Create a Tin Surface from .laz file?

[stevenZ45DY]

I have a lidar point cloud file in (.laz). I would like to create a TIN surface in Civil3D from this data but cannot directly create a surface. What is the best free method to convert this file and begin creating a surface in C3D?

Thanks!

[Domzinator]

This can be imported into recap and then you will be able to open the recap point cloud file in civil 3D

[Pointdump]

Hi Steven,
ReCap has a free version. You can use that to convert a laz point cloud into an rcp file that Civil 3D can use.
Your other free options are to convert the laz into an xyz file. For that, either las2text in lastools(also in QGIS) or CloudCompare.
Dave

[sirjoelsph]

We use DotSoft's LidarTools.  They've made this portion of their great add-on tools free for everyone.  Direct from LAZ to Civil 3D surface without dealing with ReCap in the middle.

https://dotsoft.com/blog/?p=508

[RobertoJJoaquin]

@stevenZ45DY You need to have the RECAP program installed, upload the point cloud, generate an rcp file, and after that in Civil 3D there is an option to create surfaces from point clouds, Another method is to change the laz file to an XYZ file but the file would be very large,

[stevenZ45DY]

My .laz file is a big square tile, much larger than my project area. Can I crop the tile down to my project area in Recap?

[stevenZ45DY]

It appears that I cannot export my needed file from the free version, only Pro. Is this correct?

[ianjchap]

Hi @stevenZ45DY

First convert your .laz to an .LAS file 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=convert+laz+to+las&hl=en-US&gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=gwKiWITVE5T0jwOS8Z_gDg

Then create a Surface from LAS:-
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/civil-3d-forum/las-to-civil-3d-surface/td-p/9792751

[Pointdump]

Hi Steven,
"Can I crop the tile down to my project area in Recap?"
Yes, use "regions" to crop.
"I cannot export my needed file from the free version..."
What happens when you try? Should work.
Dave

[neilyj666]

@sirjoelsph Unfortunately Dotsoft made the commercial decision to stop supporting the latest version of Civil 3D (2025) with the free tools

[sirjoelsph]

Dang @neilyj666 , you're right.  And they didn't make it cheap either...  Time to figure out yet another workaround.

[J-Porter]

You can't do this directly in Civil 3D.  If you have the AEC Collection then you have access to Recap.  Take the file into Recap and the export it from there.  Take a look at this:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLODyPJ02lt5-PE0GdDgZ93AyBLVGyI5XH&si=8RiW4Sv2AydOI26c

[Pointdump]

Hi Jason,
Nice cut-to-the-chase videos! Good job!
Dave

[J-Porter]

Thanks, Dave!!!  I hope they still work.  I only make the videos because I know I'm going to forget the process later.  

[Pointdump]

Hi Joel,
I just saw >>>Here<<< that Terry Dotson died in December. I wondered why he hadn't posted recently.
Dave

[J-Porter]

Sad!!!  So sad to hear this.  

[neilyj666]

@Pointdump 😲 never knew that about Terry.....

[teerawat.pSCHYQ]

Hi @stevenZ45DY   please try what @Domzinator reply to you,  you can use Autodesk Recap to import Laz file and then In Civil 3D you can import that recap file into Civil 3D, it like my project like this 

then open Civil 3D, then go to Point Cloud panel > Select Attach 

then in the home tap, go to Create Ground Data Panel then Select Surface>Create Surface from Point Cloud  like this 

[fcernst]

Wow.. he really helped me.. always open to implementing my Tool ideas. We had a lot of back and forth emails working on Tool ideas over the years.. will be missed tremendously. He was a good friend..

[sirjoelsph]

Thanks Dave @Pointdump, I hadn't seen that yet.  You're right I hadn't seen Terry post in a while, and he's usually right on top of topics like this.  It looks like Carlson Software acquired Dotsoft, so his work will at least still be around and supported.