What is the difference between an Earthen Material and an Earthen Select Material?
This question comes up regularly.
An Earthen Material is a Material that typically exists natively in the ground - i.e. Soil, Clay, Sandstone, Rock etc. These materials are automatically used in the Mass Haul Analysis. These materials are defined in the Earthen category of the MSI (Materials and Site Improvement Manager).
An Earthen Select material is a Material that is typically created through a Material Process (as an output) or is purchased from a supplier or is mined from a quarry or borrow site for example. These materials can be optionally added into the Mass Haul analysis through a checkbox in the materials definition in the MSI Manager. Examples would include Crushed Rock, Aggregate, Structural Fill, Asphalt or Concrete.
Other Material categories can be defined and other materials created but these cannot be used in a Mass Haul Analysis. Only Earthen and those selected from the Earthen Select categories will be used in a Mass Haul analysis.
If you are creating Material Sets or Material Processes in the MSI Manager, you can only select Materials from the Earthen or Earthen Select categories for either function, as these functions are tied to the Mass Haul Analysis functions of Trimble Business Center.