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DEM Import for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012

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Message 1 of 11
allysonduncan88
5469 Views, 10 Replies

DEM Import for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012

 

I am issues with DEM files that I am downloading from the USGS website.

 

I download 24k, elevation for the area I need. I then choose staged 1 second, add a surface to a blank drawing, then upload the DEM files to the surface.

 

The surface imports correcty, but when I try to import  points taken by a surveyor on the same drawing, they plot incorrectly.The DEM surface and the points from the surveyor do not correspond. Also, the DEM surface is in meters, not feet.

 

What am I doing wrong? I have tried changing drawing settings, datum types, coordinate types, etc.

 

Thanks!

10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11

Look at the Metadata regarding the DEM to confirm that it is in the system you expect. Then verify the system and datum of the survey data and how it was determined. After you've confirmed that and it still doesn't work should you look for errors in the software or your procedures.

 

You say the datum is in meters. Are the survey points also in meters?

 

Allen



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 3 of 11

I will check into this, thanks for your quick response. My theory was that the survey points need to be converted to correspond with the DEM data, but that still doesn't explain why the datum imports in meters when I specify feet when setting up the drawing.

 

The survey data imports in feet.

 

Message 4 of 11

I don't work with DEMs much. It looks like you have to enter the information on the DEM manually. At least in the test I did. Hopefully the survey points are in a defined system, not a local one. If they're not in a defined system the only way to "convert" them to the system you import the DEM in would be by eyeball. Hopefully things will look better when you get the DEM in in Feet.

 

Allen

 

Actualy it looks like I had the first try wrong. I think this one is better. Also: make sure whether you need to import as International Feet or US Survey Feet.

 

dem2.PNG



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 5 of 11
jamesmac1200
in reply to: AllenJessup

Here is the problem I am having. Here are the steps I took:

1)  Assigned a coordinate system to the drawing

2)  I created a new TIN surface

3)  I added the DEM surface from the Prospector (Surface - Definition - DEM files)

Here is the problem:

4)  (see attached) attempted to change the coordinate system of the DEM but unable to do so.

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Civil 3D 2016 SP4
Intel Xeon CPU E5-1620 v3 @ 3.50 GHz
40GB RAM
64-Bit
Window 7 Professional
Message 6 of 11
AllenJessup
in reply to: jamesmac1200

If you click in the field twice, you should get the ellipsis button.

 

Allen

 

dem3.png



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 7 of 11
jamesmac1200
in reply to: AllenJessup

Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately that didn't work. I know what I did wrong. I didn't add the coordinate system when I initially added the DEM file. When I went into the properties to add the coordinate system later, I didn't have the option to do so. So to whomever read this, make sure to add the DEM coordinate system with the DEM file at the same time. Otherwise your DEM surface will come in some random location and size Smiley Happy

Civil 3D 2016 SP4
Intel Xeon CPU E5-1620 v3 @ 3.50 GHz
40GB RAM
64-Bit
Window 7 Professional
Message 8 of 11
BrianHailey
in reply to: jamesmac1200

If you have the infrastructure design suite, import the DEM file into Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler and then export it as a .imx file. Bring that into C3D.

 

Haven't really tried it but it "should" work.

Brian J. Hailey, P.E.



GEI Consultants
My Civil 3D Blog

Message 9 of 11

For some help with bringing DEM files directly into C3D, see this post I did a while back:

http://civil3dplus.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/using-dem-information-in-civil-3d/ 

Brian J. Hailey, P.E.



GEI Consultants
My Civil 3D Blog

Message 10 of 11
jamesmac1200
in reply to: BrianHailey

Just FYI, that post is great. I printed it and placed it in my continuity folder (also saved as my favorites)

Civil 3D 2016 SP4
Intel Xeon CPU E5-1620 v3 @ 3.50 GHz
40GB RAM
64-Bit
Window 7 Professional
Message 11 of 11

Sorry about joining on a very, very old post, but I am encountering a problem related to that ellipsis. It doesn't show up in the dialog box for a Grid Surface, although it does show for a TIN. I have to use Grid to be able to use the USGS Tiff dems. I have windows 10, a fresh civil 3d 2017 install and I have been playing with DPI and item size settings as suggested by an old post I found. I did try to extend the value from side to side of my screen and I have tried the TAB ENTER trick to no avail. Any insight would be extremely appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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