Best Civil Engineering Software for AutoCAD

InEight construction project controls software is the best fit for capital construction, thanks to unmatched configurability and flexibility. With an integrated, modular product platform that spans your operations, InEight unifies your data and delivers insights you can’t get any other way. No other provider of construction project controls software brings our level of industry knowledge to our product development or software implementation.

Newforma provides specialized project information management software designed to improve collaboration and efficiency for professionals in the AECO industry. Its flagship products—Newforma Konekt, Project Center, and Constructex—offer tools for BIM coordination, real-time project communication, document control, and submittal management. Newforma Konekt’s 2D/3D viewer allows users to view multiple IFC models with a single click, facilitating enhanced BIM collaboration. The platform integrates email management directly into project workflows, helping teams eliminate email chaos and improve accountability. Newforma’s cloud-hosted and on-premise options allow firms to manage data securely while accelerating project delivery times and reducing risk. Widely adopted by the world’s largest firms, Newforma supports millions of projects and billions of emails, demonstrating its scalability and reliability. Customer testimonials highlight significant time and cost savings achieved through streamlined workflows. Overall, Newforma fosters improved communication, organization, and risk mitigation for construction projects.

A data wrapper to the industry standard US Army Corps of Engineers HEC-HMS software, GeoHECHMS (a stormwater management software) speeds up the creation, analysis and review of stormwater models. It is compatible with AutoCAD graphic user interface. GeoHECHMS offers: • Automated HEC/HMS Workflows • AutoCAD Civil 3D & ArcGIS Integration • Automated Watershed Delineation • Detention Pond Design • Stormwater Design Tools for Purpose-Built Purpose • Automated TOC and Lag Time • Automated CN Computations • Comprehensive Report Generation GeoHECHMS allows one to quickly compare different scenarios, including pre-development conditions and post-development designs. Rapidly design, analyze, and compare retention and detention ponds.

HydroCAD Stormwater Modelling allows for easy TR-20, TR55, SBUH and Rational hydrology calculations, as well as TC calculations, storage, outlet hydraulics and pump routing, underground storage, pollutant loads, and more. You can import CAD directly, bypass routing, siphons, skimmers and tubes, as well as local rainfall data import. There is also an expanding chamber library. Interactive graphical environments are intuitive and fast, resulting in better results every time.

ClearCalcs cloud structural engineering software allows engineers and designers to simplify repetitive calculations using easy-to-use calculators for beams and columns, foundations, and other important information. ClearCalcs has calculators for all standards including the US, Eurocode, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian. ClearCalcs can help you improve your productivity and design ability. Calculations can be linked together in one click, saving time and errors copy paste loads. Reports print to a simple one-page PDF for easy inspection.

Plateia is an advanced software solution tailored for roadway design and reconstruction, fully compatible with BIM standards. This professional-grade, 3D tool utilizes a versatile and dynamic data model to facilitate seamless BIM workflows and adheres to the IFC standardized data format. Its thoughtfully crafted user interface and workflows align perfectly with established road design engineering practices, ensuring that users can quickly become proficient with the software. Plateia encompasses a comprehensive suite of commands and tools that supports the entire design process, beginning with preliminary design phases and extending through to detailed design. This includes integrating initial survey data, creating intricate 3D road models equipped with analysis capabilities, and offering robust documentation and publishing features. Furthermore, Plateia stands out for its ability to adapt to various project requirements, making it an invaluable asset for engineers and designers in the field.

By consistently considering the broader context, you are equipped to make superior design choices, which is why our satellite, aerial, and drone imagery from top-tier providers is ideal for offering valuable insights, inspiration, and clarity. In fact, it surpasses the experience of being on-site! This newfound ability to visualize every detail—every contour, channel, ridge, or obstacle both on the site and in the nearby regions—empowers you to design with unprecedented assurance, all at your convenience and from anywhere around the globe. This capability will not only captivate clients and stakeholders but also earn their admiration and secure contracts. Furthermore, the ability to export entire designs into Google Earth allows for immersive tours, making it easy for everyone involved to comprehend and appreciate your innovative proposals. Ultimately, this integration enhances collaboration and communication throughout the design process.

Utilizing CAD technology, GuideSIGN™ guarantees precision and uniformity in designs while offering the flexibility to accommodate personalized content. With features like drag-and-drop functionality, smart letter formatting, and access to the latest FHWA Series fonts along with MUTCD standard panel and object libraries, creating signs can be accomplished in mere minutes. This software enables engineers to efficiently craft even intricate highway and roadway signs, including those for roundabouts and specialized safety needs. Experience firsthand why numerous North American Departments of Transportation, government organizations, and top transportation consultants trust GuideSIGN for their sign and panel design requirements. Traffic engineers rely on GuideSIGN™, which includes up-to-date MUTCD symbols and panels, FHWA highway font libraries, precise object dimensioning, and a cutting-edge sign template creation tool, ensuring compliance and readiness for production in just a few minutes. The ease of use and comprehensive features make it an indispensable tool for professionals in the field.

Civil Site Design is an international civil engineering program that allows for road, site, and stormwater design. You can use the CAD system you choose - AutoCAD, Civil 3D or BricsCAD – Civil Site Design combines design and drafting within one software environment. Civil Site Design is the first to use Artificial Intelligence in the software to automatically create design models based upon user input. The software automates intersection, cul de sac and roundabout design. The software includes a large tool set that can be used to reconstruct roads, stormwater and site works.

Section 3D is an additional tool that enables users to develop and modify dynamic corridors in AutoCAD Civil 3D without the need to create specialized subassemblies. This application allows for the straightforward creation and editing of intricate corridor models through a powerful graphical interface that offers unmatched flexibility and does not require any programming skills. Unlike the supplied subassemblies, Section 3D provides users with complete freedom from the restrictions and limitations imposed by the standard subassembly input parameters and logic. The Section3D Editor and Viewer was designed to improve the corridor modeling and cross-section capabilities within Autodesk Civil 3D. Users can utilize Section3D with various alignments, profiles, and surfaces to create tailored templates without relying on VBA programming. Furthermore, the cross sections are dynamically interconnected with all Civil 3D entities and can be layered over adjacent sections, with any designated points marked and labeled by their offset distances, enabling precise and detailed analysis of the models. This flexibility makes Section 3D an invaluable asset for civil engineering projects.

OpenFlows WaterGEMS offers a robust and user-friendly decision-support platform designed for managing water distribution systems. This software enhances your understanding of the overall behavior of infrastructure as a cohesive unit, its responses to various operational tactics, and its necessary expansion in line with population growth and demand fluctuations. It encompasses a wide range of functionalities, including simulations for fire flow and water quality, alongside analyses for criticality and energy expenses, all provided within a versatile, multiplatform framework. Serving as an advanced version of OpenFlows WaterCAD, OpenFlows WaterGEMS allows for the effective identification of potential issues, facilitates the accommodation of expanding service areas, and aids in the planning and prioritization of capital improvement initiatives through the use of criticality assessments, DMA planning, and pressure management tools. By leveraging real-time data, users can scrutinize energy consumption and costs, enhance operational efficiencies, reduce service disruptions, and respond proactively to emergency situations, ensuring a more resilient water distribution network overall. Additionally, the software fosters better long-term planning by offering insights that help stakeholders make informed decisions regarding future infrastructure investments.

S-FRAME empowers users to model, analyze, and design any type of structure, accommodating a wide range of geometric complexities, material specifications, loading scenarios, nonlinear behaviors, and design code stipulations. The platform features automated framework generators that facilitate rapid model creation and offers seamless integration with BIM and DXF formats, allowing users to enhance their efficiency with built-in design tools for concrete and steel, which support design, optimization, code adherence, and report generation. Through S-FRAME, users can swiftly define structures with advanced modeling automation, enabling the generation of regular framework structures and both standard and custom trusses, while clone tools allow for the easy replication of entire models or specific sections. Moreover, the ability to import existing BIM and DXF models significantly reduces modeling time, further improving productivity. The sophisticated meshing capabilities of S-FRAME create a detailed finite element mesh, equipping users to derive comprehensive analysis results tailored to their areas of interest. Lastly, users have the flexibility to delve deeper into their analysis by converting members into multi-shell models, enhancing their understanding and evaluation of structural performance.

Utilize Novapoint's innovative design software to create intricate 3D models efficiently, specifically tailored for civil engineers. As a vital component of Trimble's comprehensive BIM solution for infrastructure initiatives, Novapoint equips civil engineers with the tools to adeptly design various elements, including contemporary roads, railways, tunnels, bridges, and water and sewer systems. This BIM solution seamlessly integrates Novapoint, a robust multidiscipline modeling toolkit, with Quadri, a cloud-based BIM collaboration server, fostering exceptional teamwork and project oversight. With Novapoint, engineers can efficiently construct detailed models of roads and railways that encompass 3D terrain surfaces, subsurface layers, and structures like buildings, bridges, road signs, cables, and vegetation. Its user-friendly and powerful functionalities enable visualization of the model from multiple angles, including planes, sections, and 3D perspectives. Enhanced navigation capabilities in 3D facilitate a deeper understanding of the model, leading to precise, consistent, and sustainable outcomes, while also allowing teams to collaborate more effectively on complex projects. Overall, Novapoint proves to be an indispensable asset for any civil engineering endeavor that demands meticulous and innovative design.

ASTRA Pro features optional applications for structural analysis and design tailored to reinforced cement concrete (RCC) framed multi-story buildings, RCC tunnel linings supported by steel ribs, and RCC portals that take into account rock quality designation (RQD) and rock mass rating (RMR), as well as designs for RCC and prestressed concrete (PSC) jetties. The software provides comprehensive analysis and design information in a step-by-step format, along with a complete array of editable CAD drawings. However, in the demo version, users cannot modify the default input data, and the available drawings are restricted to view-only access. Each design module is accompanied by complete reports and drawings, forming a cohesive set. Additionally, detailed estimations for bill of quantities (BoQ), item rates, and costs are available for various types of bridges, including girder bridges, box-type bridges/culverts, and composite bridges. ASTRA Pro serves as a specialized tool for engineering design, facilitating the creation of RCC 'T' girder bridges, composite bridges featuring steel plate or box girders, and RCC deck slabs configured for both single and multi-span layouts, whether straight or curved, as well as PSC 'I' girder bridges, PSC box girder bridges, continuous PSC box girder structures, and steel truss bridges. This software not only enhances design accuracy but also streamlines the engineering workflow for a variety of complex structures.

HEADS Rail is a sophisticated CAD-based software tailored for railway design that utilizes survey data gathered from total stations to generate Digital Terrain Models (DTM) complete with ground contours. In addition to handling satellite imagery, it converts TM (Survey) coordinates into UTM (GPS) coordinates, integrates with Google Earth for planning greenfield alignments, and processes ground elevation data sourced from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) using global mapper, all without the need for field topographic surveys. The software is adept at designing both elevated and underground metro rail sections, accommodating straight and curved alignments based on site conditions. HEADS Rail stands out as a highly advanced tool that effectively manages railway track design and double tracking projects, addressing various design challenges along the route through meticulous alignment geometry, vertical profiles, crossings, and yard layouts. Furthermore, HEADS Rail generates detailed project construction drawings, including plans, profiles, and cross-sections, along with cost estimations to ensure comprehensive project development. This makes HEADS Rail a vital resource for professionals in the railway construction industry.

HEADS Site is a CAD-driven software specifically designed for a variety of applications in the planning and execution of irrigation projects, including the design of canals, bunds, and dykes, as well as facilitating de-siltation dredging operations. This innovative tool can accurately calculate the storage capacity of water in reservoirs located at dams or barrages by monitoring fluctuations in water levels, employing a digital terrain model and contours derived from ground elevation data captured through the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) via Global Mapper, all without requiring any on-site surveys. Additionally, the software incorporates slope stability analysis utilizing Bishop's method, efficiently managing diverse survey data, digital terrain models (DTM), triangulation, contours, and satellite imagery. It also allows for the conversion of coordinates from TM (Survey) to UTM (GPS), enabling seamless communication with Google Earth for optimal planning of bypass and green field alignments. Moreover, it facilitates the online acquisition of ground elevation data from the SRTM, eliminating the need for traditional topographic surveys and enhancing the geometric design of alignments for irrigation projects. This comprehensive approach not only streamlines project planning but also maximizes accuracy and efficiency in irrigation development efforts.

During difficult economic periods, funding for infrastructure initiatives is often limited. OpenFlows StormCAD empowers professionals involved in storm sewer project development to maximize their efficiency. This software offers advanced capabilities for roadway and site designers, stormwater master planners, and land developers, enabling them to achieve superior designs while keeping expenditures low. It allows users to load models with wet weather runoff flows sourced from Hydro-35 data or Intensity-Duration-Frequency rainfall events. The Rational Method is utilized to calculate runoff flows, providing insights into how much stormwater runoff will reach an inlet compared to how much will flow downstream in a gutter or pond on the roadway. Additionally, it enables users to rapidly verify that the flow spread in a gutter stays within acceptable design parameters. By employing these tools, professionals can navigate project challenges more effectively and deliver optimal results despite budget constraints.

HydraCAD is a comprehensive 3D software solution specifically designed as an overlay for AutoCAD, tailored for the intricate design of fire sprinkler systems and recognized as the most complete CAD package on the market. Unique to HydraCAD is its ability to produce Revit MEP content, with the software automatically generating content from its model to deliver precise information in the exact format needed throughout the entire workflow, extending beyond mere 3D coordination. This functionality includes providing metadata linked to true native BIM objects, rather than just offering Revit or Navisworks versions of Autodesk components. Users can effortlessly calculate the volume of dry pipe systems with a single selection, generate stocklists for plastic systems with one click, and obtain a raw material list. The design process allows for flexibility, enabling users to draw in various orientations, arrange pipes in any sequence, and utilize any AutoCAD command. Additionally, architect backgrounds can be employed without alteration, thanks to a toolkit designed to eliminate extraneous details from architectural drawings. Furthermore, HydraCAD supports drawing at any scale or on any sheet size, accommodating drawings of varying dimensions with ease and precision. This capability ensures that users can create detailed designs that meet their specific project requirements efficiently.

Revolutionize your infrastructure planning efficiency with our comprehensive solution that facilitates the rapid creation of precise and seamlessly integrated design models. Widely adopted by civil and structural engineers, Causeway’s Infrastructure Design solution includes essential modules for volumetric calculations, alignment design, drainage planning, and vehicle path analysis, complemented by tools for generating road markings and designing traffic signage. With advanced 3D modeling capabilities and robust integration features, this solution brings the full advantages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to civil engineering professionals. Causeway PDS equips design engineers with state-of-the-art 3D design tools, empowering them to achieve optimal design outcomes. Tailored with dedicated auto-design and auto-update functionalities, this solution is specifically crafted to save valuable time for engineers, minimize risk, and ensure that every design is infused with intrinsic value. Ultimately, Causeway's comprehensive approach not only enhances productivity but also elevates the overall quality of infrastructure projects.