As I covered in last week’s post, Trimble recently released a new point cloud extension for SketchUp, Trimble Scan Essentials For SketchUp. In today’s post and video, I am using this tool to perform some analysis with the same 3D point cloud data that I introduced earlier (a scan of our classroom). I am basically checking how level the floor in our classroom really is by using what is aptly called a “floor flatness analysis”.

This approach is useful to verify any concrete work, especially if tolerances were defined in the specs. As you may have guessed already – our classroom’s floor is not overly flat at all in some areas.

My solution uses the extension’s Inspection Map feature and simply compares the floor scan’s points to a planar reference surface. This then results in a color-coded map that nicely illustrates where the ridges and valleys are. You can even label individual points and produce well-documented reports from this. Of course, the same approach also works on surfaces that are not horizontal. Just adjust the method as you need it.

Tutorial Video

Links


Let me know below if you have any comments or questions. In the meantime: Happy modeling!

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