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MX Visualizations Technical Document
MX Visualizations Technical Document
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
5.2
5.3
6.
7.
8.
June 2010
1. Model Setup
The initial process for the creation of a road visualisation is to have a suitable survey model and
design model. For the demonstration of the process in this document the models below are used as
examples.
These models should be associated with the relevant style and feature sets. The style and feature
sets can be set by selecting Model Defaults in the Tools menu. Figure 1.1 shows the dialog boxes for
the style and feature sets linked to each model. Figure 1.2 & 1.3 shows the models when displayed
using these style and feature sets.
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
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Figure 1.3
Create a mask file by selecting Selection Mask Tables in the Tools menu. Figure 2.1 shows the dialog
box setup for the selection mask table.
Figure 2.1
When the strings have been added hit Save As and save the file to the ProjectStyles folder. In this
example the file was saved as Design Mask.msk, no strings were required to be masked for the
Survey model. String masking will be individual to each project and mask files may be required for
both the Design and Survey models.
A boundary string is required for the Design model as part of the process for creating a composite
model. A boundary string can be created by selecting Create a Boundary around a Model in the
Modify>Edit Strings menu. The Design Mask.msk needs to be selected for the Design model. Once
the Design model has been selected and the mask file selected hit Next to create the boundary. In
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the following dialog box use BOUNDARY as the Model Name and B000 as the String Name. Hit Finish
to save the boundary. Figure 2.2 shows the dialog box setups for the creation of boundary.
Figure 2.2
A visual check of the boundary string should be carried out as the boundary may require editing
after creation. This guide assumes the user is familiar with editing points on strings. The completed
boundary string for the Design model is shown in Figure 2.3 below.
Figure 2.3
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Figure 3.1
To begin creating a composite model select Create Composite Model form the Modify>Edit Models
menu. The initial dialog box asks to Select Outside Model, the outside model is the survey model. In
this dialog box select the Survey model and hit Next. Figure 3.2 shows the set up for this dialog box.
Figure 3.2
The next dialog box asks to Select Inside Model, the inside model is the design model. In this dialog
box select the Design model, for the boundary select BOUNDARY as the Model Name and B000 as
the String Name and for the masking select Design Mask.msk. Figures 3.3 and 3.4 show the set up
for these dialog boxes.
Figure43.3
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Figure 3.4
Once the mask file and boundary have been selected hit Next to continue. This will bring up the
dialog box to create the composite model. Tick the Create Composite String Model radio button and
use COMPOSITE MODEL as the Model Name. Hit Finish to save the model. Figure 3.5 shows the set
up for this dialog box and Figure 3.6 shows the created composite model.
Figure 3.5
Figure 3.6
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Figure 4.1
Figure 4.2
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5. Triangulation Seeding
5.1 Setting up the Automatic Seeding
The next stage is to seed the triangulation, seeding is the process of adding groups to a triangulation
model i.e. Road, Shoulder, Grass etc. This process allows for the creation of rendered images and
videos once the triangulation has been associated with the relevant style and feature set. Display
both the COMPOSITE MODEL and the COMPOSITE TRIANGULATION as this will make it easier to
determine the locations for the different groups.
To start seeding the triangulation you need to select Automatic Seeding from the Analysis>Triangle
menu. This brings up the dialog box in Figure 5.1. Select COMPOSITE TRIANGULATION as the
Triangulation Model and COMPOSITE MODEL as the Model Name. Hit Next to continue, this will
bring up a warning to assign the default style set, hit OK to continue. Figure 5.1.1 shows these dialog
boxes.
Figure 5.1.1
This will apply a default group to the triangulation as shown in Figure 5.1.2 below.
Figure 5.1.2
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This will also bring up the Define Triangulation Groups dialog box as shown in Figure 5.1.3. This
dialog box will be used to seed the various seed groups.
Eye Dropper
Redo
Feature Select
Undo
Highlight
Show Details
Crossing
Paint Brush
Fill
Back
Finish
Cancel
Figure 5.1.3
The first process is to set the entire triangulation to the GRAS group, this will the largest group in the
triangulation. Select GRAS from the drop down menu, and select Highlight as this will highlight the
triangles before they are seeded. This will make it easier to determine the triangulation that will be
seeded. To seed the triangulation with the GRAS group select Feature Select and click on the
triangulation. You will have to select separate triangulation areas to set the entire triangulation to
GRAS. Once complete the triangulation should look as in Figure 5.1.4, the GRAS shows up as green.
Figure 5.1.4
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Figure 5.2.1
Select SHDR from the drop down menu. Select the areas between the shoulder strings to seed the
shoulders of the Design model. Figure 5.2.2 shows the SHDR seeding as orange.
Figure 5.2.2
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Select KERB from the drop down menu. Select the area between the design carriageway strings and
the edge of shoulder strings to seed the kerbs of the Design model. Figure 5.2.3 shows the KERB
seeding as white.
Figure 5.2.3
A visual check of the design model should be carried out to ensure that it has been fully seeded. If
triangulation areas have been missed then these will have to be selected manually using the Paint
Brush.
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Figure 5.3.1
As some of the river triangles were not automatically seeded theses have to be manually selected
using the Paint Brush. Figure 5.3.2 shows the completed RIVR seeding.
Figure 5.3.2
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Select ROAD from the drop down menu. Select the area between the road strings to seed the roads
of the Survey model. Figure 5.3.3 and Figure 5.3.4 shows the ROAD seeding as grey.
Figure 5.3.3
Figure 5.3.4
Similar to the river triangles some of the road triangles were not automatically seeded theses have
to be manually selected using the Paint Brush. Figure 5.3.5 shows the completed ROAD seeding.
Figure 5.3.5
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6. Visualisation Setup
Once the seeding is completed the triangulation should look similar to Figure 6.1 below. The
COMPOSITE MODEL can be unloaded from the view.
Figure 6.1
The initial stage in setting up the visualisation is to change the feature and style set to MFW Grouped
Triangles with materials for the COMPOSITE TRIANGULATION model. This associates materials with
the various seeding groups in the triangulation. Figure 6.2 shows the dialog box for this.
Figure 6.2
To display a basic render of the seeded triangulation select a new view from the View Toggles and
use the Rotate View button to give a 3D view of the triangulation model. Figure 6.3 shows the 3D
view. Note that the MFW Grouped Triangles with materials now displays the triangulation as a
wireframe.
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Figure 6.3
From the view display mode select Smooth with Shadows as shown in Figure 6.4.
Figure 6.4
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Figure 6.5 shows the basic render of model using the materials.
Figure 6.5
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Figure 7.1
To create a new string above the centreline select Design A String: Horizontal Offset from the
Design>Design a String menu. Use LC00 as the new string name, set the Horizontal Offset to 0 and
set the Constant Vertical Offset to 1.2. Figure 7.2 shows the set up for the dialog boxes.
Figure 7.2
To create the fly through select Fly Through from the Utilities>Render menu. This will bring up the
Fly Through Producer dialog box as shown in Figure 7.3.
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Figure 7.3
Set Standard Lens to Normal, Target Position to Floating (this follows tangentially along the string),
View to 2, Render Setup to Untitled, Render Mode to From View, Speed to 5, Resolution to 640 x 400
and Frames to 500. Figure 7.4 shows the dialog box setup.
Figure 7.4
From the select Define Path from the Tools menu of the Fly Through Producer. Select the start of
LC00 string and the end of the LC00 string when prompted.
Once the path has been defined the FLY THROUGH model can be unloaded as it is not required for
the video rendering.
Select Record from the tools Tools menu of the Fly Through Producer and select Windows Avi as
shown in figure 7.5. This will create a basic video of the fly through.
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June 2010
Figure 7.5
A higher quality fly through video can be created by selecting other render setups and render modes
in the Fly Through Producer. The resolution can be increased to improve the quality also. Note that
the higher quality videos take significantly more time to render then the basic videos.
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June 2010
8. 3D PDF Creation
A 3D Pdf is a simple way of sharing the design with others. The procedure below show how to create
a 3D Pdf.
Go to File and select Print to bring up the print dialog box in Figure 8.1
Figure 8.1
Select View 3 in the View drop down menu, this is the view that has been set up to show a 3d aerial
view of the model. In the Printer drop down menu select Bentley Driver, and in the Select Printer
Driver configuration File (the magnifying glass symbol) dialog select pdf.pltcfg. Set the Paper to A3
and hit the Maximise Button to expand to fill the page. Figure 8.2 shows the dialog box when it has
been set up.
Figure 8.2
To print to a 3d Pdf the Print to 3D box needs to be ticked otherwise it will only create a standard 2d
pdf. Select File>Print to create the 3D Pdf file.
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