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LiDAR data

4 REPLIES 4
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Message 1 of 5
rbunner
290 Views, 4 Replies

LiDAR data

We have approximately 30 miles of an area the will be profiled.  My question is has anyone experienced large LiDAR surfaces and if Civil 3d can handle this?  Should I create separate drawings for the surfaces just to break it up? I know it will create MMS files. We are currently using Civil 3D 2012.

 

Thanks!

Rhonda

4 REPLIES 4
Message 2 of 5
ToddRogers-WPM
in reply to: rbunner

For large lidar data, I recommend bringing it in as a point cloud.  Once the point cloud is there, click it, right-click and choose Add Points to Surface to create a Civil 3D surface from it.



Todd Rogers
BIM Manager
Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn

Message 3 of 5
mnorton
in reply to: rbunner

Hi, Rhonda

 

I've had to break up long alignments (600+ miles) into spreads.  Our client dictated the length of each spread which worked out ok - about 150 miles each.  C3D balked at 600 miles but not a hiccup at 125.  My alignment(s) are in a single drawing which becomes my alignment source drawing for data referencing.

 

I keep my LIDAR in a drawing by itself and create a surface swath along the alignment using a data boundary.  I create the swath by data referencing the alignment and then offsetting it just far enough to each side to create my profile.  My offsets are far enough out that I can label existing contours in my plans.  Once I create the swath boundary, I can remove the data referenced alignment.  This drawing becomes my surface source drawing for data referencing.

 

I then data reference my surface and my alignment into my profile drawing and create the profile(s).


Mike Norton - The Civil Guy
Message 4 of 5
mathewkol
in reply to: rbunner

The problem with creating a surface from a point cloud is that it's limited to roughly 1.5M points. If your data contains 6Million points, your surface will hold 1.5M max!

I never use point clouds to make surfaces for this reason...unless I have only LiDAR-type files, LAS etc, then I have little choice. If you have an XYZ files, it's best to make the surface directly from it, assuming you need all the points.

P.s., I've asked the question and I've never been given a good answer, "How does the software decide which 1.5M points to use?"
Matt Kolberg
SolidCAD Professional Services
http://www.solidcad.ca /
Message 5 of 5
ToddRogers-WPM
in reply to: mathewkol

Matt is correct.  I was assuming it was an LAS file.  



Todd Rogers
BIM Manager
Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn

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