Made by who?

I get a lot of questions and often times I get the same ones over and over. One of my favorite things is to hear a myth or a misconception on a topic about which I know the truth, or at least more of the story. In this small industry it is so easy to have a piece of information disseminated to the public only to have it interpreted incorrectly. Often times this is done unintentionally and is simply a breakdown in communication or a simple misunderstanding.

One of the latest bits of confusion is on data collectors. While the questions and the answers have little impact on what I do, they are questions that I am getting more of lately so I wanted to push this out there to try to help answer the questions, dispel the myths, or simply shed new light on the topic.

Many of us are familiar with the Allegro line from Juniper Systems.  The Allegro has been around for a long time and has been a recommendation for Field Genius and SurvCE over the years.  Leica also had a radio built in to the Allegro so users could power their Robotic Total Stations with SurvCE.

We were next introduced to the JettCE from Two Technologies.  This unit was branded and labeled for various companies so you saw it around in bright colors such as orange and blue and yellow and black.  Over the years we saw variations on that box with new names and new layouts, but essentially they were all JettCE devices from Two Technologies.

Now, here is where the confusion seems to come in.  We have been introduced to the FC2500 from TopCON and the Surveyor + from Carlson Software.   The Surveyor + line is produced by Juniper Systems and the FC 2500 by Two Technologies.  Both companies went to the manufacturers and designed these units from the ground up with their own specs for ruggedness, durability, function, and performance.

You will still see forms of the Allegro and the JettCE around and available, but it is hard to compare those models to their newer relatives the FC2500 and the Surveyor+.  As I said before, this really does not affect or impact what I do on a daily basis but it is something that has come up more than a few times recently and worth getting out there.

For more information on any of these products including specifications or where to buy visit the websites listed below.

Two Technologies
Juniper Systems
TopCON
Carlson Software

Eagle Point Software Corporation to Offer Compatible Solutions to AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 Software

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Eagle Point Software Corporation today announced it will offer compatible solutions to Autodesk’s AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 software for the building design, infrastructure, and construction industries.

“We are excited to be able to quickly support the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 release in our portfolio of add-on products that include Pinnacle Series, Data Reduction, and Surveyors’ Companion,” explains Steve Biver, Civil Product Line Manager at Eagle Point. “These products take advantage of the new features of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011, such as 64-bit support. Our add-on products help ensure successful implementations and better use of Autodesk’s software, while giving our clients a competitive advantage.”

The Eagle Point Pinnacle Series^™ add-on technology dramatically improves an organization’s ability to implement AutoCAD Civil 3D and adopt new Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows. Using links to execute the right commands, the surveying, grading, roadway design, pipe layout, and plan set preparation workflows guide users to complete work faster while consistently following the organization’s standards and best practices.

Data Reduction^™ utilizes direct links with several supported data collectors and data collector formats to download raw instrument and coordinate data. Whether the user is downloading directly from a collector or importing a file from a PC, Data Reduction places AutoCAD Civil 3D COGO points and automated linework into the drawing.

A set of tools that streamline the survey workflow, Surveyors’ Companion^™ leverages proven surveying technology to enable organizations to comfortably and productively move to AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Surveyors’ Companion interacts with native point, parcel, surface, alignment, and profile data.

“We are glad to have an Autodesk Developer Network partner like Eagle Point Software announce the release of its portfolio of companion products for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011,” explains Jim Quanci, Director of the Autodesk Developer Network. “Eagle Point’s expertise in the Civil Engineering markets has allowed them to leverage the new functionality in our 2011 version and enhance it with tools that help our clients take advantage of BIM.”

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 software, the building information modeling (BIM) solution for civil engineering, helps teams deliver higher-quality transportation, land development, and environmental projects faster. Its model-based approach helps keep project information coordinated while delivering higher-quality documentation and visualizations. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps users gain the competitive advantage of BIM to deliver more innovative project solutions. Key new features include:

• Scalability and performance improvements, as well as an optimized 64-bit version of Civil 3D
• Tools to better manage the creation and editing of corridors
• Enhanced superelevation functionality that provides a dynamic link to the alignment and flexible editing options

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

All company names and product names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.