Using Design Mode

Design mode lets you do any of the following:

  • Select and load a 3D design created in the office

  • Select and load, or create, a guidance surface

  • Start working without a design or surface

Designs may contain one or more surfaces.

Designs and infield or office surfaces may contain optional linework.

You can get guidance in Design mode in multiple ways:

Guidance to... For more information...

Office Surface

Select a Project + Design file + Office Surface.

See below.

Infield Surface

You can create or select an infield surface. Select a Project + Infield Surface.

If you load an office design as well, you can show up to 2 surfaces from the design as reference surfaces.

See the Infield Surfaces guide.

3D Line

Select one of the following:

  • A Project + Design file that includes 3D linework

  • A Project + Infield Surface that includes 3D linework

When you select a 3D line for guidance (on the work screen), the system generates a temporary guidance surface for it.

See the 3D Lines guide.

2D Line

Select one of the following:

  • Project + Design file that includes 2D linework

  • Project + Infield Surface that includes 2D linework

When you select a 2D line for guidance, the line’s elevation matches the surface.

See the Horizontal Guidance guide.

For information on design file formats, see Project and Design Files.

Selecting Design mode

  1. From the Dashboard, tap the Machine Setup tile.
  2. From the Machine Setup screen, select the 3D positioning source that you require and tap Apply.

    NOTE – The positioning source you select will determine the modes that you can select from the Job Setup screen.

  3. From the Dashboard, tap the Job Setup tile.
  4. From the Job Setup screen, select or create a project from the Project field.
  5. Set the Mode field to Design.
  6. Select any of the following as required:
    • A design file
    • A guidance surface, see Selecting a surface.
    • A master alignment (if available in the design).
  7. From the Dashboard, tap Start. The work screen displays.

Selecting a surface

On the Job Setup screen, tap beside the Guidance Surface field to open the Surfaces Manager screen.

It shows all the surfaces available for the current design and enables you to select surfaces. You can select one guidance surface and up to two reference surfaces at once. You cannot get guidance to a reference surface, and it will only display on the cross section and profile views.

Office surfaces are contained in a design, so the office surfaces that are available differ depending on which design is selected.

To select a surface:

  1. Select the round button for the type of surface: Guidance or Reference.

  2. Tap the surface to assign. If a surface is already selected, it is gray.

To deselect a surface, tap the button beside the surface name.

If you tap a surface in the list when the available surfaces are already occupied:

  • Guidance surface: your selection will replace the existing guidance surface selection.

  • Reference surface: your selection will replace the second reference surface selection.

Touch and hold the icon to open the Job Setup screen.

Project and design icons

The system displays icons representing the selected guidance options on:

  • The work screen's guidance bar

  • The Job Setup screen's infobox

Icon Description
  • Office project selected

  • Infield project selected

  • Project contains one or more avoidance zones

  • Design file selected

  • No guidance surface

  • Design file selected

  • No guidance surface

  • Design contains 3D linework

  • Design file selected

  • Office surface selected

  • Design file selected

  • Office surface selected

  • Design contains 3D linework

  • Design file selected

  • Infield surface selected

  • Design file selected

  • Infield surface selected

  • Design contains 3D linework

  • No design file selected

  • Infield surface selected

  • No design selected

  • No surface selected

  • No design selected

  • No surface selected

    (Compaction mapping mode)

  • Design file selected

  • Office surface selected

    (reference surface only)

The Design offset icons

The offset icons always appear in the same order left to right on the guidance bar, as shown below:

Horizontal offset Vertical elevation offset Perpendicular elevation offset

NOTE – Either the vertical elevation offset or perpendicular elevation offset icon displays, depending on which offset type is in use.

Use the offset icons in the following ways:

  • Tap to cycle through the configured offset memories.
  • Touch and hold to access the respective offset configuration screens.

The offset settings screens

NOTE – The Apply button saves values temporarily. The values are overwritten the next time you enter a different value. If you want to save the entered values as a memory, use the Save button.

  • Use the horizontal offset screen to select a line and configure an offset value.
  • Use the elevation offset screen to configure a vertical or perpendicular offset.

Overlays

The overlays icon is in the top right-hand corner of the guidance bar:

Use this icon to directly access the Overlays screen, which controls what displays on the guidance view.

The guidance view

The guidance view displays the machine relative to the surface being worked. You can set up to three different views to display at once, from the following view types:

  • 3D

    NOTE – The 3D view only renders the design surface for a radius of 300 m (about 1000 feet) from the current machine position.

  • Cross-section
  • Profile
  • Plan
  • Raise/Lower Left
  • Raise/Lower Right
  • Text Grid

Text items

Use the text ribbon (across the bottom of the guidance view) to display text items of your choice. By default, the system displays ribbon items appropriate for your machine. Useful text items for Design mode are:

  • Raise/Lower Left
  • Raise/Lower Right
  • Offline
  • MA Offset

Touch and hold any text item in the text ribbon to open the corresponding context menu:

  • Tap Add to select a new text item to add to the text ribbon.

  • Tap Replace to select another text item to replace the current one.

  • Tap Remove to remove the current text item from the text ribbon.

At the bottom of the context menu, you can tap Go to Text Ribbon . Alternatively you can access it from the System Settings menu . The Text Ribbon screen allows you to:

  • Drag-and-drop items to reorder your list. Alternatively, you can drag a text item in the text ribbon to shuffle it.

  • Tap Edit to select which items appear.

  • Tap Default to reload the default ribbon items for your machine.

  • Enable or disable the display of the text ribbon in the work screen.

System settings

The System Settings icon is on the work screen:

Use System Settings to access and configure various functions, including (but not limited to):

  • Dark Background
  • Units
  • File Transfer

The shortcut bar

The Back icon

The Back icon is in the top left‑hand side of the title bar:

You can tap the icon or title to return to the previous screen; either the Dashboard or work screen.

Work settings

The Work Settings icon is in the lower right-hand side of the work screen:

Use the Work Settings menu to access and configure those settings that change according to the requirements of each individual task, including (but not limited to):

  • Elevation Offset
  • Record Point