To work with Topcon Data inside TBC you will need to get a copy of the Topcon 3D Office or Topcon Magnet Software. Topcon File formats are proprietary, and are not documented publicly, so they are not easy to create or read without dedicated Topcon software. 3D Office is the older Tiopcon Software and Magnet is their new software offering. The TP# also contains the Site Calibration or Coordinate System Information for the project.
Topcon Files include the following
TP3 Files
These can contain any of the sub file data types including surfaces, CAD linework. Topo Points, Control Points, Alignments, Planar Surfaces, Grid Surfaces.
GC3 Files
These contain control point coordinates. Control points can have Northing Easting and Elevation values as well as Latitude, Longitude, Ellipsoidal Height values. Control Points are linked to the coordinate system that allows for the control to be transformed from Local Site (NEZ) to Global WGS84 (LLH) coordinates.
PT3 Files
These contain topo point and design point coordinates. These types of points have a Point Number, Code, Northing, Easting and Elevation coordinate only.
LN3 Files
These contain CAD linework. CAD linework carries layers, colors, linestyles.
RD3 Files
These contain alignment geometry for horizointal and vertical alignments
TN3 Files
These contain surface model triangle files.
PL3 Files
These contain planar surface files
GD3 Files
These contain Grid Surface Files
Exporting Data FOr Use in TBC
To export data out of 3D Office, you can selecrt each of the different data types that it supports and export in the following formats for use in TBC
| Data Type | Output Format | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Surface Model | AutoCAD DWG File - 3D Faces | Use the 3D Faces to build a surface in TBC |
| Control Points | .TXT or .CSV File | Import as P,N,E,Z,D Control Points File |
| Topo Points | AutoCAD DWG or .TXT / .CSV File | Import as P,N,E,Z,D Points File |
| Linework | AutoCAD DWG File | Creates Lines and Layers in TBC |
| Alignments | LandXML File | Creates an Alignment in TBC |
| Planar Surfaces | No Output Option | Would have to recreate using TBC Planar Surface |
| Grid Surfaces | .txt file | Import as P,N,E,Z,D Points File and use to build surface in TBC |
| Site Calibration / Coordinate System | Use 3D Office - Control Points command in the Project Menu to review the coordinate system / localization settings, and then recreate in TBC using Project Settings - Coordinate System if needed. | Topcon use either a defined coordinate system, a custom (user defined coordinate system) or a localization / site calibration to establish GPS control for a project. While the data options are the same in TBC, there is no current way to get the coordinate system information from Topcon to TBC. You can use an LSS (Mcarrthy Taylor Partnership in UK) utility program (free) to do this conversion for you. |
Once you have created the outputs from 3D Office, either drag and drop them into TBC or use the import command to locate the files and import them.
Video Demonstration
The following video shows you how to use the 3D Office program and how to use the output files in TBC, all the way through to producing a project drawing in TBC using the RPS Smart Plot command.
This second video shows how to import and reference PDF Pages, and then how to convert CAD Points from the DWG files into Grid Points so that they can be labeled and used to produce the final drawings using Smart Plot.
The one thing that you have to be aware of is the paper sizes of the PDF Sheets that were imported and georeferenced, because when you plot, if you increase the scale e.g. if the original sheets were at 250 scale and we plot at 500 scale, and or reduce the paper size e.g. if the original sheets were 24x36 sheets and we print oin 11x17, you are going to “squish” pixels in the original images as you plot them which will make them fuzzy (you can see that at the end of the video). In that case I re generated the PDF file using a larger sheet format and I have attached it below - there you can see the increase in fidelity of the drawing vs the decrease in fidelity of the drawing as seen in the video.
Larger Format Plot Sheet With Higher Fidelity
AV4.pdf (4.5 MB)