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Advanced Walkthroughs

Andy Putch
  • Updated

Using Scans in Autodesk Revit, ArchiCAD, and Sketchup

When exporting from SiteScape, select E57 as your file type to use exported scans in CAD programs like Rhino/ArchiCAD/Sketchup.

 

Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D

To import scans into Autodesk programs, in SiteScape app on your mobile device open the scan you would like to use and select "sync to cloud." Then, go to the desktop computer where you use Autodesk software and open a web browser. Go to "app.sitescape.ai" and sign into your SiteScape account. Open the scan you just synced to the cloud and click the "Export" button at the bottom left. From the export menu, click the "RCP" button to convert and export the scan. Depending on the size of the scan and your internet connection this may a couple of minutes. Once the RCP file is downloaded you can now open up your Autodesk project and import the RCP file.

*Note that with an RCP file you do not need to use Autodesk ReCap! You can skip this step and bring scans straight into tools like Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D.

 

Sketchup

To import scans into Trimble Sketchup, download the Trimble Scan Essentials extension here: https://geospatial.trimble.com/products-and-solutions/trimble-scan-essentials-sketchup.

You can find tutorial information on this extension here: https://sketchupfordesign.com/tutorials/3d-modeling/point-clouds-in-sketchup-much-improved/

 

Capturing larger areas by combining back-to-back scans

A video walkthrough for this process is available here

 

By capturing back-to-back scans without closing the app, you can easily merge scans into a single file

  1. Choose a feature-rich (ie. things with clear details or sharp edges) wall or corner to be the start of your first scan and the beginning of your second scan
  2. Capture your first area and end at the wall/corner, making sure you capture it with enough detail before completing your scan
  3. Stand in one position while you save the scan and do not close the app
  4. Start a new scan and capture the same wall/corner as before then capture the rest of your second area and save your second scan
  5. Export both scans to your computer and import them into CloudCompare (https://www.cloudcompare.org/)
  6. Select both scans “DB Tree” sidebar so they are highlighted in blue
  7. Select edit->merge then select “no” in the prompt asking if you want to generate a scalar field
  8. Select file->save to create a single .PLY, .LAS, or .E57 file of your merged scans

 

Clean, simplify, and convert file types on your computer

To transfer your SiteScape scans from your iPad Pro to your Mac/PC, open the scan browser and select the scan you would like to export. Tap the “Export” button and you will see options to AirDrop, Text, Email, or upload the scan file to cloud storage systems like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive. Use your preferred method to send the files to your computer.

To edit and convert your SiteScape PLY point cloud, we recommend downloading Meshlab (https://www.meshlab.net/#download) and CloudCompare (https://www.cloudcompare.org/) on your Mac or PC. These are free, open-source tools that are great for editing PLY files. The walkthroughs below are for Meshlab and CloudCompare on MacOS (steps may be different on windows).

 

Using Cloud Compare to clean and convert scans

A video walkthrough for this process is available here

  1. Open Cloud Compare and go to File->Open
  2. In the file explorer click the drop-down at the bottom and select PLY
  3. Select the PLY file you would like to edit and click “Open”
  4. On the next screen, titled “PLY File Open”, click “Apply” at the bottom

Removing outliers

  1. In the “DB Tree” sidebar, click on the line with the cloud icon and “your file name - Cloud” so that it is highlighted in blue
  2. Go to Tools->Clean->SOR filter to remove outliers from your point cloud
  3. Start by changing the Standard deviation multiplier threshold to 2 and click “OK”
  1. If there are still too many outliers, select the “- Cloud” line in the sidebar and run the SOR filter again with a Standard deviation multiplier threshold of 1

Cropping points

  1. In the “DB Tree” sidebar, click on the line that you want to crop so the line is highlighted in blue
  2. In the left tool, sidebar select this icon  to get a top-down view of your model or this icon to get a  front-facing view of your model
  3. Follow the segment guide here to select and remove points: https://www.cloudcompare.org/doc/wiki/index.php?title=Interactive_Segmentation_Tool

Export/Convert file

  1. In the “DB Tree” sidebar, click on the line that you want to crop so the line is highlighted in blue
  2. Go to File->Save and select your desired export file type and file name
  1. Export options include: CSV, E57, LAS/LAZ, PLY, and XYZ
  2. Cloud Compare will show other export file type options like DXF and SHP but it cannot correctly save PLY files in those formats

 

Using Meshlab to reduce file size and convert file type

  1. Open Meshlab and go to File->Import Mesh
  2. Select the PLY file you would like to edit and click “Open”
  3. In the sidebar under Shading select "None"

Reducing file size

  1. Go to Filters->Point Set->Point Cloud Simplification
  2. Next to “number of samples” enter the total number of points desired

In general, 3,500,000 points or less will produce a file size under the Sketchfab 50MB upload limit for free users

Export/Convert file

  1. In the sidebar select the line for the point cloud you would like to export so it’s highlighted
  2. Go to File->Export Mesh As and select your desired export file type and file name
  1. Export options include: PLY and XYZ
  2. Meshlab will show other export file type options like OBJ, STL, and DAE but it cannot correctly save PLY files in those formats

 

Upload to Sketchfab (from your computer)

  1. Go to https://sketchfab.com/ and sign-in or sign up for a free account
  2. Click the orange “Upload” button at the top right
  3. Drag & drop or browse to select your scan
  4. If you do not want the upload to use an upload credit select “Free” under the “Download” section
  5. Make sure you add “SiteScape” in the tags section!
  6. Once the upload has completed and processed click “Edit 3D Settings” to open the model editor
  7. In the sidebar under General->Straighten model, click the left arrow next to “X” once and check the box to show advanced rotation
  8. Drag the blue up arrow to adjust the ground plane and drag the blue circle to rotate your model
  9. In the sidebar under Point Cloud->Point size, use the slider to adjust the point size
  10. Click “Save Settings” at the top right and then click “Publish”

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