Forums >> Community >> Newbies >> Head in the "point" clouds

NickM80

active

Joined: Wed, Jul 13, 2011
3 Posts
No Rating

A quick hello to the Revit City members. As a quick introduction and history I have been operating laser scanners for the last 4 years and have a pretty extensive knowledge of the equipment and manipulaitng point clouds. With Revit 2012 I'm pretty excited to see that point clouds have native support and I'm looking forward to throwing myself into the deep end (not too deep as there are some Revit users in my office already) and seeing what can be achieved with scanner data in Revit for ourselves and our clients.

Looking forward to the challenge and learning a few things from the fellow Revit City members.

-----------------------------------

Yes, that's a point clound as my avatar

This user is offline

itsmyalterego

active

Joined: Thu, May 28, 2009
829 Posts

I've been very interested about laser scanners, yet they're out of my firm's price range, and renting is not an option in our part of the world. We've tried Microsoft Photosynth and Autodesk Photo Scene Editor to generate point cloud models from photographs, but the accuracy is anything but reliable. 

Either way, so far revit isn't able to use the point clouds to generate masses -- it's pretty much just for use as a guide to trace over with regular walls, etc. 

Particularly for sitework, I would be THRILLED to have a 3D mass generated by an imported cloud.  Maybe soon.  Though I'm sure there's a chain of programs to import/export/import/export through to get a solid. 

This user is offline

WWHub

site moderator|||

Joined: Tue, May 16, 2006
13079 Posts

From what I saw demonstrated, the point cloud is not "used as a guide to trace over".  Instead, a plane is established from multiple points automatically and you can then do wall by face or whatever.

This user is offline

itsmyalterego

active

Joined: Thu, May 28, 2009
829 Posts

All I know is from one inserted point cloud I've played with, and watching the autodesk tutorial on the new feature.  The tutorial left me nonplussed.  They were just so pleased with the way you could drag walls up and down in the 3d view to match the point cloud visually, and roughly.  Wasn't the sort of integration I hoped for, that's all.  

There didn't seem to anything automatic about it, although you could interact somewhat with the points. 

This user is offline

NickM80

active

Joined: Wed, Jul 13, 2011
3 Posts
No Rating

I'm yet to really see what can be achieved with the point cloud in Revit but in regards to automation my experience with any idea of automation with point clouds is a pipe dream. All automated products I have seen require such vast amounts of QA and editing to ensure they are correct that you would have been better off creating the 3D objects manually and maintaining control of the final product. There are too many variables in scan data which make it much easier and quicker for the human mind to interpret rather than a CPU and algorithim.

What excites me in Revit is the speed in which a 3D model can be generated (in comparison to AutoCAD or specific scanning software) and also that the generated model will be in a more useable format for other consultants as opposed to the models we are used to generating.

Also the rapid ability to give context to design models by scanning the surrounding environment and inserting that into the design model is another exciting avenue. With realism scan data provides there is no need to model the data and the raw points alone can be used. Test cases with Studio Max and Maya have been excellent (rendering 70million scan points was an experience) and now I am keen to see how this works in Revit. 

Now just to see how the theory works in practice.

-----------------------------------

Yes, that's a point clound as my avatar

This user is offline

KMROB

active

Joined: Mon, Sep 15, 2008
3 Posts
No Rating

I have been using point clouds in my Revit models since we purchased a scanner a year ago. I am pleased with how simple it is to insert and start modeling. The only problem our firm is finding is the file size of the scans. A project I am working on now has a 12G point cloud file.  It slows my computer down drastically. Is anyone else having this problem. Any suggestions on computer specs or what size files to work with?

This user is offline

WWHub

site moderator|||

Joined: Tue, May 16, 2006
13079 Posts

Is the point cloud linked in?  I would assume it is.  As such, it should be in a separate workset.  Then you can do a reduced workset load with this workset off for most of your work.

This user is offline

MCJB

active

Joined: Wed, Nov 21, 2012
2 Posts
No Rating

Hi, I am modeling a 3D from a point cloud model in Revit (without plug-ins) but I'm having some difficulty in the basic procedure of snapping the wall in the Point Cloud. How can I have a plane established from multiple points automatically?? Can you help me?

This user is offline

Dimensioning to a "Point" at wall intersection in 2008

5

head height of window

2

Spot Elevation/ Level with both "project base point" and "survey point" 2017

1

Door & HM frame w/ 4" head

4

Point Cloud Density

8