Available now · BIM package

Structure Part Builder

Design a custom manhole, chamber or handhole from the rim down, and get it as a native Civil 3D structure family — built by Civil 3D's own Part Builder, so it behaves like Autodesk's own parts: sizes, pipe connections, Part Size Creator and parts lists.

20 USD a month Download EGS IS

A paid module: it is not part of the free 7-day trial.

The workflow

From a stack of components to a part in your catalog

One window in the Structure Part Builder ribbon tab, right after Clashes. Every field lights only the part it drives in the Section, Plan and 3D previews.

Designer

Name the part, choose its type (generic, sewer, electrical, duct bank, telecom), the wall, the floor, the pipe clearance and the rim-to-sump range.

Components

Stack the frame, risers, slabs, transitions and the chamber from the rim down, circular or rectangular, each with its own offset. One chamber follows the pipes.

Part Sizes

Laid out like Civil 3D's Part Size Creator: inner sizes, wall, floor, frame, the first transition and the first slab take lists of values; every combination becomes a size.

Openings and ducts

Access openings through the slab, and duct entry groups through one to four walls: rows, columns, conduit material and diameter, spacing, spares, concrete envelope and cover.

Check and Build

The design is checked as you type. Build queues it: a shape built before is copied in seconds; a new shape is built in Part Builder in an isolated Civil 3D session.

Output

The part goes to your private Civil 3D catalog, and a drawing whose parts list holds the part with every size is saved in the output folder.

The window

One compact window, the preview always in sight

An Add menu, a live preview and foldable sections, in one window no wider than 500 px inside EGS IS.
Point at a field, or type in it: only its own part and its own dimension turn red.
Inputs in cyan, values Civil 3D works out in amber, so you always know which is which.

Section

Every dimension, tied to its field

The section turns to show a length along Y when you edit it.
Duct groups are dimensioned face on: diameter, spacing, envelope covers and the cover from the rim.
The structure height and barrel height are calculated, as in Civil 3D, never typed.

Section of a duct bank manhole with its duct holes and dimensions

Plan and 3D

Holes on every wall you choose

One duct group can go through two or all four walls, mirrored correctly on each.
The plan shows the envelopes outside the walls and the insertion point.
Drag the 3D view to turn it.

3D view of the manhole with duct holes in the wall and an access opening on top

Native, not a block

A real Civil 3D structure family in a private catalog, with its own table and every size.
Solid body, real void, access openings and duct holes are modelled by Part Builder itself.
Civil 3D section and profile views draw the structure outline, as for any structure.
Civil 3D connects a pipe to the structure, not to a single hole.

Safe for your Civil 3D

Builds run on an isolated copy of the catalog and a throwaway profile; your profile is put back afterwards.
The catalog Civil 3D installs is never changed.
Builds run one after another in a queue while you keep designing.
To use the parts in your own drawings, point Set Pipe Network Catalog at the private catalog (Catalog Setup shows the folder).

What you need

Windows	Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
Civil 3D	Autodesk Civil 3D 2024 or later with its Metric profile (builds validated on 2024 and 2027)
Time	About 6 to 15 minutes for a new shape in Part Builder; seconds for a shape built before. Leave the Civil 3D that the build opens alone until it ends.
Licence	20 USD a month per seat, in the BIM package. Paid only: not part of the free 7-day trial.

More questions? See the FAQ or contact us.