Simplify Surface

[philipnoland]

What does Simplify Surface do to your topography. I understand that this may help when cutting a pad. I just need a little clarification.

Thanks Augi

[sbrown]

as far as I understand it just looks for points close to eachother and removes some of them. so highly curved contours get slightly jagged. I could be wrong about this, but thats what I think its doing.

[Chirag Mistry]

Yes Scott, that is absolutely correct. It works like optimize as in VIZ/MAX.
It finds two close points and creates one point at their midpoint and so on...

[philipnoland]

So if I were to simplify it to 10' that would mean any two points that are with in 10' become "simplified. Does this help with cutting pads also? I have tried cutting pads before but it is a first for me and I do not really understand the toutorial. Any recomendations on learning this technique?

Thnks
Flip

[sbrown]

not sure why you would need it when you make a pad. basically to create a pad you just click pad, draw the shape and finish sketch, the pick the pad and move it up or down as needed(note you can set its properties before you finish the sketch)

[Wes Macaulay]

It may help with cutting pads... toposurfaces are complex beasts (though Revit hides this fact from us!) and simplify surface is a good command to have around if your surveyor has provided too many points.

How many points depends on a) how detailed a model of the site is needed and b) if your subregions are being successfully created -- if not try using fewer points in the toposurface.

With regards to your pads simplfying the surface shouldn't make a difference. Pads either raise or lower the topography depending on their elevation in relation to the topo surounding it. Pads cannot overlap each other when viewed in plan.

Think of pads as being the gravel between the soil and the basement slab of your design.

Does this help?

[philipnoland]

Yes indeed! However I have another question.

I have just created a real world topographical site. It has 3D contours as well. My building is at 100'. I want to merge these together leaving the building at 100'. I figured the topo surface would need to move down in elevation to meet the 100' level, right. Now how do I reference the real world coordinates for critical height levels of roofs and such? I hope that makes sense?

P

[Wes Macaulay]

Create a level called Sea Level (or rename Level 1). Set it to 0'. Import your survey data in this view so that the survey data lands at the right height. Create new levels at the elevations needed.

When starting a project you have to get the elevation of the project set up, and then lay out grids and levels to suit the location in X, Y and Z of your project. Grids and levels are like huge thin sheets of glass... when you pull on the end of a grid/level datum that's set to 3D mode, you're altering the length of this sheet of glass. And you have to do this right up front so that your level and grid datums will appear when you create new views.

Check out the attached PDF... hope it helps!