Autodesk Inventor

[#1]

I just noticed that 2013 can import point clouds; this is great news.  It's something I'd wanted for some years now. Thanks for adding that autodesk. 

There is precious little documentation on this feature.  I can happily index and attach my points (the scaling seems off...even though I set it to 1.0...) but I cannot seem to do much with the points beyond this.  Obviously, I would like to make a surface but the Surface tools don't seem to operate on these points.  There were no options during import, unlike other point imports, to make them show as points, splines, surface.

What can I do with these data?

Thanks!

[#2]

I've never really worked with point clouds, but since they provide points in space i'd imagine you could connect them using 3d-sketches.

You could then use the surface tools with those sketches.

[#3]

---

-niels- wrote:

.... i'd imagine you could connect them using 3d-sketches.

---

Have you tried it?

[#4]

Seeing as i've never really worked with point clouds... no.

But i can also imagine that, if you have a lot of points, this can be a near impossible task or at least a very time consuming one.

[#5]

I work With Point Coulds on a daily basis but there is little more there than reference information unles you want to do like they said and take forever making a 3d sketch

Brad

[#6 · Accepted solution]

I think at this time you would use similar to placing an image on a 2D sketch - for reference.

The point cloud serves as a sort of 3D reference image.  I think you need more expensive software to get some auto-tools for working with point clouds direclty.

[#7]

I had a feeling that they were limited to reference geometry, but hoped I was wrong.  Still, that is better than nothing.  Thanks for your input everyone.

[#8]

Check the Labs, I could swear they had something in there for Inventor surfacing based on point cloud data.  But, like everything else in there, its "use at own risk", not guaranteed to always be available, yadda yadda yadda.

[#9]

AutoCAD lets you import a point cloud (I'm on 2011).  If you shade the viewport, you get a sort-of greyscale shaded PC that looks pretty cool.  Zooming and paning around work fine.  All you can really do with it is snap to points and create construction lines.  Then surface from there or import the construction lines into another program for surfacing.

I'm Jonesin' for some serious PC tools.  They sure are slow to come.