Surface inspection
The Surface inspection cogo function compares the scan point cloud of an as-built surface with a reference surface and calculates the distance to the reference surface for each scan point to create an inspection point cloud. The selected reference surface can be a plane, cylinder, scan, or existing surface file.
You can create a region to include in the inspection only the scan points you are interested in. A region contains scan points from one or more .rcwx scan point clouds or from other regions. The region can be used to compare against any reference surface or, when performing a scan to scan surface inspection, create a region so that you can compare multiple scans with multiple scans.
Points in the inspection point cloud are color-coded to provide immediate visual feedback between the point cloud and the reference surface. When inspecting a horizontal floor, for example, you will be able to see immediately any parts of the floor that are lower than they should be, and any parts of the floor that are higher than they should be.
You can save the inspection point cloud to the job. You can also save screen captures and annotate them if required, to highlight particular point details and problem areas.
Only scans created using a Trimble SX10 or SX12 scanning total station can be used in the surface inspection. Multiple scans can be used if more than one scan is required to cover the as-built surface.
- Tap and select Cogo / Surface inspection. You can perform the inspection in the map view or the video view.
- Set up the map or video screen so that it shows only the scan points you want to inspect:
- Tap in the Map toolbar or the Video toolbar to open the Layer manager and select the Scans tab.
Select the scan or scans to include in the inspection.
The check mark inside a square next to the file name appears, indicating scan points are visible and selectable in the map and video view.
To create a region, select the scan points in the map or video screen, and then from the tap and hold menu select Create region. Enter the region Name and tap Accept. The region you created is listed in the Scans tab of the Layer manager. Tap the region to make the region visible in the map and video view.
If there are scans or regions visible that you do not want to show in the map or video screen, tap each of them in turn. The check mark next to the scan or region name disappears when they are hidden from view.
If you are doing a scan to scan inspection, at this point the map or video screen should show the scan points you are most interested in and all other scans or regions should be hidden. You will select the scan or region to compare against from the list of hidden scans in the Surface inspection form.
- To return to the Surface inspection form, tap Accept in the Layer manager.
For more information, see To manage scans.
- Enter a Name for the surface inspection.
- Select the Method and then enter the parameters to define the Reference surface against which to compare the as-built scan or region:
- If you select Scan to horizontal plane, select a point and enter the elevation to define the horizontal plane.
- If you select Scan to vertical plane, select two points to define the vertical plane.
- If you select Scan to inclined plane, select three points to define the inclined plane.
- If you select Scan to cylinder, select two points that define the axis of the inclined or horizontal cylinder and then enter the radius of the cylinder.
- If you select Scan to vertical cylinder, select three points to define the vertical cylinder.
If you select Scan to surface, the currently selectable surfaces in the job are listed. Supported surface file types are DTM and TTM, and files that include selectable surfaces (DXF, RXL, TXL, 12da) as well as whole objects or individual faces in a BIM model.
Surfaces must be visible and selectable to be used as the reference surface. If the file contains selectable surfaces you must select the surface or surfaces to use in the inspection from the map.
To use individual faces as surfaces in the BIM model, set the Surface selection mode field to Individual faces. For more information, see Map settings.
To change the listed surfaces, tap and change which surfaces are selectable in the Map files tab of the Layer manager.
BIM models are not supported when running Trimble Access on an Android device and you cannot perform a surface inspection to them. Other surface types are supported on Android.
If you select Scan to scan, select the scan or region to compare against earlier scan data.
To compare against more than one scan, create a region that includes scan points from all the scans you are interested in. Only scans or regions not currently visible in the map or video screen are listed in the Reference scan field.
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In the Color scale field, select the color scale to use for the inspection results.
To modify the color scale parameters, tap the color scale softkey in the Surface inspection screen. See To define the color scale parameters below.
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Tap Calc.
The software compares the visible scans or regions or the selected scan points to the defined Reference surface and creates an inspection point cloud. Points in the inspection point cloud are colored using the selected Color scale.
The Actual range group shows the minimum and maximum distances between the scan and the reference surface.
To inspect the surface further:
- Tap any inspection point to view the coordinates of the point. The Dev value shows the deviation (distance) from that point to the reference surface. The Dev value is stored in the Code field for the inspection point.
- To turn the connected instrument to the selected point, tap Turn to. If the connected instrument has a laser pointer, turn on the laser pointer to highlight where any remedial work may be required.
- To create a screen capture of the current software view, including the map and Surface inspection form, tap . If required, annotate the screen capture using the Draw tools and tap Store. To save the screen capture to the job, tap Store.
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Tap Store. The inspection parameters are saved to the job.
All inspection points that you had selected in the map or Video screen are saved to the job.
You can view the saved inspection in the map at any time. See To view a saved surface inspection below.
The surface inspection is immediately hidden from the map and the Surface inspection form is ready for a new inspection.
You can create a Surface inspection report PDF file from the Job / Export screen. The Surface inspection report includes a summary of the surface inspection parameters, any screen captures of the surface inspection, and any inspection points stored with the surface inspection.
Depending on the surface being inspected and the tolerances required, you can create multiple color scale definitions with different colors and different distance separations. Select the most appropriate color scale definition to highlight variations in distance from the scan to the reference surface.
To define the color scale parameters:
- Tap the color scale softkey below the Surface inspection form.
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In the Color scales screen, select the color scale you want to change and then tap Edit.
Alternatively, tap Copy to create a new color scale based on the one you have selected. To create a new empty color scale, tap New. Enter the color scale name and tap Accept. The software shows the edit screen for the selected color scale.
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To change the distances used for the color scale, enter or edit the values in the left column. To remove distances, delete the value in the appropriate fields, or select the field and tap Delete.
Distances do not have to be entered in strict order. To insert a distance, simply add it anywhere and the list is automatically resorted.
- For each distance value, in the right column select the color to use for scan points within that distance from the reference surface.
- To set the color scale to use gradients which transition smoothly between colors, select the Smooth transition check box at the top of the screen. To turn off gradients and display the color scale as blocks, clear the Smooth transition check box.
- Tap Accept.
- To return to the Surface inspection screen, tap Esc in the Color scales screen.
When you tap Store in the Surface inspection screen, the inspection is saved to the job. To view the inspection later:
- Tap in the Map toolbar or the Video toolbar to open the Layer manager.
- Select the Inspections tab.
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Tap an inspection to select it or deselect it. A check mark indicates the inspection is selected. You can select only one inspection to view at a time.
The inspection is shown in the map.
For more information, see To manage inspections.