The 3D View provides tools for analyzing terrain and racking placement within your map-based power plant design. This interface enables terrain slope analysis, table slope constraint identification, and post height calculations.
Legacy Feature: The 3D View is a legacy feature set that has been superseded by Terrain Pro. For advanced terrain analysis and optimization, consider using Terrain Pro.
Overview
The 3D View interface is organized into the following sections:
- Height Analysis Table — Displays a breakdown of post heights across the layout with counts and percentages.
- Terrain Analysis Panel — Configure and execute terrain slope constraints and post height analysis.
- Layers — Toggle visibility of wireframe and DC layer overlays.
- Export Model — Export the 3D model for external use.
Height Analysis Table
This table displays the distribution of post heights across the layout after executing a post height analysis.
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|
| Height | Display | Height range categories for post heights (e.g., ≤1.5m, 2m, 2.5m, 3m, 3.5m, >3.5m). |
| Count | Display | The number of posts falling within each height category. |
| % | Display | The percentage of total posts in each height category. |
Terrain Analysis Panel
Configure terrain slope constraints and post height analysis parameters.
| Input | Type | Units | Description |
|---|
| Terrain Slope Constraints | Toggle | — | Enables terrain slope analysis to identify and generate exclusion areas where terrain exceeds slope tolerances. When enabled, racks in high-slope areas can be automatically excluded from the layout. |
| North | Slider | % | Maximum allowable terrain slope percentage for north-facing slopes. Areas exceeding this threshold will be flagged or excluded. |
| South | Slider | % | Maximum allowable terrain slope percentage for south-facing slopes. Different tolerances can be configured for north and south to account for varying design requirements. |
| Terrain Slope Banding | Toggle | — | Enables visual banding to display terrain slope gradients across the site, helping to identify slope variations. |
| Table Slope Constraints | Toggle | — | Enables identification of racks that exceed table slope constraints. This helps ensure racking structures remain within acceptable tilt limits based on terrain. |
| Table Slope Constraint Value | Slider | % | Maximum allowable slope for individual rack tables. Racks exceeding this constraint will be highlighted. |
| Post Height Analysis | Toggle | — | Enables post height calculation and analysis based on terrain elevations and rack positions. |
| Minimum post height | Text Field | m / ft | The minimum acceptable post height. Posts below this threshold will be flagged and counted in the “Below min” result. |
| Maximum post height | Text Field | m / ft | The maximum acceptable post height. Posts above this threshold will be flagged and counted in the “Above max” result. |
| Below min / Above max | Display | m / ft | Results showing the cumulative length of posts that fall below the minimum or exceed the maximum height thresholds. |
| Execute | Button | — | Runs the terrain and post height analysis based on the configured parameters. Results will populate in the Height Analysis Table and the Below min/Above max displays. |
| Export | Button | — | Exports the post height analysis data to a CSV file. The export includes: Pile ID, Rack ID, Easting and Northing coordinates, Existing Grade Elevation, Pile Name, Rack Name, UTM, Latitude and Longitude, Post Height, Failure Check, and Delta measurement for Failure Check. |
Layers
Control the visibility of overlay layers in the 3D view.
| Input | Type | Description |
|---|
| Wireframe | Checkbox | Toggles the display of the terrain wireframe mesh overlay, showing the underlying terrain grid structure. |
| DC Layer | Checkbox | Toggles the display of the DC layout layer, showing the solar array racks and their positions on the terrain. |
Export
| Input | Type | Description |
|---|
| Export Model | Button | Exports the 3D model as an OBJ file, including terrain and rack geometry, for visualization in external 3D rendering software. |
