3d terrain modelling from spot elevations

cholland

i am looking to create 3d terrain from spot elevations. I have an
Autocad file that has spot elevations only. I have imported the file
into Sketchup and the spot elevations show up as small x's at varying
heights (as per the elevations). I have tried using the various sandbox tools with no success. Can somebody point me in the right direction?

many thanks
CH

TIG

You are part way there.
You can't make the mesh from 'points' with the Sandbox Tools.
You need a free third party tool to make the mesh from the 'cloud' of dots.
First - are these dots guide-points select one and get Entity Info.
If so then you can use these directly; if not it's probably a component ?
If it's a component edit it and place a guide-point at its origin.
Erase any other geometry in the edit, leaving the guide-point behind in the component.
All of the components should be changed.
Select them all and Explode them [right-click context-menu item option]
Now you have guide-points.
You can select the points and use 'Cloud' Plugin to join these into a mesh...
Didier Bur's points_cloud_triangulation.rb is available at http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/EM/points_cloud_triangulation.rb
and/or cloud6.zip http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/em_geo_page.htm
I think you might even be able to use component-markers directly without the guide-point swapping out...
It might also need delauney2.rb ? Read the file notes...
These threads also has related stuff http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4276 and http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=122770#p122770 and http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=1537

cholland

Thanks for the help, I have downloaded the plugins and the following appears under the plugin pull down :import point cloud and then triangulate points. The triangulate points seems to work , but the cloud one wants me to import a file . Any ideas or do I just use the triangulate plugin ?

Thanks again
CH

TIG

Just use triangulate... it should give you what you want.
The cloud tools take data from a file that has a list of 3d points in it in various formats - sometime you get these from a surveyor as well as a dwg - if so you don't need the steps of importing the dwg at all as you can bring the points straight in and make a surface without it...