hpnguyen Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Dear all, I'm looking to create with Autocad 2013 a bathymetry file (.stl like the one attachment). I have the XYZ file of the region (Longitude, Latitude and Depth Average) in excel or text format. I also have it in Esri ASCII format. It will be so nice if someone can give me the detailed procedure to create the .stl file from the xyz file because I never used Autocad before and I really don't know where to start. Thank you all for your time, I really appreciate that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnguyen Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 I forgot one more precision, the stl file that I need to create must contains only 3D solid elements (not surface). I have the xyz file in the attachment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Mather Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ...the stl file that I need to create must contains only 3D solid elements (not surface)... That is going to be a problem - since there is no such thing as an stl file that contains 3d solid elements. An stl file by definition is a surface file. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format) The stl surface file is generally created from a 3D Solid body. What you are trying to do is a very advanced topic. I recommend that first you learn the basics of creating 3D solid bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnguyen Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thank you for your answer. Anyway, I have to create an STL file starting from the xyz file. So following your advice, I need to create a 3D solid body with the xyz file bathymetry? But can you explain me the procedure because I made some research but the answer are very general, not applicable in my case. Thank for your time. PS: you are write, I need to create a 3D solid from my xyz file, then I will use the STLout command to export it in stl file. Sorry for the confusion. So do you have any idea of how to create a 3D solid from a xyz file bathymetry? Thank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Mather Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Why did you start a new thread? http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?84630-Create-a-3D-solid-from-a-xyz-file Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnguyen Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Because it was on the wrong topic as you say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I moved your original thread to the 3D Modelling-section and removed your duplicate thread. I am not entirely sure what 'bathymetry' means, but to create a surface from a XYZ-file sounds like the thing that would be easy in Civil 3D for instance. If this is a one-time deal, consider downloading the Civil 3D-trial. Other than that... I know that I did some magic with Excel to get a heck of a lot of points into AutoCAD. I basically coded the Points-command inside Excel, then copied the whole thing into AutoCAD and it rattled through them and gave me all the points. How to get points to a solid or a surface, I am not sure though... Like JD says, this is not something a beginner in AutoCAD should start with.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyke Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 @ Tiger, bathymetry is a sea bed surface. Is the coordinate list X & Y in decimal degrees and the Z coordinate the depth in metres? You would need to convert the list to all the same units, say metres, and the depths into heights to get the correctly shaped surface then using AutoCAD Civil 3D you can import the points to create a digital terrain model (a surface). If you don't have access to Civil 3D you could use the free CADTools from Glamsens to create the surface. The secret would be converting the coordinate list into an acceptable format, but that would be possible in Excel or a coordinate transformation program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnguyen Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thank all for your answer. Yes, I aware that it's not a simple thing for a beginner but for my project, I have to do it in order to obtain a STL file to use with Flow-3D (CFD software). Thank you Tyke for your answer. So X and Y are the longitude and latitude respectively, in "°" degree. And the Z correspond to the depth in "m" meter. I have upload the txt file: http://www.mediafire.com/download/0gyavv7qf9v3zxw/data5.txt.zip So can you explain me how I can convert X,Y and Z into the same unit by using Excel or something else (in meter)? Once I'll do it, I will use Civil 3D (trial version) as you explained me. But can I get the STL file from Civil 3D? Because with Autocad, the command STLout can only be used with solid body, and not with surface?? Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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