Landscape/Terrain from shot points

Blastfurnace

Hello,
I am trying to find a way to create some sort of terrain from "shot" points.

I use a Trimble RTS to record various points on the grade around a site. These are not ISO-contours but more like a sampling of the grade in an area.

I import these points, via CSV point importer plug-in, into my SU but I need a way to connect or average these points into a terrain mesh. I have played with the sandbox tool but I don't know how to 'snap' it to my points and have it stay there while I manipulate the surrounding terrain.

SO imagine a SU model containing nothing but 25 point markers and wanting to terrain to those markers. Any ideas?

Thanks!!

pbacot

maybe this (Or similar plugin) works? http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34232#p301274

Then you might use sandbox tools or other terrain or smoothing tools you find appropriate to create a workable mesh. 25 points is not a lot to work with.

Blastfurnace

I agree 25 is not many. Such is the way with RTS, unlike a scanner which records a 'cloud' of points the RTS I place the prism then record the single point. It takes much longer.If I use the TX5 scanner the point clouds are way to big and filled with data I don't need.

Most of my 'shots' are of equipment or pads for equipment to sit on but I also like to capture some amount of the surrounding grade so that there is a visual reference. A detailed grade is rarely necessary so as of now I just connect the grade shots with lines to make faces.

while this result 'works' it isn't as smooth as I would like. the Sandbox tools seem to be on the right track but when I drag a surface up to a Construction point and then go to drag a different surface it can easily move my first one off of the point. I need to play with the radius parameter. I have spent the last hour watching video instruction on sandbox.

i will try that triangulate plug in and see if it helps also.

Thank you for your reply,

M

@pbacot said:

maybe this (Or similar plugin) works? http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34232#p301274

Then you might use sandbox tools or other terrain or smoothing tools you find appropriate to create a workable mesh. 25 points is not a lot to work with.

pbacot

Right, I don't think the approach you were trying with SB is going to work--unless I totally misunderstand. With 25 points you could quickly draw edges to make triangles and take it from there. With that TIN mesh you can apply sandbox "from contours" to smooth, "add detail" or use any number of other mesh manipulating plugins. I think you are using the "smoove tool"? Not what it's for.

Offhand regarding editing a simple mesh: Try "select none" (this is good to set to a hot key) and then the move tool and move point by point, not surfaces. It is easier if you have "VertexTools" plugin. But you may not need to use this method at all at this point.