Matrix Copy Command
COMMAND LICENSING AND DEFAULT MENU LOCATIONS
- The Matrix Copy command is part of the RPS Data Prep Toolbox.
- The command is located on the Data Prep macros menu ribbon.
- Command is located in Data Prep in the Create / Edit menu group.
COMMAND DESCRIPTION
A copy command that provides the ability to copy selected objects multiple times into a 3D array. User can define the origin, orientation/skew angle, inclination and spacing of the three grid axes. The command is great for creating parking bay striping, site mass haul grids, building piers, stairways, and other repetitive patterns on a regular 2D or 3D grid.
SETUP AND CONFIGURATION
Command Interface Description
The Matrix Copy dialog looks as follows:
Select objects:
Select the objects that you wish to copy into the matrix array. The objects can be any TBC object including points, lines, rectangles, circles, polygons, blocks, text, etc.
From:
Select the “Copy From” location; this will be a point location, typically within the data that you selected to copy, e.g., a centroid point or corner location of a polygon or line, the insertion point for a piece of text, etc.
To:
Select the “Copy To” location, this can either be the same point as the Copy From location (if the first set of objects to be created lie at the same location, or can be a different location altogether).
Note:
The orientation of the objects selected is not changed by the matrix copy process.
EXECUTE
Columns:
- Bearing - Enter the bearing for the axis direction along which the columns will be spaced out.
- VA - If you want to place the start point of each column on a slope from the origin point, you can enter a vertical angle from horizontal (0) to calculate the slope / vertical separation between the columns.
- Number - Enter the number of columns that you wish to create.
- Spacing - Enter the spacing between the columns. Note that for an object 5’ wide in the column direction and a required spacing of 10’ between objects, you would enter a column spacing of 15’.
Rows:
- Bearing - Enter the bearing for the axis direction along which the rows will be spaced out.
- VA - If you want to place the start point of each row on a slope from the origin point, you can enter a vertical angle from horizontal (0) to calculate the slope / vertical separation between the rows, e.g., for a staircase you could enter 45 degrees.
- Number - Enter the number of rows that you wish to create.
- Spacing - Enter the spacing between the rows. Note that for an object 5’ wide in the row direction and a required spacing of 10’ between objects, you would enter a row spacing of 15’.
Note:
When using the vertical angle function, remember that vertical faces cannot be supported in a surface model, so you should offset vertically separated lines by at least 1 mm / 0.01’ to keep vertical faces from being formed.
Rows and columns do not have to be orthogonal to each other; you can set the orientation of each independently.
Levels:
Levels are the third dimension of the matrix array, you can use this to create the top and bottom of piers for example, or for creating layers of rebar in a rebar cage.
- Number - Enter the number of levels that you require. A typical use case will require only one level; however, two levels are also common and more is acceptable.
- Spacing - Enter the spacing between the levels. Note that for an object 5’ high in the level direction and a required spacing of 10’ between objects you would enter a level spacing of 15’.
Note:
If you are creating the top and bottom of a rectangular or other-shaped object, the top surface would need to be fractionally smaller than the bottom face so as not to create vertical faces in any surface model that you create. If all of the object heights are the same, we would recommend creating the top and bottom shaped faces first, and then using the top and bottom faces as the selected objects for the matrix copy, that way the top face can be offset by 0.01’ or 0.001 m in the source data for the matrix copy process.
APPLY BUTTON
When you tap Apply, the matrix array will be created and the command will prepare itself for another selection set and another process execution. If you do not want to make a second selection and repeat the process, tap Close to finish the process.
CLOSE BUTTON
Closes the command without further execution.
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
The following video shows how to utilize the Matrix Copy command:
USE CASE VIDEOS
The following videos show the use of the Matrix Copy command in a work process context
Here is a good example of a user request to create a set of 3D equilateral triangle faces over a measured surface with side lengths of a specified value. The Matrix copy is a perfect tool for this and it does an awesome job.
FEEDBACK AND ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS
If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the Matrix Copy command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command, please click Reply below.