Hi All.
Recently some users have had problem importing Lidar xyz data into MX using either the MX Lidar import or the Lidar import in the Data Acquisition tool. The import issue seems to be related to the formatting in the file. Rather than having to reformat the file the quickest method is to import the Lidar xyz data using the Point Cloud tool provided in Bentley MX V8i SELECTseries 2.
The Point Cloud tool converts a point file to a pointools file (Pod) and load the data into the DGN file. The point cloud data can be simple xyz point data or more complex point data including RGB attributes. It can load data from numerous formats as shown below. The example below will use a .xyz Lidar file.
Go to File or Tool and select Point clouds to bring up the Point Cloud panel below.
Select File>Attach and browse to the folder containing the file. Also change the file type in the drop down to generic text *.xyx format.
Select the xyx file and Open and the Convert Generic Text panel appears as below.
In this panel you can change the setting for the import, for example if the data columns are in the wrong order you can revise them using the drop down lists at the top of the columns. For Lidar data it is generally not required to do this.
Select OK to continue and save the Pod file, this is part of the conversion process and the file is attached to the drawing similar to a reference file. The Point Cloud panel should now be populated with the created pod file. This is similar to a reference file and can be unloaded and removed from the display.
Once you have the data loaded in the Point Cloud panel load the Data Acquisition tool. Right click on Surface and select Create Surface Import from Point Clouds.
The Points Cloud surface panel will appear. Lidar data isn’t as complicated as other forms of point data so select No Filter and Accept.
The point clouds will now be imported as a surface in the Data Acquisition tool.
MX will not import if the naming contains certain characters, i.e - _ / etc. At this stage it is advised to check if you need to rename the point cloud surface to a name you will use in MX, for example DTM Survey. Change this in the Data Acquisition Details Panel below.
To load into MX right click on the DTM survey in the Data Acquisition panel and select export to MX model file. Select the model.fil for the project and select Save.
In the model.fil there will now be a DTM Survey triangulation model.
Any questions, please add comments to this post, or drop me a mail at jason.walsh@bentley.com or call us on 0808 1019246.