Importing survey into mesh

[Anonymous]

my surveys come in as .dwg Most come without .shx files. The book mentions xyz, could I interpret pts to xyz and get the result in AC14? or what do I tell the surveyor as to the form of the file I need to implement this feature in AC14

[Erika Epstein]

As it says in the Reference guide
"Import any text file containing xyz data (e.g. surveyor’s data), or similar data, into ArchiCAD,
creating a Mesh element automatically."

[Anonymous]

I read that about text file, my question is: can I, change the dwg file received into a "txt" file?

[Erich]

Archimamamia wrote:
I read that about text file, my question is: can I, change the dwg file received into a "txt" file?

No not directly. Ask your surveyor to provide point file for the survey. Typically this will come as a .txt file listing the xyz coordinates of the measured point of the survey.

[Anonymous]

Another option could be to download DWG/DXF to XYZ file converters. I haven't tried any yet so I can't vouch for it. But I have seen quite a few search results that make it seem valid and possible.

[Anonymous]

This is the main reason I made the upgrade from v10 to v14.
Although my six month old Macbook pro had a heart attack the day I received my software.
Can't wait to load it onto my new hard disk and start making it pay.

[Rafal SLEK]

Xyz file works fine for me. Only problem is that the file should be prepared properly outside ArchiCAD. AC could not interpret it in another way (eg. zyx, skip first line etc).
Importing data is very fast and the mesh is shown ready to place (in ArchiTerra you import points and then prepare borders and then generate mesh)

[ares997]

I'm about to import a file from a surveryor and I was wondering if the contours are present in the file (xyz or txt). Basically does Archicad translate that information and make a nice contour lines when it imports or is that something I need to add myself? The reason for the question is that I want to be able to see those contours in 2d so I can easily laser cut it. Though it sometimes doesn't matter what the contours are set at it really has to do with the scale and thickness of the material for that you are going to laser cut.

I just am curious if the contours are represented in 2d and/or if there is a method for representing that data in 2d some how?

Thanks.

[David Maudlin]

ares997 wrote:
I just am curious if the contours are represented in 2d and/or if there is a method for representing that data in 2d some how?

ares997:

There is a method described in this thread, but the contours are straight line segments at each mesh plane, not curving contour lines:
Getting contour lines from a mesh

David

[vfrontiers]

David wrote:

ares997 wrote:
I just am curious if the contours are represented in 2d and/or if there is a method for representing that data in 2d some how?

ares997:

There is a method described in this thread, but the contours are straight line segments at each mesh plane, not curving contour lines:
Getting contour lines from a mesh

David

R wrote:
Thanks for the tips, guys.

I used a vertical stack of slabs to generate the contour lines, with SEO to automatically update them as the mesh changes. This generates all 16 contour lines in one step. It allows me to concentrate on the high points, valleys, and various spot elevations that I want to see on the site, and let the contours draw themselves.

So here it is, almost 1 year after this old thread....

Just ran across it and thought why not combine the two techniques into one... I created a VERY simple object that puts alternating slabs (tried it with planes but didn't produce the results)... for you to place as an object and INTERSECT with your mesh..

I found if you use the FREE MESH, it will add the GRID lines of the mesh; which are not contours. But the regular mesh works great...

I suppose, if you want SOLID contour lines, you can simply PLACE your 3d Document on top of your mesh in a layout to see them. This way it will constantly update...

Try it out if you're still interested.