Dealing With Surfaces in
MineSight
©2012 Dr. B. C. Paul
Note – This presentation contains many screenshots from the program
MineSight by Mintec. Credit is given to Mintec for the program. Additionally
topics covered in these slides are also covered in various training classes
taught by Mintec. While these slides are not intended to directly copy these
classes there is an overlap of subject material.
One Operation Likely Needed in
a Mine Design
• You will need to bring in topographic map
information
• One of the more common file exchange
formats for contour data is dxf
• Often possible to get contour data off the internet
in the form of a dxf file.
• Place the dxf file in your project directory
• You already know how to create a geometry
object and put it in edit mode to receive data
Set Up to Import DXF File
Highlight the
Main folder
Click File
Choose Import
Pick DXF from
The side menu
Choose the DXF File to Import
This is a tough
Choice since
There is only
one
Tell it to Load All the Selected
Layers
Oh Cool – Look What Appeared
in My Viewer Window!!!
Problems commonly encountered
on Imported DXF
• Many styles define shapes with a tightly
spaced series of points
• (rather than with wider spaced points and line
directions)
• This can result in contour files with so much point
data that they swamp the system and cause
crashes.
• Sloppy contour sources may define all
contour lines to be a 0 elevation regardless of
what elevation they represent
• This is a result of sloppy file preparation
• But when you get someone else’s files heaven
alone knows what you will get
What Do You Do With Contour
Lines that have no Elevation?
True Confessions
• Other people’s sloppy work is a pain in
the _ _ _ _
• You end up having to take the contour
lines one at a time a moving them to the
proper elevation
• This can be even more fun because you
have to find out what the elevation is
suppose to be by looking for the label on
each contour line.
Activate the Point Editor under
Utilities
Now Go to the Selection Menu to
Make a New Selection
Note that the Point
Editor is still
Grayed out and not
active
I Picked the 1700 Meter Line
Note it has
Turned orange
I Right Click to Complete My
Selection
Note the line
Has now turned
red
Now I Go to Element and Select
Move
Tell it To Move the Entire
Element
Reclick on the Line to Confirm
Your Choice
Note the line has
Turned yellow
And the point
Editor is now
Active.
Check Off and Change the Z
Coordinate
Click on Apply
Save Your Change
Your Done with That Line
Now you can
Move on to the
Next.
Now for the too dense contour
After selecting the contour line the common
Is Polyline Thin
3 D Modeling and Surfaces
• I can use my topography to build a 3 D model
for my surface
• It’s a nice visualization
• I will also use it as a basis later when I build my
block model or design my optimum final pit.
• I start by telling computer what to use to
make the surface (my topography obviously)
• I’ll tell the computer to lay out points on the
topo and then triangulate a wire frame from
them
• I’ll convert the wireframe into solid surface
Now Select The Topo to Create
A Surface
Highlight Topo
(the file the imported
Data went into)
Right Click to Bring up
Menu
Choose Select
On the side menu
Choose all elements
(not they are in red now)
Go to Surface
Under Surface – Pick Triangulate Surface – on side menu
pick with
selection
Note I will
Send my
Results to
topography
It Creates a Wire-Frame
Surface
We Can Make A Regular Surface
(Here is How!)
Right Click Topography
To pull up a menu
Pick Properties
Switch to a surface instead of
wire-frame
Note wire-frame only
Is highlighted in the
Radio button
Highlight the faces
Only button instead
Now I See A Triangulated
Surface Instead
Lets Consider some Clean Up
• I probably don’t need to see the topo
lines anymore
• Lets Turn them off
• Lets Smooth out those triangulated
faces a bit.
The Topo Lines are in the
Topo File
Click on the
Save Edit Button
(It is a very
Strange looking
Save button
Compared to
Windows)
Now Highlight Topo and Right Click It
to Bring up a Menu – Pick Close
Note that this is a good reason for keeping objects is separate files so they can
Be turned off and on with ease.
Woopy – Now They Are Gone
Now Lets Smooth That
Surface
Select the
Topography object
Right Click it for a
Menu
Select Properties
Note on the
Properties menu there
Is a surface tab
Note the Smooth Shading Option
on the Surfaces Tab Screen
Go ahead and check for smooth surfaces and then click Ok
Now Isn’t That Smooth Surface
Impressive?
Ok – I Agree – Blue is a Strange
Color for Mountains
Highlight
Topography
Right Click for
A menu
Choose Properties
Go Back to Surface
Note We Have A Color Control
Area and Pallet
This Color Pallet Works Like
What You Are Familiar With
I think I will go for a brown
And Now I Have My Surface in
My Choice of Colors
If I Hate My Viewer Background
Color I Can Change That Too
Click on the Viewer Properties
Icon to Open the Viewer
Properties Dialog Box.
Note There Is a Background
Color and a Choice Pallet
Pick the New Color and
Darkness
Click on Ok
Now There’s A Background Color
You Don’t See Every Day!
Now For Your Skills!
• Assignment #2
• Get the starter MineSight File and DXF file
• Copy the DXF file into your MineSight
project
• Create a geometry object called topolines
• Import the DXF file into your topolines
object.
• Turn on Topolines and take a screen shot
More of Assignment #2
• Create a geometry object called Toposurface
• Use Surface Triangulate to triangulate your
topolines into Toposurface.
• Take a screen shot of your wireframe topo surface
• Choose a good surface color and a good
background color
• Express the toposurface as a solid surface in the
color of your choosing
• Reset the background color on the viewer
• Take a screenshot.