Advanced measurements

Measurements can be taken in either the 3D view (for both points and HyperBubble data) or the BubbleView. Measurements are 3D objects and so the same measurement can be seen in any view. For example, a measurement created in the BubbleView can also be seen when viewing HyperBubble data.

Select the Tools tab to display the different types of measurement tools available.

The Measurement button is also available directly within a BubbleView when it is opened in its own window.

Taking a point measurement

The point measurement tool prints the coordinates of a picked point to the current display.

To measure a point:

1. Select the Point button and then select the required point on the data with a left mouse click.

   

   As shown below, coordinates are displayed alongside the picked point and also in the Measurement Tab Attributes Window.

   

2. Right-click the point measurement to rename it and then press Enter.

3. You must then drag the point measurement from the Measurements Workspace to the Project Measurements area. This is so that other people accessing the same dataset through a SQL database can see the measurement.

Using the edge detection feature

Selecting the Point button brings up the Actions tab as shown below:

The Edge feature enables you to measure points at the edges of the walls, pavements and points at the intersection between planes.

To enable edge detection:

4. Select Edge and hover over a corner or an edge surface. The measurement state brings up semi-transparent planes that cover the creases and corners, thus forming 2-planes (for creases) and 3-planes (for corners) respectively.

5. You can then measure from the creases and corners that have been created. When you enable Edge Patch along with Edge, a semi-transparent blue square is formed around the area that is selected.

6. Move the mouse wheel to dynamically change the size of the patch. This enables you to determine the corners.

7. To zoom into the data, scroll the mouse wheel when Edge Patch is disabled.

The edge detection features appear under the Actions tab when performing Point, Distance and Chained measurements. This works both in Points and Solid Point Cloud views.

Measuring the distance between points

The distance measurement tool gives the linear or planar distance between two picked points.

Select the Distance button to view the Actions tab shown below:

The Actions tab is visible only in the perspective view.

The cursor below will take a linear measurement from the selected point. This is unconstrained in any axis.

The cursor below will take a planar measurement from the picked point. This will deliver a measurement along the surface normal of the picked point.

In each case, the measurement details are displayed within the current view.

To measure the distance:

8. Select the distance measurement icon.

   

9. Click to pick the first point to measure. If the Edge feature is enabled, semi-transparent squares are formed around the creases and corners, enabling you to make accurate corner-to-corner measurements.

   After selecting the measurement start point, a cutting plane appears which tracks the movement of the mouse cursor until the measurement end point is selected. This gives the user a sense of depth as the cutting plane appears behind objects that are in front of the measurement.

10. Click to pick the second point and finish the measurement. Measurement values appear in the current view and Measurements Tab Attributes Window.

    

    After selecting the end point, the measurement is displayed in the current view as a blue line with a diamond at each end.

    

11. Clicking on the diamonds to view the x, y, z coordinates of the point.

12. Click on the line to display the total point-to-point distance and also the measurement component frame.

    This measurement component frame is interactive, enabling the user to click on each of the measurement component lines in order to see the planar measurement for each axis.

Measurements are logged in the Measurements panel.

Measuring a chained distance

The chained distance tool enables a measurement across multiple points to be taken.

To measure a chained distance:

13. Select the Chained button shown below.

    

14. Then, click to select points on the data that need to be measured and finish the measurement with a right-click. After the measurement is complete, it appears in the current view as a blue line.

15. Click on the diamonds showing the start or end point to display the x,y,z coordinates and the total distance.

16. Click on one of the lines to display the distance of that line, the total distance and the measurement component frame for that portion of the measurement.

17. Click on the intermediate diamonds to display the x,y,z coordinates, angle at point and total distance.

Select the Chained button to view the Actions tab shown below:

Chained distance measurements in the Orthographic view

When in the orthographic view, any point, distance or chained measurements are placed in the middle of the active volume. For example, a measurement taken in the plane view will have the elevation of the measurement automatically set to the center of the active volume and vice versa. If no volume is selected, the measurement is placed in the center of the entire point cloud.

The reason for this is to avoid picking points at different elevations/depths, avoiding inaccurate distances.

Use the Shift key to constrain distance or chained measurements to a 90° angle.

Area measurements

The Area Measurements option helps you make an estimate of a floor, a wall or a roof. The drop-down menu enables you to define either a rectangular polygon or a non-rectangular polygon. When you click on either Rectangular or Polygonal, you are presented with 3 planes to choose from:

• Horizontal - To measure the area of a floor, select the Horizontal plane

• Vertical - To measure the area of a wall, select the Vertical plane

• Free plane - To measure the area of a roof or any wall or floor that is not aligned with your axis, select Free plane.

  

Steps to measure the area of a rectangular polygon:

18. Select the Area Measurements drop-down arrow and select Rectangular.

    

19. Then, select the relevant plane you want to measure on (Horizontal, Vertical, or Free plane) and in the current 3D view, use your left mouse button to make three point selections to complete the area measurement. An area patch is displayed with the lengths and the area between the selected points.

    

For a non-rectangular polygonal measurement, you can click as many times as you want to draw your own shape. The following image displays a non-rectangular polygonal area patch.

The area measurements are displayed in either square meters or square feet. You can choose to change the units of your measurements by selecting File > Options > Units.

Measuring the diameter of a pipe

To measure the diameter:

20. In the Tools tab, select the icon shown below, then click within the current view at one end of the pipe to be fitted.

    

21. Then, move the cursor to the other end of the pipe surface, along its length. An axial line joins the two positions.

22. Then, click to determine the end point of the pipe.

    A 3D representation of the pipe will be visible in all views (3D View, BubbleView, HyperBubble and Solid Point Cloud) where the diameter will be shown on selection. The pipe diameter details are displayed in the Measurements Attributes Window.

    Select the pipe to show the pipe information in the Measurements tab as shown below:

The pipe diameter measurement feature may give inconsistent results if the cylindrical item being measured:

• Has scan data only on one side

• Has noisy data

• Has a sample length smaller than the diameter

• Is not truly cylindrical

• Is sagging

Measuring the distance between two pipes

Note: To measure the distance between two pipes, you must first obtain the pipe diameter measurements.

To measure the distance between two pipes:

23. In the Tools tab, select the Pipe Selection icon and hover over the first pipe diameter. An axial line is displayed as shown in the image below. Click the axial line, a point is selected by default.

    

    To zoom in for a better view, scroll the mouse wheel.

24. Then, select the Pipe Selection icon and hover over the second pipe diameter and click the axial line when displayed.

    The measurement is displayed in the Measurements workspace as a pipe-to-pipe measurement. This shows the distance between the centrelines of the two pipes and also the gap between the surfaces of the pipes (taking into account the pipe diameter).

Taking a pipe-to-point measurement

An existing pipe measurement can also be used to measure from a pipe to a point.

To obtain a pipe-to-point measurement:

25. In the Tools tab, select the Pipe Selection icon and hover over a pipe diameter measurement.

26. Click on the axial line when displayed, a point is selected by default.

27. Then, click on any point. A pipe-to-point measurement is displayed in the Measurements workspace.

Taking a pipe-to-plane measurement

An existing pipe measurement can also be used to measure from a pipe to a plane.

To obtain a pipe-to-plane measurement:

28. In the Tools tab, select the Pipe Selection icon and hover over a pipe diameter measurement.

29. Click on the axial line when displayed, a point is selected by default.

30. Then, on the Actions tab, select the Plane icon and click any point on a plane. This displays the pipe-to-plane measurement in the Measurement workspace.

Structural measurement

All common structural sections can be measured in Point Cloud Manager. This requires reasonable scan coverage as the measurement algorithm requires good volumetric data in the region of the section. Items that have insufficient coverage within the point cloud may return a ‘generic’ section that will need to be modified using the editing tools.

Structural measurements are available for local projects. The use of Structural measurements in Cloud projects has been disabled for this release due to performance issues affecting the usability.

To start the structural measurement process:

31. Select the button shown below.

    

32. Click within the current view at one end of the structure to be fitted and move the cursor to the other end of the structure on the same face, such as a web or a flange.

    After the first pick, an axial line is displayed from the start point, tracking the position of the mouse cursor. On mouse hover, the line will turn either green (to indicate a point on the same face of the structure has been found) or red (to indicate the second point does not belong to the same face of the same structure). A grid patch also appears to indicate which face the measurement will fit to.

33. When a line/grid patch is visible, click to select the end of the structure to be measured.

    Point Cloud Manager evaluates the point cloud data surrounding the start and the end points picked to determine the type of structure (for example, I-Beam, angled section, channel section, and so on) and the best fit.

    

    After the measurement is complete, a 3D representation of the structural measurement is visible in all views (3D view, BubbleView, HyperBubble and Solid Point Cloud).

    

34. Measurement information will be available in the Attributes window. To copy this information to the clipboard, right-click on the 3D representation and select Copy to Clipboard.

You can also export structural measurement information to a .csv file. The resulting file can be conditioned for use in other software packages. This means that Point Cloud Manager can be used independently of a structural engineering software suite to deliver ‘as-built’ models.

To do this:

35. Right-click on the Project Measurements node or on a Measurements group and select Export.

36. Enter the name and location for the .csv file and select .csv from the Save as Type drop-down box.

37. Press Save to save the file.

Modifying a structural measurement

If there is insufficient point cloud data to deliver an accurate shape or size of structure, the user may want to modify the result that Point Cloud Manager offers to more accurately fit the point cloud.

To do this:

38. Right-click on the measurement in the Measurements tab and select Modify to view the options available.

    

39. Perform the appropriate action. For information about the function of each option, see the table below.

40. When you are happy with the modifications you have made, select Save and close the dialog. The changes will be updated in the main Point Cloud Manager window and the attributes will be updated in the Attributes Window within the Measurements tab.

The following table lists out the options available in the Modify dialog: