Terrain To TIN (3D Analyst Tools)

Summary

Converts a terrain dataset to a triangulated irregular network (TIN) dataset.

Usage

Define the extent of the output TIN using the geoprocessing extent environment setting.
Use an extent and pyramid level that will not exceed the node limit for a TIN. While the maximum number of TIN nodes in a 32-bit Windows platform is estimated to be between 15 to 20 million, a cap of a few million is recommended to maintain optimal display performance. Triangulation of a larger surface is best handled by the terrain dataset.

Label	Explanation	Data type
Input Terrain	The terrain dataset that will be processed.	Terrain Layer
Output TIN	The TIN dataset that will be generated.	TIN
Pyramid Level Resolution (Optional)	The z-tolerance or window-size resolution of the terrain pyramid level that will be used. The default is 0, or full resolution.	Double
Maximum Number of Nodes (Optional)	The maximum number of nodes permitted in the output TIN. The tool will return an error if the analysis extent and pyramid level would produce a TIN that exceeds this size. The default is 5 million.	Long
Clip to Extent (Optional)	Specifies whether the resulting TIN will be clipped against the analysis extent. This only has an effect if the analysis extent is defined and it's smaller than the extent of the input terrain. Checked—Clips the output TIN against the analysis extent. This is the default. Unchecked—Does not clip the output TIN against the analysis extent.	Boolean

arcpy.3d.TerrainToTin(in_terrain, out_tin, {pyramid_level_resolution}, {max_nodes}, {clip_to_extent})

Name	Explanation	Data type
in_terrain	The terrain dataset that will be processed.	Terrain Layer
out_tin	The TIN dataset that will be generated.	TIN
pyramid_level_resolution (Optional)	The z-tolerance or window-size resolution of the terrain pyramid level that will be used. The default is 0, or full resolution.	Double
max_nodes (Optional)	The maximum number of nodes permitted in the output TIN. The tool will return an error if the analysis extent and pyramid level would produce a TIN that exceeds this size. The default is 5 million.	Long
clip_to_extent (Optional)	Specifies whether the resulting TIN will be clipped against the analysis extent. This only has an effect if the analysis extent is defined and it's smaller than the extent of the input terrain. `CLIP`—Clips the output TIN against the analysis extent. This is the default. `NO_CLIP`—Does not clip the output TIN against the analysis extent.	Boolean

Code sample

TerrainToTIN example 1 (Python window)

The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in the Python window:

arcpy.env.workspace = "C:/data"
arcpy.vTerrainToTin("sample.gdb/featuredataset/terrain", "tin",
                    pyramid_level_resolution=6, max_nodes=4000000)

TerrainToTIN example 2 (stand-alone script)

The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in a stand-alone Python script:

'''*********************************************************************
Name: TerrainToTin Example
Description: This script demonstrates how to use the
             TerrainToTin tool.
**********************************************************************'''

# Import system modules
import arcpy

# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = "C:/data"

# Set Local Variables
inTerrain = "sample.gdb/featuredataset/terrain"
pyrRes = 6
maxNodes = 5000000
clipExtent = False
# Ensure output name is unique
outTIN = arcpy.CreateUniqueName("tin")

# Run TerrainToTin
arcpy.ddd.TerrainToTin(inTerrain, outTIN, pyrRes, maxNodes, clipExtent)

Environments

Current Workspace, Scratch Workspace, Extent, Output Coordinate System, Geographic Transformations, Default TIN Storage Version, Minimize memory use during analysis on terrains

Licensing information