Lidar LAS to DWG

No way to convert LAS to DWG. You can open the LAS point cloud in most 3d cad applications. It takes a lot of hardware. The point cloud can be literally hundreds of thousands, even millions of points. You need a good point cloud application that can work with your cad. I don't know if Intellicad can handle point clouds. I use Microstation InRoads with TopoDOT. In total they are over $20k investment, then you can add another $6000 for the PC. Also add the cost of Pix4d into the mix at $5555 on their 5 year anniversary, normally $8700. I hate it when thinking about all the $$ I have invested in software. But it really does make my life much easier and I enjoy creating the deliverables my clients need with these tools of the trade.

I just checked Pix4d Mapper website for pricing. Appears they no longer offer a perpetual license.?ÿ

Yikes

After all that there is a very steep learning curve.

In the end you are still drawing CAD line vectors from the point cloud.

I have seen las files up to 1Gb on my bigger sites.

Was this airborne lidar?

How big is the project?

Is in RGB or intensity?

Do you have an orthoimage?

I donƒ??t know Lee. ?ÿI am just trying to get polyline contours at the county level for general planning purposes. ?ÿSome counties are better to work with than others. ?ÿSo I found statewide lidar today. In my ignorance I had hoped that some simple conversion would work.

Oh. So that may not be as dense of a point cloud. You should get demo copy of Global Mapper. That can classify the point cloud, which means separate the ground terrain features from buildings and trees. Then GM has many settings to create decent contours. GM is quite inexpensive at $1000, compared to others. And does not require cad or a lot of hardware. The process I was describing was for mobile lidar, terrestrial lidar or drone point clouds at sub cm GSD. That LAS file you describe might be one meter GSD.

Thanks buddy.

Newer versions of Carlson likely have LAS compatibility built in, so consider contacting them about upgrading.?ÿ I believe they have some standalone products that handle the massive data much better than any CAD engine.

You can also download martin isenburg's LAS2LAS command line tool to read the LAS file, export to CSV/TXT.?ÿ Make sure you use the classification switch to only export class 2 (ground). Be aware the file size will increase 10X or more on that process.

As mentioned, better have some serious hardware !!! Example 130 acre site (85 million points, 73 million ground).?ÿ States in my region have done a good job chopping the statewide data into 5000x5000 foot tiles with intelligent names and direct download URLs.?ÿ Those can not only process quickly, they can be downloaded directly by software by?ÿsimply windowing off the area of interest (don't even need a browser).

IMO, increased granularity really helps working with LAS since the file header contains the coordinate window, so the smaller the better.?ÿ Software can read the header in a split second and determine if the file is in the area of interest.?ÿ Sadly some (govt) providers make you download 20 times more than you need.

I received this excellent and quick reply last evening fom Carlson.?ÿ I am posting it here with his permission (I have redacted the SN):

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the email. We can import the .LAS file through our Point Cloud software. Below is a demo SN that you can use for 30 days to try out the Point Cloud. To apply it, go to Help > About Carlson, click the Registration button and Add the serial number.

Once added, go to Settings > Carlson Menus > Point Cloud. Once in Point Cloud, go to the Point Clouds drop-down and select "Point Cloud Manager". In the manager, click on New to create a new .PC file in your project folder and then, right-click on Clouds, go to Import and use the LIDAR option.

Point Cloud Demo SN: (redacted)

Here's a link to our training movies:
http://www.carlsonsw.com/support/carlson-movies/?tubepress_search=%22Point+Cloud%22

Most recent tutorial (note; this is based on Carlson 2018):
http://files.carlsonsw.com/mirror/manuals/Carlson_2018/source/Point_Clouds/Tutorial/PointCloud_StepbyStep.htm

Best regards,
Mark
--
Mark McKeown
Technical Support - APAC
Carlson Software
support@carlsonsw.com

Brad,?ÿ

I work with LAS files a lot and import them in C3D as well as Microstation. Is the .las file classified? you can import the .las file into c3D no problem. I can then save it as a .dwg, make a surface, you name it.?ÿ

The problem is that if you import form "free" .las file it will contain everything...trees, bldg, water, etc. You will need to classify the data. Otherwise you will just have points - no idea what they are. Another hurdle is in the 2018 C3D direct import of .las is no longer supported, but can be done through ReCap. Perhaps you can download ReCap, import the .las, save as .rcp and import into Carlson??ÿ

I can help you out if need be.?ÿ

You can also use TBC to work with the LAS. I use LP360. NGS's VDatum will let you reproject LAS/LAZ.

You can import a .las file into Autodesk Recap and then import into Autocad if needed. Both can be used for free for 30 days.

I process pointcloud data on a gaming laptop that cost $1500, never had any issues registering or processing large files 10Gb+

Global Mapper is supposed to handle this very nicely. Spledeus is very knowledgeable regarding Global Mapper.

QGIS has some LAS tools as well.

Thanks everyone. ?ÿI am just gonna heads up digitize the contours for the 40 acres site from a GIS screen shot for this one.