Using Cutplanes and Half-Spaces in Leica Cyclone

For those of you out there that are using Leica’s Cyclone product for everyday use, you may already know about the features mentioned in this blog post.  However, there may be many of you that are new, or just haven’t figured out what these features do in the software. 

Leica’s Cyclone product is easily one of my favorite software packages to use.  Sure, I know Cyclone Register 360 has a cool new interface and is pretty easy to use, but Cyclone was made to do so much more.  One of those things is added features to view at and analyze data in the software in many different ways.  Using these tools can help view the data from different angles or assist in the cleanup of point cloud noise. 

Let us begin with the Cutplane tool in Cyclone and the Half-Space mode.  These tools work in conjunction with the selection tools found on the Modes toolbar.

If we turn our attention to the image below, the red box designates the area I am interested in looking at or modeling. 

In order to see everything inside that box, I need to remove the data outside the box.  I can do this by deleting the data outside the area of interest, but I could also use the Cutplane tool.  This tool can be found in a few locations.  First, we can look at the menu bar at the top of the screen.  Using the Half-Space mode, requires a single pick point where we want a limit of the point cloud to stop.  For instance, in the case of the red box, if I want to use the upper limit of the red box as the point where I want the upper limit of my point cloud, I would simply click in the area of that red line.  Notice the red dot on the image.

By using the menu option below, we can remove the top portion of our scan temporarily and only focus on the basement area of our building.  

The result is below.

This tool is not limited to the Z axis, it can be done on the X & Y axis as well.  It also can be done it the positive and negative directions.  Tools for Cutplane can be found on the Cutplane toolbar as well.

The other mode with in the Cutplane option is to view the point cloud in a Slice.  To view the point cloud this way, we will need to use two clicks using the Multi-Pick tool.  In the image below, notice that while I am viewing the Half Space and have used the single pick tool (to clear the other pick selected) and then the Multi-Pick tool to pick the limits of the slice.  Using the Tools menu>Cutplane>Set Slice from Picks>X Axis will provide the result of only displaying the data in between the two selected points.

Result:

Once again, these tools are available on multiple axis. 

Once a Cutplane is created, it can be managed using several tools.  For the Half-Space tool, we can raise or lower the Half-Space using the Raise and Lower tools.  The Slice tools can be used to adjust the thickness of the slice.  For example: If the slice you initially create does not include a piece of equipment you would like to see, you can adjust the thickness by opening the Set Thickness dialog box.

These tools can be very valuable in the clean up and analysis of a point cloud. 

About the Author

Sr. Reality Capture Applications Expert<br><br>Jay offers a broad industry overview that comes from years of in-the-field experience. Jay’s vast experience allows him to help organizations make the most of both Leica Geosystems and Autodesk solutions. He understands the overall workflow from point cloud collection to design presentation and helps teams ensure they’re working with the best tools for the job. His years of industry instruction allow him to educate teams efficiently while they improve their workflows.

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