TransDEM Forum

Good morning all. I have been looking into CAD tools, and wanted to know if anyone could share which tool you are using, if any. I have downloaded Grassdata, and also Bryce 7.1. I have also downloaded 3dem. Are any of these what I need? My goal is to give a better representation of track geometry, as explained in the Transdem manual. I have been trying to design my tri state area (Philadelphia, Jersey, and Delaware) railroad network and I have all of the UTM tiles needed, but before I start my track work, I wanted to do it as best as I can. Thank you in advance, and thank you all for your previous help.

In another thread here I said:



The Absteckrechner/Zusi 2 environment is also the one I used for my tests when implementing 3D vector support in TransDEM.

Zusi 3 will come with a much more powerful CAD tool, and will have integrated the aforementioned Absteckrechner with a more user friendly (less numerical) interface:




However, it is still unclear whether the tool may be used externally. Furthermore, Zusi 3 is not yet available to the general public. Nevertheless, the Zusi 3 track laying CAD tool has already proven its capabilities for professional use as you may conclude from this advertisement: Cab Simulator FH Aachen (University of Applied Sciences).

Thank you for your response. The question I have now is, will I need to purchase a license for Zusi to obtain Absteckrechner, or is it freeware? I tried to click the links and google translate, but none led to download or purchase. Thank you again for your response.

Absteckrechner is not a standalone product. It comes bundled with Zusi 2: http://www.zusi.de/pages/dehaupt/zusi-2/bestellen.php

Obstacles:

• It's all in German. There is a tutorial in English (somewhere) but it focuses on route building for Zusi 2, not on adding proper elevations (and radii) to 2D vectors.
• You will need to learn to use two new tools: Absteckrechner and the Zusi 2 Route Editor. The Route Editor in Zusi 2 is not user friendly either, but it's required for navigation, to position your vector data for Absteckrechner

That's why I say it's not really a workable approach.