LidarTools is a collection of tools to extend and enhance the TinSurface functionality in Autodesk Civil3D (2015 or Higher) as well as BricsCAD Civil (v20+).

When evaluating the procedure for importing Lidar into Civil3D, we realized there were way too many steps and way too many hoops to jump through.  Hoops preparing the data, through Recap to prepare a RCP/RCS, through Civil3D creating a point cloud, and finally creating the surface.  Highly trained professionals have more important things to do with their time than spend it like a well trained circus animal jumping through hoops, so we did something about it.

We released a subset of our C3DTools, to allow Civil3D (and BricsCAD Civil) users the ability to go straight from Lidar data to a TinSurface. It utilizes the Civil3D/BricsCAD APIs to generate the surface, so it’s Civil3D/BricsCAD doing the triangulation, not us.  We are reading the points, filtering out only those you want, and pumping them in.  Here are the tools we considered needed for the task.

	Tool	Description	C3D	BCD
	LIDARTIN	Prompts for a file selection of LAS/LAZ files, which classes to use (separate multiples with a comma), then a rectangular window for your area of interest. Any points in a file that fall outside the window are not included. Any files selected that fall outside the AOI are not even scanned for points (saved time).	√	√
	LIDARCONV	Prompts for a selection of files then converts them to LAZ for maximum compression and compatibility with the tools below. For maximum speed and file integrity, this tool uses RapidLasso’s LasZip for file conversions (with permission).	√	√
	LIDARLIST	Creates a detailed report displayed in your default browser, ready to print. Includes point count, coordinate window, elevation min/max and optionally classifications and sub-counts.	√	√
	LIDARMAKE	Create a LAZ file from Tin/Grid surfaces (classification 2 for ground). Includes a surface sampler that writes out points on an virtual grid (user supplies interval) draped onto the surface for reducing existing overly dense surfaces.	√	√
	LIDARPLOT	Plots selected Lidar files as point objects in the drawing. Beware that AutoCAD tends to slow down significantly and/or become unresponsive or unstable with massive amounts of points. A separate session is highly recommended.	√	√
	LIDARPROJ	Prompts for a selection of LAS/LAZ files, source and target system names. Then uses AutoCAD’s projection engine to convert the points to the new system (including elevation scaling). New file (with target code appended to name) stored in LAZ format using RapidLasso’s LasZip for maximum file integrity.	√	v24+
	LIDARTHIN	Creates a reduced point copy of a dense file with various filters. Currently includes Distance (ignore points closer than specified to other points), Interval (useful for contours) and optional elevation min/max removal. Echo's percent reduction of each file at command prompt.	√	√
	LIDARTILES	Prompts for a file selection of LAS/LAZ files, then draws rectangles in model space representing the extents of those tiles. Label information includes file name, min/max elevation and total number of points. Optionally include classifications found and the number of points for each.	√	√

This means you can have a massive collection of Lidar files (smaller tile the better) and simply select them all, window off your area of interest and in a short wait, have a TinSurface object ready to work with. 

LAZ, The Best Format:  We included support for LAS purely for convenience, but the best file format for your Lidar data present and future is the LAZ file format. It typically consumes about 18% of the space the LAS (or Recap) formats would, and roughly 1.5% of the space an ASCII XYZ file would! 

Requires (one of the following):  • Civil3D 2015-2017 Based Products  • Civil3D 2018-2024 Based Products  • Civil3D 2025 Based Products  • BricsCAD v20-v24 Pro/Platinum

Product Support: Email Support Only.

Before you buy: Consider that this functionality is only a small part of our MapWorks packages!

Pricing:

Item Save Price PayPal Shopify Direct Single:   $145   5-Pack: 10% $650 10-Pack: 15% $1230 15-Pack: 20% $1740 20-Pack: 25% $2175 Site/Corp:   Varies Contact Us