Working with Point Clouds

[Anonymous]

Hi there!

I work for a company that produces Scan to BIM/as-built models primarily in Revit. Currently we work with FARO scanners and our data is processed in Scene and exported to formats compatible with Revit.

After learning that ArchiCAD 19 has the ability to bring in point cloud data I wanted to try it myself, so I am currently in the middle of my 1 month trial period. It's worth noting that I have never used ArchiCAD before so please bear with me!

I imported my black and white point clouds using both XYZ and e57 formats. I found that the e57 came in showing every point as absolute black whilst the XYZ seemed to display correctly. Is there some sort of option or setting I am missing that might cause this display issue?

Also, whilst importing point clouds, converting it and placing it based on the point clouds origin point works correctly upon initial import, if I later remove the point cloud and then replace it as an 'object' I can no longer place it by origin point and instead by a weighted central point of the point cloud. Again I am not sure if this is just my lack of knowledge with the software or if the feature is not in this version of the software.

I did search the forum and came across this topic, but there didn't seem to be a clear answer either way.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Simon

[fuzzytnth3]

I take it you watched this movie?

Movie

[Anonymous]

fuzzytnth3 wrote:
I take it you watched this movie?

Movie

Hi!

I have been through the point cloud video playlist yes, it was a good introduction to the features! My issue comes from the fact that once the .lcf file is created and you try to place it you do not get the 'Place point cloud' dialog box which allows you to place based on the point cloud origin. This box only appears directly after a file conversion from XYZ / e57.

It's probably worth mentioning actually that I have found a way around the black e57 point cloud issue. After exporting an e57 from Scene, bringing it into Autodesk Recap, decimating it and then exporting again to e57 I can then bring in that new file and it appears correctly in grey-scale. The direct e57 export from Scene was not working the same way for some reason.

I would still like some confirmation about the point cloud origin issue though. If it's something I'm missing I'd like to know!

[Laszlo Nagy]

So you are saying that when you are in the Create Point Cloud Objects Dialog during the import process:

https://youtu.be/sGb_hJ8t7FE?t=91

you do not have the Create and Place button available or active?

Also, the Place Point Clouds Dialog should also come up when you can specify how to place the Point Cloud Object:

https://youtu.be/sGb_hJ8t7FE?t=107

I am wondering whether the Move Selected Point Cloud by Origin command helps you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cCPaVXukzc&list=PLnXY6vLUwlWWW2G9Ve7MxoLW2tZ9TWFMW&index=14

If you activate this command, then click the Project Origin with your mouse, then the Point Cloud will be relocated so its internal Origin will be located at the Project Origin.

[Ferenc_Traser]

Simon,

While you may be able to set which parameters correspond to what numbers in the XYZ file, E57 files contain that information. So if your E57 pointcloud became all black, the problem is with the file itself.

The LCF contains the point cloud data file (.gsps) and the GDL file that refers to it. You may unpack these two, but it's better to have them as a single entity, since if the gsps is gone, you won't be able to see the point cloud in ARCHICAD.

If you place it later, you may put it anywhere on the floor plan and from the context menu you can move it to any desired point.

[Mats_Knutsson]

Dear Graphisoft,

The black cloud issue is reducing the value of the functionality of point clouds. Could you create a manual about how to "order" the point cloud so that it shows up properly in greyscale or in colour? e57 have smaller file size that xyz which makes it the more appealing choice.

I've tried 6 clouds in our projects. The first one was perfect...the rest black crap.

/Mats

[mikas]

Hear, hear.

I too used ReCap (like Simon above) free version to convert a cloud (e57 or xyz, cant remember) from BW to grayscale. It is a hassle though, I'd like to get the files readable by ArchiCAD without any conversions. I have talked with the point cloud measuring company, but we didn't find a way, at least not yet. They use Leica systems. Now I am to be receiving another point cloud from another company. Lets see what happens next.

A guide, even a deeper guide about formats, would be really nice. There are a ton of point cloud software out there today, but we would not want to pay thousands for them. They are after all only helper programs for us to get things to work like they should work.

Cloud Compare did not work for the above task. 3DVEM is yet to be tested, and a of couple others maybe.

Btw. ReCap is not available for Mac. Fortunately I have a WinPC nowadays too.

[Christophe Fortineau]

mikas wrote:
Cloud Compare did not work for the above task. 3DVEM is yet to be tested, and a of couple others maybe.

CloudCompare in 2020 is able to work for the above task as I explain into this link :
https://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=68852

mikas wrote:
Btw. ReCap is not available for Mac. Fortunately I have a WinPC nowadays too.

It's a freeware available for windows, macOS and Linux.

[Steve Jepson]

AutoCAD ReCap is $310/month here in the USA
https://www.autodesk.com/products/recap/overview

[mikas]

Christophe wrote:

mikas wrote:
Btw. ReCap is not available for Mac. Fortunately I have a WinPC nowadays too.

It's a freeware available for windows, macOS and Linux.

ReCap still seems to be win 64-bit only. I think you meant CloudCompare is? Maybe I should check it again after these couple of years of further development. Thanks for a reminder.