Civil Drafting Technology, Fifth Edition [Paperback]

David A. Madsen (Author), Terence M. Shumaker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0130498793 | ISBN-13: 978-0130498793 | Edition: 5

This volume provides straightforward and comprehensive coverage of civil drafting technology and mapping. It includes survey types, plots, plan and profile, contours, and earthworks. Input and ideas from the industry, specifically civil engineering companies, offers readers a well-rounded view of the civil drafting field and the types of drawings and skills associated with it. The authors provides an introduction to civil drafting technology, mapping scales and symbols, surveying fundamentals, location and direction, legal descriptions and plot plans, contour lines, profiles, highway layout, earthwork, and an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS). For civil engineers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book features expanded coverage of survey types, surveying methods, and instruments. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Preface

This text is indented to be a comprehensive instructional package in the area of civil drafting. The authors have used materials that have been tested in the classroom for several years plus input and ideas from industry, specifically civil engineering companies. Our aim is to provide the student or employee with a well-rounded view of the civil drafting field and the types of drawings and skills associated with that field.

The book is arranged in eleven chapters, each dealing with a specific subject area. We feel that this arrangement lends itself well to a one-term or semester course but contains enough information and problems to fit courses of varying length. Each chapter is followed by a test composed of short essay, fill-ins, true/false, and sketching questions. Problems in the form of drawings, which close each chapter, can be completed in the text, on separate sheets of paper, or using computer-aided drafting (CAD) as instructed. The tests and problems enable the student to directly apply the information presented in each chapter to realistic situations.

The field of civil drafting is one filled with variety and excitement. From surveying to construction, courthouse research to artistic interpretation, the opportunities offer many challenges. The authors have drawn on their experiences of surveying in the jungles of Georgia to building houses in the foothills of the Oregon Cascades; from designing wastewater piping to designing solar homes. And most importantly, we have drawn on our collective experiences in teaching the varied aspects of drafting at the community college level. Additionally, we have included the work of contributing professionals in the applications of CAD throughout the entire text and the coverage of geographic information systems (GIS) as applied to civil drafting technology. Many educators, who have successfully used the first, second and third editions of this text have provided comprehensive reviews. These reviews resulted in expanded coverage in every chapter, plus new and varied drafting problem assignments.

The use of this text in the prescribed manner imparts to the student a broad understanding of the civil drafting and a working knowledge of the basic components of mapping. With this knowledge and skill, a variety of job opportunities are open to the student, and with those opportunities, we sincerely hope, a challenging career. Keep in mind that mapping requires accuracy, neatness, and an eye for creative and uncluttered layout.

The purpose of this book is to provide you with theories, concepts, and skills that form the foundation of work done by civil engineering companies. Most mapping in these companies is generated by specialized CAD software using a variety of data collecting by electronic surveying techniques. Regardless of the software used to construct maps, the drafter must still have the knowledge of why and how certain maps and drawings are created. For example, using raw field data from a survey crew, CAD software can automatically generate a map of contour lines showing the elevations and shape of the land, But then it is often the CAD drafter's job to interpret, adjust, and revise these maps and even describe and explain contour features to clients and contractors.

A CD, included in the back of this book, contains AutoCAD border and title block template drawings, as well as base drawings for many of the drawing problems in the book. In addition, it contains a chapter-by-chapter list of Internet web site links related to that chapter. Word files for al chapter tests and map reading exercises are also included. Suggested Course of Study

By studying this book and enrolling in a course in which you can apply the concepts presented here, you are providing yourself with an excellent civil drafting foundation. If you are interested in expanding your knowledge and skills in civil drawing and design, you should enroll in advanced civil courses, or courses that provide training in specialized civil engineering software. A wide variety of civil engineering design, modeling, and drafting software is in use today. Specific programs such as Autodesk's Land Development Desktop and Eagle Point Software's LANDCADD are widely used by engineering firms. You should enroll in specialized courses such as these after you have acquired the fundamental knowledge and skills that are presented in this book. We hope that your experiences with civil drafting and mapping are just as exciting as ours. Good Luck. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (May 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130498793
• ISBN-13: 978-0130498793
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars civil drafting technology, October 28, 2004

By 

P. Stratton (sw, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Civil Drafting Technology, Fifth Edition (Paperback)

I purchased this book with the hopes that it would help me understand civil drafting. There is no answer section to check my work. So,,,I do not know if I am on the right track with my understanding.

Does anyone know if there is a solutions manual?

5.0 out of 5 stars Maps, February 10, 2012

By 

matt - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Civil Drafting Technology (7th Edition) (Paperback)

This book contains a lot of good information about maps. We are using it in a topographical drafting class. I have learned a lot about a map that I had no idea even existed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to Civil Drafting, August 10, 2011

By 

J. F. Johnson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Civil Drafting Technology (7th Edition) (Paperback)

Due to some of the unreasonably negative reviews of this product on this site, I was a bit wary of this book. However, I gave it a shot anyway and it turned out to be *exactly* what I wanted. I have a certificate in general AutoCAD drafting, but I wanted to get more specifics about civil drafting since that is the field I am planning to get into. I was extremely pleased to find that it was well-written, virtually free of grammatical/typograhical errors, and full of really great maps, figures, and civil engineering drawings.

The book, a general introduction to the discipline of civil engineering drafting, is formatted as a textbook with problems, exercises, and a test at the end of the chapters. It starts with an introduction to cartography, civil drafting, and CAD, followed by a discussion of different types of scale and their uses. A section on surveying fundamentals covers geodesy (shape and size of earth), angular measurements and traverses, and gps, as well as the general theory of importing raw survey data into a drawing. A section on location and direction discusses azimuth, bearing, and magnetic declination, and how they relate to civil drafting. Legal descriptions, including metes & bounds and township & range are covered, as well a section on contour lines. There are also sections on alignments, profiles, and earthwork, which I found to be particularly helpful because they are topics somewhat unique to civil drafting which I did not know much about. The book concludes with discussions of civil engineering drafting standards and an overview of geographic information systems.

The author states up front that this book is not intended to give detailed instructions and descriptions of how to carry out operations using a specific CAD program (I am actually using another book for that purpose: Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 by James Wedding PE, and Scott McEachron along with a student version of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 that I purchased at my university). The original hand-drawing techniques of some of the concepts are discussed (in addition to CAD practices), which is interesting because it puts them into historical context.

I am glad to have the background I got from reading Civil Drafting Technology and I expect it will be a great reference for me in the future.