Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
(OP)
I have a csv file with coordinates of a quarry. When I open up the file there is no elevation showing. It's almost as if SolidWorks flattens the point cloud onto one plane. Why is this happening? Attached is a file containing csv file.






RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I think your .csv file has some data issues.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
ps. I still ran into problems. I've attached the text file with the corrected elevation values.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Hopefully one of the SW gurus has a better idea.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7800569,-84.435145...
A little background information on how I got the points.
1. I was supplied a contour plot of the quarry. The drawing is a 2d sketch.
2. When I click on a contour line, I can see what elevation it has in the properties box.
3. I move each contour line to a new layer. Each layer represents a particular elevation.
4. I then explode all the contour lines (because they are polylines at this point).
5. I then open this dwg file in SolidWorks and set the option to have each layer in the dwg as a new sketch (hence the reason why I separated each different elevation contour to its own layer).
6. In each sketch I fit a spline to the points and simplified the spline geometry.
7. I then exported all the points in each sketch to Excel using a macro I found online.
8. Here is where I think I am messing up. Since exporting the points in a sketch only gives the planar coordinates, I have to manually insert the elevation data in Excel.
Example: I click on the sketch containing the contour lines for elevation 540ft. I export the points to Excel. I add a column of 540. I repeat this process for the other sketches.
The drawing was made in progeCAD and you can get a free trial download on Google.
I'm starting to think that maybe my elevation values I added are incorrect.
I have included the dwg file if anyone is willing to open it up in progeCAD to see the contours.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I can see the ridge (red), the water is kind of there (blue).
Are you sure of the contour intervals? As I stated earlier, it appears that you are working with a land area that is some 243,000 units by 245,000 units, yet your depth is only 58 units. That is a depth that is approx. 0.02% of the length and width of your plot. With this ratio the cloud is going to look pretty flat.
Are you sure your contour intervals are 2 units?
Based on the Google map the quarry looks to be about 2000ft across in the east/west direction. This seems to imply that your plan view units might be the issue. 2000ft times 12 inches per foot = 24000inches. This go so happens to be about 1/10 of you plan view coordinate size. Is it possible (doesn't seem like) but could your plan view coords be off by an order of magnitude?
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I imported the same file into recap and then CAD. It looked about the same. I can see the outlines of the contours in the points, and the outline of the quarry walls are apparent, but I have no idea if the elevations make sense.
We have the scanto3D add-in, so importing points into SW is simply opening the text file.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Edit: I asked for the survey data and they do not have the 3D point data. Hence my frustration of manually adding in the elevation data.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I still feel like there is a countour elevations unit issue relative to your plot plan coords as it seem like your cloud is just very flat, little elevation change. I know I am repeting myself but are you sure those are 2unit interval and not 5, 10, 20 ...
20 & 2, there is that order of magnitude again
And you did say that you had to add the elevation data. Who gave you the plot data, maybe you can contact them and ask what the countour increments are relative to the plot coords.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
You are correct. I had to manually insert the elevation data in Excel. The person who gave me this file does not know the correlation between contour increments and plot coordinates.
Edit: Importing just finished. No success. Point cloud is still squashed. I'm not sure of any accurate way to obtain the scaling factor I need.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
FYI: this response was related to your previous last response, you posted while I was typing
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
First a correction:
I initially stated that it looked like you had a depth of 584units, this should have been 58 units (584-526). This also make you elevation only 0.02% (two one-hundredths of a percent) of your plot area. Yes this is going to produce a very flat cloud.
Also your new data file, it seem you striped a lot of data from the file which is something I was going to talk about for testing. But I notice your elevations now have a 584unit range, but it jumps from 526 to 1110. ???
OK, new line of thinking:
*You stated that your data guys says the units are feet, correct ???
*How do we know the magnitude of the units between contour intervals ???
*Based on some views from the side of the quarry, a depth of 500 something feet looks a lot more accurate than 50 something feet ???, my thinking is 500ish based on quarries I have seen
Based on you initial data set it appears that you have 25 + maybe 5 missing elevation sets of data. If the contour are only 2ft that makes a roughly 60ft deep quarry. This quarry LOOKS to be much deeper than that, so maybe they are 20ft contours which makes a more reasonable 600ft deep quarry. ???
And again going back to the Google map view the quarry appears to be in the range of 2000± feet across. Posted this already, but again is it possible that the plan data is in hundreds of a foot, such that your plot area of 243,000 by 245,000 is hundredths of a foot ==> this really being 2430ft, and 2450ft (fairly close to my 2000ft rough estimate of the width of this quarry).
???
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Yea. I have a masters degree in aerospace engineering and have been looking to get into my career since graduating 2013. I initially got this job as a guy out on the manufacturing floor but then the higher ups found out I have degrees and SW experience and I got moved into the office. Still looking for an aerospace job though.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Based on the contour plot you sent. The elevation along the rim at what loks to be some sort of pumphouse looks to be at 850 units. The deepest part of the lake appears to be in the southeast corner is is at 526 units. That is a difference of 324 units. I think you assumed each of your sets/layers of data represented each 2unit (brown) contour line. I contend that each of your datasets/layers is for each 10unit (green) contour line.
Why?
Based on your inital data and the elevation coords you added, there are 30 layers of data. Approximatley 300units of elevation devided by 30 sets/layers says these are 10unit intervals. Plus if you go on the assumption that the bottom of the lake is at 526units and add 30 2units layers you only get up to elevation 586units as your first set of data suggested. However we know that the rim of the quarry is somewhere in the neighborhood of 850units.
Therefore:
The contour intervals of your data must be 10units. Most likely feet, because if it were meters this quarry would be approximately 1000feet deep. Can't see that, 300feet sounds more reasonable.
OK, now your plan view coords. Based on the fact that you just told me your plot is 615units x 510units and the idea the per the Google map the lake appears to approx 2000ft wide, 615 meters times 3.28fet per meter reults in 2017feet.
So based on this I think your contour elevation are at 10foot intervals and that your plan view data is in meters.
So I think you need to convert you plan view data to feet (devide by 3.28) and change your contour intervals to 10feet (change 526 to 530, then 528 to 540, 530 to 550, after 30 layers you will be at the rim of the quarry (850ish).
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Edit: I just figured out my problem. After I move the contours to their own elevation layers I explode each contour because SW had problems opening the sketch. I got the error below.
Entities within a block can't be merged with entities in other block. The Explode Blocks option is recommended for merging.
So to get around this error I exploded each contour line. SW had no problem opening the drawing then. Here's the kicker, if I explode a contour line that starts at an x value of 30.155809, the x value changes to 352.735189!!!
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Which explains why I was not seeing this little flat area between these two shear walls
Your data just goes up to that first wall.
In this case I agree with your data sets being on 2unit (thinking feet per above) intervals. This still leaves the plan coords in meters and contours in feet issue to resolve. And I still believe the plan units are most likely meters based on your 615 x 510 surrounding box and a 2000 x 1500 foot looking Google maps plot area.
You’re making a fishing map of the lake bottom aren’t you?
I had now idea there was something this close to Atlanta. Has this been turned into a park of some sort? FYI, I am just up the road in Greenville, SC. Good luck on your career. Nothing in Charleston with Boing?
Take care,
david
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
No luck with Boeing or any other aerospace company. Very competitive.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
As far as career, hang in there something will come along. Have a GREAT weekend now that we will finally get a SUNNY one.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Edit: I see you are only trying to model a small area now.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Yaaaa, that "I see you are only trying to model a small area now" would have been good to know earlier on, it would have resolved a lot of the unit issue the data appeared to have
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I am very curious. Where is this quarry? It looks very similar to one I know.
- - -Updraft
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
I don't think it will work well to import the complete tin, so I created a mesh of just the contours in the drawing. The first trial mesh of the complete site was 350Mb, and SW will not like that very much. I attached a dwg with a solid model, but it does not sound like you have a package that can export this to an .iges or .step file for SW. I will post a link to an .iges file or sldprt later. I have to go to site for a few hours now and SW is still working on importing the .iges file created from CAD.
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
https://www.hightail.com/download/ZWJWd0VESEJoMlVs...
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
iges file: https://www.hightail.com/download/ZWJWd0VORkVCMTd2...
2015 SW file of partial model: https://www.hightail.com/download/ZWJWd0VORkUzS29L...
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
RE: Opening point cloud in SolidWorks
Edit: I found a solution. I just extruded a sketch from the bottom to the surface and hid the surface. Now I can do all my operations on the solid.