Drawing Surfaces
Menu: Civil / Start / Surfaces / Stockpile / Drawing
The Drawing Tab in VisionLidar’s Civil Module provides tools for visualizing, modifying, and optimizing surfaces through graphical representation and triangulation techniques. This section explains how to effectively draw, erase, triangulate, and simplify surfaces for enhanced performance and analysis.
1. Understanding the Drawing Tab
✔ Manages Graphical Elements of the Surface
Draw or erase surface elements such as points, outlines, breaklines, and triangles.
Preview different surface representations using shortcut keys.
✔ Provides Triangulation & Surface Editing Tools
Perform Delaunay triangulation and refine surface accuracy.
Edit, delete, and switch triangles for better surface geometry.
Simplify surfaces by reducing redundant points and optimizing slope analysis.
2. Available Functions in the Drawing Tab
Drawing/Erasing Surface Elements
Button | Description |
|---|---|
Points | Draws or erases all surface points. |
Outline | Draws or erases the surface boundary (outline) from the Outline tab. |
Lines | Draws or erases breaklines from the Breaklines tab. |
Triangles | Draws or erases triangles from the Triangles tab. |
Graphical Preview Shortcuts
Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
Z | Recenter the drawing for a full view. |
T | Show/hide the surface as a solid color. |
F | Show/hide triangle segments. |
P | Show/hide surface points. |
L | Show/hide breaklines. |
3. Triangulation & Surface Editing
Button | Description |
|---|---|
Triangulate | Generates surface triangles using the Delaunay method. Two options: "Draft" (ignores breaklines & outlines) and "Triangulate on surface plan" (for vertical triangulation). |
Make Outline | Creates an outline around a triangulated surface, with Max Edge Length defining segment limits. |
Edit Triangles | Adjusts triangles by switching their shared base to improve surface geometry. |
Delete Triangles | Removes selected triangles from the surface. |
4. Advanced Surface Optimization Tools
Pick and Drape Lines on TIN
Projects a selected line or polyline onto the loaded surface.
If “Create new points on intersections” is checked, a point is added at each triangle intersection.
Calculate Average Slope
Computes the average slope along a selected polyline or within the polygon it forms.
The annotation appears at the triangle’s center.
Simplify Points of Surface
Reduces the number of points by dividing the surface into a grid.
Only one point per grid cell is kept if the elevation variation is within tolerance.
The process repeats for subdivided grids based on set parameters.
“Use Plane” mode uses distance from the average plane instead of elevation variation.
Simplify Triangulation
Optimizes triangles by analyzing slope and elevation variations.
Removes triangles with insignificant slope/elevation changes.
Breaklines can also be extracted and simplified with maximum deviation and variation settings.
5. Best Practices for Surface Drawing & Optimization
✔ Use preview shortcuts to efficiently analyze surface elements.
✔ Triangulate with breaklines & outlines for higher accuracy.
✔ Simplify surfaces before exporting to enhance processing speed.
✔ Use “Calculate Average Slope” to assess terrain inclination in large projects.
✔ Apply draping tools to align polylines accurately on triangulated surfaces.
🚀 Enhance Surface Visualization & Processing in VisionLidar!
With powerful visualization, triangulation, and optimization tools, VisionLidar allows precise surface modeling for terrain, engineering, and BIM applications. Streamline workflows, optimize surfaces, and improve efficiency! 🌍📏🏗️