Tag: XYZ

Using Point Cloud tools to convert any (?) 3D geometry to Revit native geometry

Luke Johnson

Could we laser scan the world, make a big point cloud, and then import it into Revit?  Well, one day we might be able to accomplish that on a small scale (then again, maybe not).  In the meantime, try this process:

  1. Make the point cloud from existing geometry using this guide
  2. Use GreenSpider (more info at this link) to bring the points into Revit (and ‘maybe’ make a form using splines)

I’m sure results will vary… please comment if you try it out.

    Reverse engineering point clouds from any 3D model

    Luke Johnson

    Point clouds are getting a lot of “press” lately, and they can be very useful.  But let’s say, hypothetically, that you have a 3D model of a building or a component and you want to deconstruct it back into a point cloud –  Can this be done?  Yes, and quite easily…

    1. Open the 3D model in 3dsMax
    2. Export to STL
    3. Import the STL into MeshLab (File – Import Mesh)
    4. Export the mesh as an XYZ file (File – Export Mesh As…)
    5. This XYZ file can now be imported into Recap, or indexed by Revit into a PCG, or used in various other software tools

    Note:  You can also create STL files (steps 1 and 2) directly from Revit using the STL Exporter add-in.

    Some of these tools were discussed at:
    Free 3D PDF from Revit STL using Meshlab, MiKTeX and U3D-2-PDF