DTM data import from a DWG?

[Maybeable]

I'm a newbie trying to help simplify site planning for my girlfriend's garden design business - to get vector property/boundary lines and terrain height/contour data from GIS mapping.

 

Is this possible via the ESRI's ArcGIS integration?

 

I've been able to set N/W location in document preferences and see the (very grainy) Geoimage of a site, but it's too vague to be tracing from and that seems daft given that GIS boundary data exists already.

 

Having been unable to figure that out, I spotted this relatively cheap service providing DWF/DWG files including DTM height data (bonus!):

 

https://www.ukplanningmaps.com/prices/

 

Importing that gives lovely vector lines to accurately copy the boundaries, with the DTM (5m grid) height data as a Contour class...

 

...but I'm having no joy making that into a 3D site model.

 

I've read that VW can import data from a file (e.g. spreadsheet) and parse that into something 3D sexy, so as a workaround, I have tried and failed to a make report that can be exported, only to be imported and parsed.

 

For the life of me, I can't fathom it...

 

Can anyone advise what I am missing here?

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

Max

 

 

[Eric Gilbey, PLA]

Hi Max, Great question, and I hope I can address all the questions you have presented here.

 

Related to our recent GIS integrations and harvesting vector geometry to do so. Right now, you can bring in such geometry from shapefile formats, which usually contain open and closed polygons and points...these would usually carry data which informs the use of the lines...for instance, contour lines would contain the elevation...building footprints would likely carry the elevation of the building base, and maybe the top of building elevation, and also the building height. This all depends on the source of the GIS information.

 

DXF files can also carry such data, and they can also be georeferenced, so may be a source if SHP files are not available.

 

Lidar files, could be imported as point clouds and meshes, and this can also help to inform a site's terrain, but the geometry needs to be pulled out of the object and converted to elevated 3D points or 3D polygons. We can get more into that directly if that becomes the case.

 

As for vector contour lines from image/map services in our current GeoImage process, harvesting the geometry is not yet there, but something our development team is working on. You will be able to do this, but to get the vector data, I recommend the initial steps I mentioned earlier.

 

Regarding the other methods you mention, they are possible (DXF/DWG and tabular survey input (eastings, northings and elevations). This video describes/shows this process. 

 

 

Please feel free to message me if you need more information on this.

Best regards,

Eric