& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Create a TIN surface from contour data with elevation.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
2 min.
Tutorial resources
These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:
Transcript
00:03
Creating a surface from CAD contour data is used when converting elevated 2D contour data to an intelligent surface.
00:11
For this functionality to work, the contour data needs to have elevation data assigned to it.
00:16
To check if elevation data is assigned, select any contour or polyline, then right-click it and select Properties.
00:24
Under Geometry, if the Elevation displayed is not zero, then elevation data is assigned.
00:30
To convert these polylines to a triangulated irregular network, or TIN surface,
00:35
from the Home or View menu, in the Palettes panel, click Toolspace.
00:40
Click to display the Prospector tab.
00:43
Right-click Surfaces and select Create Surface.
00:48
In the Create Surface dialog, enter the following for this example:
00:52
Type: Triangulation (TIN) surface
00:56
Name: NGL
00:58
Description: Natural Ground Level
01:02
Style: Contours 2m and 10m (Background)
01:08
Click OK.
01:10
Back in the Prospector tab, expand Surfaces and click to expand the surface name—in this case, NGL.
01:18
Then, expand Definition, right-click Contours, and select Add.
01:24
In the Add Contour Data dialog, you can add a description,
01:28
adjust the weeding and supplementing factors, and toggle options to minimize flat areas.
01:34
Weeding reduces the number of points generated along the contours,
01:38
whereas supplementing factors add vertices along contours.
01:43
Click OK.
01:45
The command line prompts you to select the contour data.
01:49
Select all contour data by selecting the objects with elevation, and then press ENTER.
01:55
The CAD contour data is now converted to a TIN surface.
Video transcript
00:03
Creating a surface from CAD contour data is used when converting elevated 2D contour data to an intelligent surface.
00:11
For this functionality to work, the contour data needs to have elevation data assigned to it.
00:16
To check if elevation data is assigned, select any contour or polyline, then right-click it and select Properties.
00:24
Under Geometry, if the Elevation displayed is not zero, then elevation data is assigned.
00:30
To convert these polylines to a triangulated irregular network, or TIN surface,
00:35
from the Home or View menu, in the Palettes panel, click Toolspace.
00:40
Click to display the Prospector tab.
00:43
Right-click Surfaces and select Create Surface.
00:48
In the Create Surface dialog, enter the following for this example:
00:52
Type: Triangulation (TIN) surface
00:56
Name: NGL
00:58
Description: Natural Ground Level
01:02
Style: Contours 2m and 10m (Background)
01:08
Click OK.
01:10
Back in the Prospector tab, expand Surfaces and click to expand the surface name—in this case, NGL.
01:18
Then, expand Definition, right-click Contours, and select Add.
01:24
In the Add Contour Data dialog, you can add a description,
01:28
adjust the weeding and supplementing factors, and toggle options to minimize flat areas.
01:34
Weeding reduces the number of points generated along the contours,
01:38
whereas supplementing factors add vertices along contours.
01:43
Click OK.
01:45
The command line prompts you to select the contour data.
01:49
Select all contour data by selecting the objects with elevation, and then press ENTER.
01:55
The CAD contour data is now converted to a TIN surface.
How to buy
Privacy | Do not sell or share my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use | Legal | © 2025 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved
Sign in for the best experience
Save your progress
Get access to courses
Receive personalized recommendations
May we collect and use your data?
Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement.May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?
Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.