Perpendicular Distance to Surface Command

RPS Command Library (Info Only) RPS Modeling Toolbox
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D_PerpendicularDistanceToSurface_600ppi   Perpendicular Distance to Surface

Command Licensing and Default Menu Location

  • The Perpendicular Distance to Surface command is part of the RPS Modeling Toolbox
  • The command is located on the Modeling macros menu ribbon
  • The command is located in the Reports menu group

Command Description

Compares a selection of 3D measured points to a 3D surface model and determines the shortest perpendicular distance between each point and the surface model. This is a great tool to check measured point data against a design surface for cuttings where the walls of the cutting are steep or near vertical. Generates an Excel report and 3D vector linework showing the computed distances.

Command Training Video

The following video shows how to utilize the Perpendicular Distance to Surface command


Update Information

Command Interface Description

The Perpendicular Distance to Surface command dialog looks as follows

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Points:
Select the point data that you want to analyze. To use the advanced selection methods click Options to access Select by Layer, Select by Elevation and Advanced Select type options.

Reference surface:
Select the surface model that you want to compare the points to. The surface model has to be a normal TIN model (not a radial surface or projected surface model). Note that if you are checking a vertical surface, a TIN model can be created for a near vertical face provided that the top and bottom of the face are offset by at least 0.1mm (typically you will want to use 1mm). Note also that if you face has been created from 3D lines that include arcs, that your breakline approximation parameter settings (Project Settings - Computations - Surfaces) will be important to ensure that your surface is accurate enough for the analysis that you are carrying out.

Layer (Points & Lines):
Select the layer onto which you want to place the following optional elements

  • Points - these points are the point at which the vector line drawn from the measured point passes through the target face of the surface model normal (perpendicular) to the face.
  • Lines - these are the vector lines that are drawn from the measured point normal to the target face of the selected surface model

Create Points checkbox:
Check this checkbox to create the Point data on the faces of the surface model where the vector lines from the measured points pass through the face normal to the surface.

Create Lines Checkbox:
Check this checkbox to create the vector lines (push pins) between the measured points and the face of the surface model. normal to the surface.

Create Points File checkbox:
Check this checkbox to create a CSV file report of the results of the analysis. The report contains the NEZ coordinates of the Measured Points and the NEZ of the points computed on the surface faces and the 3D length of the vector lines between the points and the surface model. The file can be opened in Excel and you can leverage Excel tools to generate your final reports as required for QA deliverables.

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File name:
Enter the file name for the report file if you checked the checkbox to create the file. The report is written into the TBC project folder for the project.

Example Output:

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Note: To color code the pushpins, you can use Geometric selection to select lines that fall within length brackets e.g. from 0.00’ to 0.25’ and then color code the vector lines selected.

Command Tips

Header Commands

In the header bar of the command you will find command icons that link you to other commands that you may need access to while using this command. In this command the following commands are linked

  • Help - this document access
  • RPS Settings
  • Takeoff Lines
  • Smart Edit
  • Adjust Linestring Elevation
  • Delete
  • Create Surface
  • Add/Remove Surface Members
  • Create Edge Breakline
  • Add/Remove Surface Boundaries

OK
Executes the command and closes on completion

Cancel
Closes the command without further execution.

Use Case Videos

The following videos show the use of the Perpendicular Distance to Surface command in a work process context

Feedback and Enhancement Requests

If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the Perpendicular Distance to Surface command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command please click Reply below