Available with 3D Analyst license.
Geoprocessing tools allow you to create, conduct surface analysis on, modify, and convert TIN surfaces. The following lists the tools that are available through the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension for use with TIN surface models.
3D Features tools
One tool in the 3D Features toolset accepts TIN surfaces as input.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Generates a line or multipatch feature class containing the results from a skyline or silhouette analysis. |
TIN Conversion toolset overview
The TIN Conversion tools allow you to convert TIN surfaces to raster surface models or to the vector features that they are composed of. These conversions allow different types of analysis, show different interpretations, or extract features from TINs that you can use to enhance your analysis results or visualization in 3D.
Converting between raster and TIN formats allows you to employ the benefits of each while modeling the same surface. For example, use a TIN to model a surface if you have features, such as lines or polygons, that you want to use to enforce natural features, such as ridges or valleys, or clip a TIN to a study area. Convert this TIN to a raster using the natural neighbors interpolation option to preserve the linear features in the output raster. You'll now be able to use spatial operators on the raster that may not have been available for the TIN. In addition, the TIN-to-raster conversion is a smoothing process, so contours you generate on the raster are smoother than they would be as a TIN.
| Geoprocessing Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Creates a line or polygon feature class representing the interpolation zone of a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset. | |
Creates 3D line features using the triangle edges of a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset. | |
Exports breaklines from a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset to a 3D line feature class. | |
Exports the nodes of a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset to a point feature class. | |
Creates polygon features using tag values in a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset. | |
Creates a raster by interpolating its cell values from the elevation of the input TIN at the specified sampling distance. | |
Exports triangle faces from a TIN dataset to polygon features and provides slope, aspect, and optional attributes of hillshade and tag values for each triangle. |
TIN Management toolset overview
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Creates a copy of a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset. | |
Creates a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset. | |
Redefines the data area, or interpolation zone, of a triangulated irregular network (TIN) based on its triangle edge length. | |
Adds features from one or more input feature classes that define the surface area of a triangulated irregular network (TIN). |
Triangulated Surface toolset
Triangulated Surface toolset tools allow you to create feature classes that extract 3D information from triangulated surfaces. Using the Triangulated Surface toolset, you can determine patterns that are not readily apparent in the original surface, such as slope and aspect.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Creates surface-conforming multipatch features by draping polygon feature class over a surface. | |
Identifies anomalous elevation measurements from terrain, TIN, or LAS datasets that exceed a defined range of elevation values or have slope characteristics that are inconsistent with the surrounding surface. | |
Calculates the volume and surface area between a polygon and terrain or TIN surface. | |
Creates polygon features that represent aspect measurements derived from a TIN, terrain, or LAS dataset surface. | |
Creates contour lines derived from a terrain, TIN, or LAS dataset surface. | |
Calculates the volumetric difference between two surface models stored as either a triangulated irregular networks (TIN) or terrain dataset. | |
Creates polygon features that represent ranges of slope values for triangulated surfaces. |