Point Cloud Export Question

1

It would be great if I could export the point set used in the Rock Surveyor contour generation. It would make my workflow easier. I know I can download all the points but if I download the Rock Surveyor Point Cloud ground, is that the same points? Trying to have a workable full set of points I can download and throw in a Civil 3D Surface?

2

You just want the ground points correct. No other points?

3

Just the same ones used in generating the contours, yes. If it had multilple classifications that’s fine. I know I can download them I just don’t get anywhere near the same contours when I make a surface in CAD from those points.

4

@Daniel have you tried exporting Rock Surveyor Grid?

5

I have but its a uniform grid - I am trying to eseential recreate the contours your provide via points in a civil 3d surface - which would let me just add my field points to said surface and be done instead of going through virtual surveyor.

6

@Daniel we are looking into this.

7

any luck? just had another request for it. We want to build the surface using whatever was used to make the Rock Surveyor contours. no matter what I download - if I make a surface with it it looks nothing like that.

8

@Daniel What format would you want this in?

9

I’d take a dxf of the points and lines or a text file of the points, whatever I can get into Civil 3D.

10

@Daniel how about a ply file of the TIN surface?

11

I’d be happy to give it a shot!

12

@Daniel using the Grid export now uses the same processing as the contour generation uses. If you use 5 as the quality when your dataset is in feet this will give you the closest to the input for the contours.

Note, once the contours are generated there are additional processing on the actual contour lines to simplify/smooth. You wont get that with just the points.

13

Thanks! I will give it a shot! Will this work on any project or just new ones?

14

@Daniel it will certainly work on projects within the last couple of months.

15

Just a bit of information, the TIN or “PLY” export file can be opened with “CloudCompare” and then exported as a DXF. The DXF can then be used in a CAD program for making the surface model. This was a workaround I figured out today without having to use a high density GRID export. These steps are a substitute for a “LandXML” file for use in Carlson Civil software. Chime in if you know an easier way to get a TIN to the engineer who asks for every CAD compatible file format he can get from my R2A LiDAR. :slight_smile: