Import and create a surface from a point cloud in Civil 3D

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In Civil 3D, you can create and import custom surfaces from existing point clouds

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—for example, from a point cloud created in ReCap Pro.

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Open a new Civil 3D drawing using the desired template—in this case, the Imperial template.

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Verify that the coordinate system is set to ID83-EF.

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Verify that your UNITS are set to US Survey Feet.

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From the Insert tab, in the Point Cloud panel, select Attach.

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Navigate to and select the point cloud *.rcp or *.rcs file, and then click Open.

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In the Attach Point Cloud dialog, you can adjust the insertion point, scale, and other properties.

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When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK.

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Note that you must have your hardware accelerator turned ON to view point clouds.

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The point cloud is imported and appears in the drawing.

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Selecting the point cloud populates several editing options and tools.

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From the Home tab, in the Create Ground Data panel, expand the Surfaces drop-down and select Create Surface from Point Cloud.

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Select your Point Cloud from the screen.

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In the Create TIN Surface from Point Cloud dialog, the General settings include adding a name and description,

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as well as selecting a style.

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When finished with these options, click Next.

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In the Point Cloud Selection settings, choose the appropriate selection option, based on your requirements.

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Surface size can be significantly reduced by adjusting the Distance Between Points value.

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For this example, modify the Distance Between Points to 5’.

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The higher the value or distance specified, the fewer the number of points used in the surface.

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Click Next.

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In the Non-Ground Point Filtering settings, select the appropriate Filter method.

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The infographic visually depicts each filter method option.

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For this example, select No Filter.

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Click Create Surface.

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A popup indicates that Civil 3D will create the surface in the background, and that you will be notified when the process is complete.

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Click Close.

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When the surface is created, click the link in the popup to display the surface.

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You can also change the surface style.

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Select the contour surface, then right-click and select Surface Properties.

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In the Surface Properties dialog, set the Surface style using the drop-down list, and then click OK.