designed for corridor modeling, this tool transforms a 3D polyline into a fully graded road surface with custom widths, crossfalls, and cut/fill slopes.
• Pond Builder
  Automates the design of retention or detention ponds. It allows you to define the base area and depth while automatically generating the side slopes required to reach the existing surface level.
• Slope Benches
  Adds horizontal benches at specified intervals along a slope. Use this for deep excavations or high embankments to improve stability and meet engineering safety standards.

Typical workflow of Grading Tools in SPCAD

1. Initial Layout: Define your design intent using 2D or 3D polylines for roads, pads, or pond boundaries.
2. Surface Verification: Ensure you have an active TIN surface to serve as the base for all grading calculations.
3. Choose Your Grading Tool: Select the tool appropriate for your infrastructure or site feature.
4. Configure Parameters: Define your desired slope ratios, widths, and elevation targets within the tool settings.
5. Execute and Balance: Generate the graded surface and use land leveling tools to optimize the final cut/fill balance.

Notes and tips

• Always check your daylight lines in the preview to ensure your graded slopes don’t extend beyond your project property limits.
• Using automated slope benches is strongly recommended for any slope that exceeds local safety height regulations.
• For complex site models, keep your different graded surfaces organized in the TIN Manager for easier merging and volume reporting.