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All CollectionsIMPORT AutoCAD/ Civil3D information to PVFARM
Importing Surfaces
Importing Surfaces

How to prepare and import a surface

Kayla Treese avatar
Written by Kayla Treese
Updated over a month ago

Surfaces in PVFARM

In PVFARM you can bring in surfaces in a number of different ways. In this article we'll be discussing ways to get your surface from AutoCAD/ Civil 3D.

Non Plugin Process

DEM/GeoTiff by Civil3D

  1. Build a surface with boundaries in Civil3D

  2. Export as DEM/GeoTiff file

    1. Toolspace → Prospector → Surfaces → Export to DEM

  3. Import to PVFARM

    • Drag & drop GeoTiff file in the PVFARM 3D model space or use Project -> Import menu

    • Make sure the surface is added to your project

Plugin Process

Civil3D can be temperamental, and sometimes your information will not show up as you expect in PVFARM. Here are some tips to make this process smoother. While there is a small chance that the issue is with PVFARM, 99% of the issues we see are due to incorrectly formatted information coming from Civil3D.

We wish we could fix Civil3D and make this easier for everyone, but alas, we are all stuck using software created in 2003. The good news is that there is 15+ years of content on YouTube of people troubleshooting Civil3D problems which can be another great resource.

If you're still stuck after troubleshooting, please contact our support team, and we'll be happy to help you chase down the issue.

The Desired End Result

Our goal is a healthy import. This is what a healthy import looks like:

In Civil3D

  1. Make sure the DWG file contains a surface
    ​

    1. Toolspace → Prospector Tab → Surface

      Confirm that the surface has contours and boundaries
      ​

  2. Check the units

    1. for drawing C3D → Drawing Utilities → Units
      ​

    2. for geolocation Toolspace → Settings → File name right-click → Edit Drawing Settings

  3. Check the geolocation

    1. Drawing Settings Toolspace → Settings → File name right-click → Edit Drawing Settings

    2. Geographic Location Geolocation Tab → Edit Location → From Map

  1. Visualize triangles

    1. Toolspace → Prospector Tab → Surface name right-click menu → Surface Properties


    Information Tab → Display Tab → Model → Triangles (turn on) → OK
    ​

  2. 3D view

    1. Make sure the surface doesn’t have artifacts
      ​

    2. artifacts examples:

      1. inaccurate surface borders
        ​

      2. extra points at the very bottom of the surface
        ​

  3. Check the surface parameters

    1. Min / Max elevations

      1. Toolspace → Prospector Tab → Surface name right-click menu → Surface Properties
        ​

      Analysis Tab → ‘Run Analysis’ button
      ​

    2. Area Toolspace → Prospector Tab → Surface name right-click menu → Surface Properties
      ​

    Statistics Tab →Expand ‘General’ and ‘Extended’

  4. Run GETSURFACES
    ​

In PVFARM

  1. Create a new project

  2. Import surface

  3. View → Terrain Analysis
    ​

  4. Terrain Analysis → Elevations → Auto-Fill Ranges
    ​

  5. Select Surface on the scene in Model Explorer → Object Details

    Confirm that the total area and the min and max elevations are accurate.
    ​

  6. Project → Settings → Check the latitude and longitude
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