How many times have you pieced together the spot elevation data on a set of plans, triangulated it and then contoured it only to find isolated areas where the triangulation routine did not quite get it right? I sometimes contour at ridiculous contour intervals searching for any small anomalies that won’t show up on a [...]
Carlson Software Surface Manager
April 20th, 2008 · No Comments
Tags: Carlson Software · Modeling
A Word About DTMs and TINS
November 26th, 2007 · No Comments
Seems I have gotten ahead of myself, I have started posting about things like DTMs and TINs and I have not attempted to explain what they are. For starters, a DTM is a Digital Terrain Model and a TIN is a Triangulated Irregular Network. For the most part, I often use the terms interchangeably but [...]
Tags: Modeling
Why Things Like Alignments and Typical Sections Matter
November 25th, 2007 · 1 Comment
Occasionally I encounter a set of grading plans with nothing but contour lines as a guide to building a site. Seldom, if ever, does contour lines provide sufficient data to properly establish an accurate DTM from which to work. Allow me a chance to illustrate:
Looks simple and straightforward does it not, put a little more [...]
Tags: Modeling
Introduction to Machine Control
November 24th, 2007 · 1 Comment
An area in which I place a great deal of thought these days is in machine control systems. Particularly those systems that are used as grade control for earth moving equipment, such as for dozers, excavators and road graders. This systems function using
1. Some type of positioning systems (usually GPS or Robotics)
2. Device interface (with [...]
Tags: Machine Control