Point Cloud Editing with BuildIT Construction

Tutorial Download

If you would like to download the file used in this article, download the accompanying Training Data and extract its contents to a folder on your PC.

Merge

• Merging point clouds can make selection, as well as other functions simpler.
  • Select “Refine > Merge Clouds”.
  • In the Merge Clouds Command Panel, give the new merged cloud a name, such as “Merged Cloud”.
  • While holding Ctrl, select the individual clouds to merge. (Also, you can automatically delete the selected clouds after merge by enabling "Delete clouds after merge".)
  • Select Apply.
    

Split

• Splitting point clouds allows us to focus on certain sections at a time.
  • Select “Refine > Split Clouds”.
  • Select the merged cloud created in the the previous section.
  • Select the “Polygon selection” radio button and then select the polygon tool.
  • Outline the room shown.
  • Select the “Both(Split)” radio button.
    • This will keep both the inside and outside sections are two separate point clouds. Inside and outside could also be selected to keep the relevant data.
  • Select “Preview”  to ensure your selection was correct.
  • Select Apply.
    
    

Delete Points

• Points can also be deleted as necessary.
  • Navigate to the view shown below.
  • Select “Refine > Delete Points”.
  • Use the rectangular selection to select the indicated points.
    
  • To use the selector, hold Shift and left click and drag around the area you’d like to select.
    • Note: This is a 3D selection of points, it may be necessary to rotate the model slightly to avoid selecting/deleting points you wish to keep.
  • Select Apply to delete the points.
    

Filter

• Reducing the clouds can speed up processing and analysis. There are several ways that the data can be reduced.
  • Outlier removal

    • This command removes points from a point cloud based on number of neighbors in a given volume.

      • Select “Refine>Filter Cloud.”
      • Select “Outlier removal.”
      • Select “Removal strength.”
        • This allows for lower or more aggressive reducing.
          
  • Minimum number of neighbors

    • This command reduces the cloud, keeping points that have a number of neighbors within a specified distance.

      • Select “Refine > Filter Cloud.”
      • Select “Minimum number of neighbors
      • Use values of 1 for “Minimum Neighbours” and 0.25 inch for “Neighborhood size.”
        
        

Reduce Cloud

• Distance sampling.
  • Distance sampling splits the point cloud into a series of cubes of a specified size and keeps either:
    • Average out points in zone
      • Averages out the points within the cube size specified.
    • Use grid (faster)
      • Keeps a single point closest to the center of the cube.
  • Select “Refine > Reduce Cloud”.
  • Select the cloud to be reduced.
  • Select the “Distance sampling” radio button.
  • Use a value of 6.0 inches for “Keep 1 in” and check “Use grid (faster)”.
  • Select Apply to view the results.
    
    
    
• Adaptive sampling.
  • Adaptive sampling uses areas identified as flat and areas identified as corners to reduce the point cloud.
  • Select “Refine > Reduce Cloud”.
  • Select the cloud to be reduced.
  • Select the “Adaptive sampling” radio button.
  • Use values of 0.5 inch for “Edges” and a value of 12 inches for “Flats”.
  • Select Apply to view the results.