Exporting Machine & Survey Files - Legacy Workflow

A video tutorial for the same process outlined below.

Create a Job Site

Create a Job Site, which is a collection of data that defines the site on which the controllers will be operated.  It provides the foundation for the designs that will be created later.

1. Navigate to the Construction Data ribbon, select Controllers → Job Sites.
   
   
2. In the Job Site Manager command pane ensure the Create new site option is selected. Enter a name in the New site name field.
   
   
3. In the Controllers list select the site controllers and machines you wish to add to the site and click OK. Note that these will be for SCS900, Siteworks and GCS900 only.
   
   
   For Trimble Earthworks exports, click OK to proceed, then in the Job Site Manager select the Project Library and pick the Type.
   • If you are working offline, then choose Folder
   • If you are publishing over the cloud choose TCC
     
4. Job Site Manager settings:
   
5. The site settings section allows the site name to be changed as well as the units (project and controller based). These should have been defined when starting the project.
6. The site calibration section shows the date and time the current site calibration was loaded in the project. It will adopt the calibration settings that are currently set in the TBC project.
   Either import a .dc, .cal, .job file, set a published coordinate system or perform a site calibration within TBC.
7. In the Control Points section, click the (+/-) button and add any Control Points for the project. Select your Control Points via the Plan View or Options, click Add and click OK to complete.
8. Add any site map data (displays as an un-selectable background map (e.g. boundary line, fuel station) by following the same method in step 6.
   
9. Select avoidance zones using the same method as step 6. Avoidance zones are polygon areas where machines are not permitted to enter, these can be for example buffer zones around powerlines or environmental protection zones.
10. The feature codes section shows the current feature code library (.fxl) and the time and date it was loaded into TBC. To add a feature code either drag and drop an .fxl file in the plan view or access the project settings → feature code processing. This is only valid for SCS900/Siteworks controllers.
11. The controllers tab shows the current controllers assigned to the job. If required, the controllers can be reassigned. Controllers need to be selected here to use them for the designs created next.
12. Once satisfied with the data in the job site manager close the window
    
    

Create Designs

Create a set of design files that can be loaded to the machine and survey controllers. Multiple designs can be created for a single job if necessary.

1. Navigate to Construction Data → Controllers → Create Design.
   
2. In the Create Job Site Design command pane, enter a name in the Design name field and tick the check boxes to export to those specific controllers. Click OK.
   
   
   
3. For the Model type, select one of the options that suits your data best. Select the model type and data and click OK to continue. See below for more details on model type.
   

   Design Model Type options:

   • None: Default option. For SCS900 if only line work is required.

   • Surface: use this option to choose a standard surface that will be used in the machine/rover to reference 3D heights. Choose a clipping boundary if a portion of the surface only is to be used.

   • Alignment: this option allows either a 2D or 3D alignment model to be used in SCS900/Siteworks only (Not supported by GCS900). This allows field crews to stake alignments.

   • Road Surface: this option allows the selection of a surface and one or multiple alignments that are associated with the surface (alignment and surface must be coincident). For machines (GCS) only one alignment can be selected. This generates a .PRO file for SCS900/Siteworks. Differences in how road cross-sections are displayed/generated between GCS and TBC can occur. Click here for more information on these differences.

   • 3D Linework: this option exports 3D CAD lines and linestrings as 3D lines in an .svl file for machines only. This is useful when digging trenches for stormwater and sewer lines or guiding a grader using a simple cross-slope.

   • Material Layer: this option in used for take-offs where a specific material from the MSI manager can be exported out as a single surface.
     

4. In the Setting Out Points section click the (+/-) button to add set out points to the file. Only useable with SCS900/Siteworks. Click OK to finish.
   
   
5. In the Design Map section click the (+/-) button to add linework. Once selected, click Add. Click OK to finish. All linework selected here will be 2d in the GCS900/Earthworks machines but can be 3d in SCS900/Siteworks controllers.

Exporting the Data

There are a few options depending on your required workflow.

1. In the Project Explorer you can right click the Job Site and select Compress/Email Field Data or select the E-mail command off the ribbon. This enables you to zip up the data for each GCS900 and SCS900 controller and send it to a client or site.
   
   You can also use USB Drive command to publish GCS900 data only.
   
   
2. Use Office Synchronizer to connect directly to a survey controller (only non-windows controllers) and sync the data or login to TCC and sync the data for SCS900 and GCS900 if you have an account.
   
   
   
3. To export the Trimble Earthworks files, press the Publish to Library button on the construction data ribbon. If you are sending to a folder then this will create the new project folder under the “Project Library” folder on your C drive. If using TCC it will connect and sync the files. If you need to put these files on a USB drive in the correct folder format or save to another location, then do an extra step by pressing the Library to USB Drive button.