Topo model from DEM or other

BurrMan - I saw your Diamondhead model some time back - it was really nice work - and I'm trying to duplicate the workflow.

If Burr or anyone else can help out with the fundamentals on the front end...

1) How do I wade through the labyrinth of data at USGS to find files in the format I need?
2) What's the easiest way to convert to STL? Or another useful format?
3) I've heard folks talk about just grapping data from Google Earth... how?

All I'm trying to do is to get basic terrain contours without creating from scratch. If I got other GIS layered info (roads and rivers, etc) that would be cool, potentially, but let's just start with basics..... How do I get a mountain into BobCAD?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Originally Posted by tlharris

BurrMan - I saw your Diamondhead model some time back - it was really nice work - and I'm trying to duplicate the workflow.

If Burr or anyone else can help out with the fundamentals on the front end...

1) How do I wade through the labyrinth of data at USGS to find files in the format I need?
2) What's the easiest way to convert to STL? Or another useful format?
3) I've heard folks talk about just grapping data from Google Earth... how?

All I'm trying to do is to get basic terrain contours without creating from scratch. If I got other GIS layered info (roads and rivers, etc) that would be cool, potentially, but let's just start with basics..... How do I get a mountain into BobCAD?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Hi Tl harris,

Most of these will depend on the software you have/can get ahold of. A starter one could be "Bryce" which will read dems and sdts and save out obj's, although the export will be resolution/memory limited. The obj's are easily converted to stls with something free like meshlab.

The free dem data will be limited in areas.. What you will have to know are "Counties", as most are grouped this way.

So you can start here: Free GIS Data - GIS Data Depot

Create an account there, then clcik on the state area and navigate down through statewide (Maybe not good to start) or county wide data, then drill down into the county that holds the area you want.. When you clcik there, a bunch of formats are presented and you want to cklcik on "Digital elevation models". From there, the little "green download arrows" are free. The premium is paid, but easier to get to(Thats the whole trick, they dont make it easy to get the free stuff.)

Bryce has been free for awhile now. There is always a way to get it free, like the back of 3d magazines and stuff.

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1) How do I wade through the labyrinth of data at USGS to find files in the format I need?

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What format do you need (Software you are trying to use) Maybe I could help and make a quick video showing me get the area you are interested in?

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2) What's the easiest way to convert to STL? Or another useful format?

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That depends on the software you are using. For Bryce, it is to save it as obj, then convert that to stl.

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3) I've heard folks talk about just grapping data from Google Earth... how?

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I've never heard of that, I'll look into it for you. It may require google modeling software.

Lastly, if you want to do this as more than hobby work, then you would purchase a software that does it. Surfer 9 - contouring and 3D surface mapping software Or something like that.

Thanks, Burrman. Your prompt and detailed answers are *sincerely* appreciated.

I should have included more details, of course.
I own a design/build studio - we build museum exhibits, among other things. We just jumped into the CNC game a couple of months ago. I bought into BCv24, w/Nest and Art, in an attempt to get a jump on the CAM learning curve.

We're an Autodesk shop. Inventor and 3DSMax for all 3D modeling. We have AutoCAD, and we still remember enough to do basic things in there, but we switched to Inventor for all new work since about 2008. We import these into BC. We've also dabbled with Art, as we use Adobe CS5.5 for all our 2D work, it's nice to be able to go from Illustrator or PDFs straight to toolpath. Not quite a 'seamless' workflow, but we're learning, and largely happy with it. We'll also use Blender from time to time for certain things.

The topo business is something that we do from time to time for exhibit work. We're experienced at doing the 'old' way, but we know that it's crazy, seeing as we have a CNC router now. We need to learn this.

Thanks so much for the info on Bryce and Surfer. I'll look into both of those. While we're interested in free tools to cut out teeth on, we're not opposed to investing in good tools for the long run.

In terms of file types, we're intermediates with going between 3DS <> Inventor - we do it, it works, but there's more to learn before we call ourselves gurus.

Thanks again -
Todd

Hey Todd,
Well, dont let me make it more complicated than it may be for you too!!!

You mentioned using google earth. You could use Max and do this.. There is a video of a guy using Sketchup 8 with a new grab feature that will be just like it and make it easy. Although I dont have either program, so you could test the workflow. Here's the video.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRYxSScQGk&feature=relmfu]Google Earth terrain to 3ds Max Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]

Since you already have Max and Inventor, there will be tons of plugins that will work with the USGS data available too, without going to a 3rd party like Surfer.... Have you already tried with these or are you just trying to figure out where to go? To me, the sketchup to max looks pretty easy, but I dont know what type of resolution you are actually getting on the terrain. Like it may ber very low and just using texturing for detail? But, this can also be overcome by using BobArt and bring the low res stl terrain in, and using the texture to further detail it as a BobArt model... Again, it will depend on the output you need...

If you did want to fool around with it a bit, I would be glad to look at some tests with you. Maybe try the Sketchup8 to Max method, and we can then look at what you get from Max and see how it will get cut in BobCad...

Burr

Thanks, Burrman.
I'm more than happy to try some things and share results... as you said, I was rally just at the point of not even lnowing which way to turn. So many tools/toys to learn... so few hours in a day! Oh, and somewhere in there, we have to get actual work out the door.
I'll look around for 3DSMax plugins and see what I come up with. Thanks!

OK, long overdue update, but I realized I've done this a few times in the past year, and should share what I've learned.

No doubt, there ARE lots of addons, utilities and converters which can be used in a whole bunch of different workflows to get to the same end result.
We're an Autodesk Inventor shop, and we use 3DSMax a little for organic modeling. Every once in a while (a couple of times a year?) a client will come ask for a topo map. I was after a workflow that had a relatively low learning curve, was consistent and predictable, and gave good results.

At the end of the day, time was worth more than money. I broke down and invested in GlobalMapper 14. It retails for $399.... I'm pretty sure I found some sort of 10% discount somewhere. I don't have any relationship with these folks, but with just a little investment in time, I was able to generate what I needed, and output an STL that BobCAD coule work with. Their tech support folks were patient and helpful... I'm not a cartographer, but they took the time to get me up and running.

On the BobCAD side, things seemed to work best with an advanced rough / slice planar and keeping it simple. Small enough stepover with an .032" ballnose, and the final surface is completely acceptable.

Happy to answer more detailed questions if anyone's trying this.

Can we see some pics of some of the work you produced ?

I have global mapper too.... You can save the elevation AND grab all the various types of maps, like "Streets" and others as bitmap for the same coords, then you can use BobArt to emboss those as a texture onto your elevation data!