Horizontal/Subsurface Infrastructure & Transportation

Hi,

Does anyone know about any free design softwares? I have been out of the civil engineering practice for a while and I do not want to lose the skills that I learned. I was able to take advantage of softwares like Civil 3D and Microstation v8i & Inroads when I was a college student, but those are usually offered only to people who are in college. 

I know Sketchup and Google Earth are a couple of software that are available for everyone to use, but on the most basic level the software does not provide the level of design that is needed in meticulous areas of design.

Thanks,


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Oanh Le Aff.M.ASCE
Suwanee GA
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You can use Autodesk softwares as a student for educational and practice use. They not asking you for any proof of student.

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Sanjay Meena M.ASCE
Karauli
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Hey Sanjay,

These are the products that I used when I was in college and they do ask for licenses. They are free for students, but if you're not a student there's an annual fee. Maybe you could direct me to the software that you are referring to.

Thanks,

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Oanh Le Aff.M.ASCE
Suwanee GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-12-2020 03:15 AM
From: Sanjay Meena
Subject: Free Design Softwares

You can use Autodesk softwares as a student for educational and practice use. They not asking you for any proof of student.

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Sanjay Meena M.ASCE
Karauli
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You can use it again registering as a student. If any difficulty you can email me.

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Sanjay Meena M.ASCE
Karauli
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-12-2020 02:26 PM
From: Oanh Le
Subject: Free Design Softwares

Hey Sanjay,

These are the products that I used when I was in college and they do ask for licenses. They are free for students, but if you're not a student there's an annual fee. Maybe you could direct me to the software that you are referring to.

Thanks,

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Oanh Le Aff.M.ASCE
Suwanee GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-12-2020 03:15 AM
From: Sanjay Meena
Subject: Free Design Softwares

You can use Autodesk softwares as a student for educational and practice use. They not asking you for any proof of student.

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Sanjay Meena M.ASCE
Karauli

There are a few hydrologic and hydraulic software that are free.  HEC-RAS for hydraulics of rivers and bridges (including scour), HEC-HMS for hydrologic calculations, and HY-8 for calculations on a single cross-section or short reach through a bridge.

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Crystal Thomas P.E.,P.L.S,M.ASCE
Project Manager
Cherry Hill NJ
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Hi Crystal,

Thanks for the information. I will keep these in mind. At the moment, I am also struggling with cross-compatibility relating to different computer platforms such as PCs and Macs.

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Oanh Le Aff.M.ASCE
Suwanee GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2020 11:22 AM
From: Crystal Thomas
Subject: Free Design Softwares

There are a few hydrologic and hydraulic software that are free.  HEC-RAS for hydraulics of rivers and bridges (including scour), HEC-HMS for hydrologic calculations, and HY-8 for calculations on a single cross-section or short reach through a bridge.

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Crystal Thomas P.E.,P.L.S,M.ASCE
Project Manager
Cherry Hill NJ
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Hii , Try using PTV softwares for transportation designing and simulation.
Use Autodesk Vehicle Tracking for Parking and Swept Path Analysis.
Use Torus for roundabout designing.
Use AutoTurn for Curves analysis.
Use PTV Route Optimizer for logistic and route optimization.
Try using CUBE , SYNCHRO , SUMO too.

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Ankur Malik Aff.M.ASCE
Student
Gohana
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Hello Oanh

Since you are posting in this forum, I assume your focus includes transportation.

And although you're looking for free software, my point is about the software itself.

I've been in this industry a long time: If you become an expert using CIVIL3D for roadway/highway work, you will have a good skill set which will be in demand anywhere in this country.

This software has evolved so much over the last 30 years that it is now truly impressive.  Micro-station, on the other hand, has fallen by the wayside (thankfully in my opinion) for many projects.  Here in California, the State DOT (Caltrans) has abandon it for CIVIL3D;  something I never thought would happen--not ever.

I'm no software salesman--but CIVIL3D is the force to be tamed if you want to be a roadway engineer.

Civil3D has a lot of bells and whistles ....I doubt you'll use  even 1/4 of the features in roadway work--but it will take a while to learn.

I'd set aside say 2 years to really learn it to the point where you can blaze through a project on your own; typically most people learn on the job, also teaching themselves on nights-and-weekends.  From my experience few  employers besides some big DOTs have genuine  formal "classes"; in large part, you're going to teach yourself.

My advice to any civil engineering student currently in school is "Learn as much Civil3D as you can;  it will help you get a job"; in my opinion it is a lot more important than many of the required classes I took so darned many years ago, classes which proved to be mostly useless in practical engineering, but at the time, how was I to know?

Today, I am a shot-caller, including key hiring decisions.  I cannot imagine hiring a young engineer who doesn't have fundamental knowledge of Civil3D--and can prove it as part of the interview process.  If you shine in proficiency using Civil3D (genuine skill) --you are likely going to scoot way, way up any list of possible hires---at least as long as the economy is afloat. 


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Scott Onishuk P.E., M.ASCE
Director
Santa Barbara CA
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