I’m using a program (Realtime Landscaping) that allows users to import elevation data, stating
”The Terrain Elevation Import Wizard imports terrain elevation points from CAD files in DWG and DXF format, as well as elevation points in XLS, XLSX, and CSV format. This is useful for importing elevation data from other CAD software or from files generated by GPS survey equipment.
Once the elevation data has been imported, the wizard will automatically create contour lines that can be edited normally.”
The software does not have the capability of selecting arbitrary points to enter elevation data; you CAN use contour lines, but I don’t have contour data. It was recommended to try using short contour lines in lieu of points, but it interpolates differently than our terrain. Here’s what the scattering of elevated contours looks like:
So… I do have an elevation survey (PDF) of our property with a bunch of elevation points; however, as I assume is standard, the points don’t adhere to any grid.
The scattering of contours is 3D, with the elevations placed based on using the PDF as a reference drawing, but it’s done in Realtime Landscaping. As noted, the interpolation isn’t accurate in many places.
Regarding creating points and Patch, I don’t think that will create the type of elevation points needed to import to Realtime Landscaping.That said, I could import it as an object and use it as reference.
Is there a way to set points to specific heights, and adjust their heights by entering the desired height (rather than calculating it)? The Z height (lower left) appears to remain at 0.
In Rhino use SetPt command. Start SetPt, select the point as the object to transform, check only “set Z” and type the desired height. SetPt | Rhino 3-D modeling
Once you have a surface in Rhino that represents the terrain, you can section it, extract points from the sections, and export these as a CSV file.
-wim
I have the surface modeled based on setting elevations for each point & using Patch.
However, I’m not sure how to take the steps to create the sections needed for the elevation points, or how to get those into a .csv file, and am not sure what the options would be, e.g. a 1’ grid with 6” elevation increments.
I’m attaching the file in case anyone would like to look at it for reference.
Actually - after a bit of experimenting, I’ve found that creating closed contours seems to work the best. No extra prep is needed. Individual points also seem to work, but I have to test it out to check elevations.
