The Grade tool adjusts a surface with an embankment to seamlessly connect with the surrounding terrain. It does this by applying either a cut slope to remove material or a fill slope to add material. Access the Grade tool in the Tools tab after selecting a surface.



Overview


Using the Grade Tool

Once you have a functional design, you can create slope grading on the design to ensure terrain stability for the final design. You can see in the example images below, with the terrain modified to show what the functional design would like if built. The design for both projects are good, but incomplete due to the lack of sloping along the edges of the designs. The cut and the fill portions of the designs need appropriate slope angles in order to actually be built for real world use.


Set the Cut and Fill Slopes

Add a cut and fill to the design to ensure structural stability. 

  • Cut: Material removed from high areas to lower the surface (the slope degree for Cut is always a positive number).
  • Fill: Material added to low areas to raise the surface (the slope degree for Fill is always a negative number).

Before you set the cut and fill, you'll need to define your slope ratios. E.g., standard slope ratios are typically 1.5:1 for rocky terrain, or 2:1 for soil. Once you've defined your necessary slope ratios, set the cut and fill constraints using the user inputs for Cut Slope and Fill Slope, found next to the Grade button in the Tools tab.

  1. Set your Cut Slope constraints (can be done in degrees or percentages).
  2. Set your Fill Slope constraints (degrees or percentages).


Create the Grading

Use the Grade tool to calculate the appropriate cut and fill angles for your surface. 

  1. Ensure the design surface is selected and click on the Grade tool found in the Tools tab.


Once the grading calculation is complete, slopes are added to the design with the appropriate cut (shown as yellow/orange) and fill (shown as blue/green) measurements available, and you can clearly see the difference the slopes make from the functional design.


Functional haul road design on the left, final graded design as the right image.


Functional retention pond design image on the left, final graded design on the right.


With the grading completed, you can export the design as a machine model, analyze it with the use of profile lines, and monitor the build progress using the Timeline feature.


Example Grading Project Workflows

  1. Designing a Haul Road
  2. Designing a Coastal Rock Wall
  3. Designing a Water Retention Pond