Cleargraph#
Created in collaboration with Western Power Distribution (now part of National Grid) and Network Rail, Cleargraph is a Python application written to help maximise the safety of power towers and poles, by calculating the clearance required for overhead lines.
Previously a Microstation-based application used by WPD and Network Rail, and dating back as far as 2001, Cleargraph creates a 2D contour showing the maximum safe height of a structure near overhead power cables, based on their range of motion as they sway in potentially very high winds.
A Brief History of Cleargraph#
Way, way back in May 2001, dhp11 began development on ‘Cleargraph 2’ — a replacement for WPD’s ‘Cleargraph’ Tower Line Clearance modelling software. This was so long ago that feature requests and feedback were delivered via mail! The original version was developed in Microsoft Basic (if you can believe it!) and output graphs to a dot-matrix printer. Retro! dhp11’s conversion was written for Microstation PowerDraft, a CAD software platform for two- and three-dimensional design and drafting, by Bentley.
Cleargraph development continued sporadically until around 2006, when we converted Cleargraph to Microstation PowerDraft V8 — an undertaking so significant that we created an entirely new Project for it! We upgraded it again in 2010 — this time to Microstation V8i — but both development and seeming interest in the product waned shortly after. There weren’t even any entries about it on our internal wiki — until now!
From MicroStation to Python#
Now, in 2024, it’s time to reawaken the old Cleargraph beast — but it’s due for a serious makeover. To separate it from Microstation, we’re rewriting it in Python (with a little bit of C sprinkled in, just for good measure).