Power InRoads SS2 - Create terrain model from DTM File

Hi 

We are using Power InRoads in a legacy Project.

Should MicroStation V8i be installed along side Power InRoads to have the functionality of creating a terrain model form DTM Files?

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wHTwxMfajo

Please assist. Thanks in advance. 

  • I don't recall if MicroStation V8i has the ability to create terrains; I don't think it can. If that capability exists, it would be SS4 or SS10, nothing older. I believe MicroStation Connect can create terrains, but they are not civil terrains (if that's what you are looking for).

    Power InRoads SS4/10 has the ability to create civil terrains from DTMs, and I know you can have that installed in parallel with SS2.

    The video you have linked is for OpenRoads Designer, which is another generation of design software. You would be able to create to terrain from a DTM...but I don't recommend trying to use both products on one job. The way SS2 and ORD create and store data is very different, and it doesn't go back and forth well at all.

    MaryB

    Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918
    Power InRoads 08.11.09.918
    OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2

        

  • Hi @MaryB,  Thanks for the detailed answer. We use Power InRoads SELECTSeries2. 

    Is there a way In Power InRoads V8i SS2 we can combine multiple DTMs into one without having to re-triangulate them? Should we merge it to the active terrain model? A bit of workflow explanation is really welcome! Thanks. 

  • Any time you modify a DTM, it needs to be retriangulated. Having thorough breaklines, boundary and random points defined in each terrain will make sure your terrains do not change much. There is a merge DTM tool that can use the boundary of one DTM to punch a hole in another during merge so there is no overlap, if that's what you need. It can simply combine them as well.

    A couple of tips:

    • Try to never use triangles as breaklines. A surface created using this method is nearly impossible to edit as is sometimes needed. And it will choke the merge tool if you are trying to punch a hole in an area where the triangle breaklines are used.
    • Lean to use the Edit Surface tools. These provide a number of very useful capabilities. My favorite is Edit Feature Point - it allows you to work on individual vertices of a breakline and has insert and delete capabilities.
    • You can set a maximum segment length on breaklines where it will generate additional vertices along a segment length. This can improve a surface when an adjacent breakline has many segments and sometimes hepls when random points are adjacent. 

    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996

    Answer Verified By: Balaji Balagurusami