& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Use two methods to create a slice of a point cloud in AutoCAD to produce a workable area.
Transcript
00:04
Once you attach a point cloud to your AutoCAD drawing, you may find that it is too large to work with.
00:10
There are a few options for cropping or slicing your point cloud into smaller, more manageable areas.
00:17
In this example, suppose that you only want to work on the building in the point cloud.
00:23
In the drawing area, select the point cloud.
00:28
On the Point Cloud tab of the ribbon, in the Cropping panel, click Rectangular Create Crop.
00:35
Draw a rectangle around the building to hide everything outside of the polygon, making only your building visible.
00:42
You can even crop again within the cropped region to create a smaller slice of the point cloud.
00:49
You can then use the ViewCube to orient the view.
00:53
Once you change the UCS, you are ready to start digitizing to create a cross-section drawing.
00:60
Another way to create a slice of your point cloud that may be more useful is to use the Section Plane tools.
01:07
A section plane creates a section object that acts as a cutting plane through 3D objects and point clouds.
01:15
From the Point Cloud tab, Section panel, use the Section Plane drop-down to select the Top view.
01:23
This can also be done from the side or any other direction, using two points.
01:29
The point cloud is cut by a section plane.
01:32
Select the section plane to open the Section Plane tab.
01:37
From the Modify panel, expand the Section Type drop-down
01:41
and select Slice to create a 2D box that shows the depth along the direction of the cutting plane.
01:47
Now use the Adjust controls to set the width and the position of the slice—specifically, the elevation of the slice.
01:56
This can be helpful if you create your slice at a certain elevation,
02:01
but there is something in the way, such as furniture, in this case.
02:05
You can easily adjust the elevation until the cut is where you can clearly see the walls that you want to draw.
02:12
When you are done and no longer need the section, you can easily delete the object.
00:04
Once you attach a point cloud to your AutoCAD drawing, you may find that it is too large to work with.
00:10
There are a few options for cropping or slicing your point cloud into smaller, more manageable areas.
00:17
In this example, suppose that you only want to work on the building in the point cloud.
00:23
In the drawing area, select the point cloud.
00:28
On the Point Cloud tab of the ribbon, in the Cropping panel, click Rectangular Create Crop.
00:35
Draw a rectangle around the building to hide everything outside of the polygon, making only your building visible.
00:42
You can even crop again within the cropped region to create a smaller slice of the point cloud.
00:49
You can then use the ViewCube to orient the view.
00:53
Once you change the UCS, you are ready to start digitizing to create a cross-section drawing.
00:60
Another way to create a slice of your point cloud that may be more useful is to use the Section Plane tools.
01:07
A section plane creates a section object that acts as a cutting plane through 3D objects and point clouds.
01:15
From the Point Cloud tab, Section panel, use the Section Plane drop-down to select the Top view.
01:23
This can also be done from the side or any other direction, using two points.
01:29
The point cloud is cut by a section plane.
01:32
Select the section plane to open the Section Plane tab.
01:37
From the Modify panel, expand the Section Type drop-down
01:41
and select Slice to create a 2D box that shows the depth along the direction of the cutting plane.
01:47
Now use the Adjust controls to set the width and the position of the slice—specifically, the elevation of the slice.
01:56
This can be helpful if you create your slice at a certain elevation,
02:01
but there is something in the way, such as furniture, in this case.
02:05
You can easily adjust the elevation until the cut is where you can clearly see the walls that you want to draw.
02:12
When you are done and no longer need the section, you can easily delete the object.