Elevation

The Elevation tool analyzes surface geometry by calculating the elevation (height) of each point along a specified axis direction. The results are visualized as a color map and presented with statistical analysis, enabling quantitative assessment of surface height distribution.

Overview

Elevation analysis projects each surface point onto a specified axis direction and calculates the signed distance along that direction. This creates a height map that reveals:

• Surface topology: Hills, valleys, and gradients
• Manufacturing deviations: Flatness or uniformity analysis
• Dimensional analysis: Height measurements relative to a reference direction
• Quality inspection: Identifying high and low regions

The tool provides both visual feedback through color mapping and numerical statistics for quantitative analysis.

Accessing the Tool

Navigate to the Surface ribbon tab and locate Elevation in the Analyze section. Select a surface object before activating the tool.

Axis Configuration

The elevation is calculated as the projection of each point's position onto a specified axis direction.

Preset Axis Options

For convenience, three preset axis directions are available:

Axis	Direction Vector	Description
X-axis	(1, 0, 0)	Elevation along the X direction
Y-axis	(0, 1, 0)	Elevation along the Y direction
Z-axis	(0, 0, 1)	Elevation along the Z direction (default)

Arbitrary Direction

Select Arbitrary direction to specify a custom axis direction using X, Y, and Z components:

Parameter	Description	Range
X	X-component of direction	-1.0 to 1.0
Y	Y-component of direction	-1.0 to 1.0
Z	Z-component of direction	-1.0 to 1.0

The direction vector is normalized internally, so you only need to specify the relative proportions of each component. For example, (1, 1, 0) represents a diagonal direction in the XY plane.

Choosing the Right Axis

Select the axis based on your analysis goals:

• Z-axis: Traditional height analysis; elevation above a horizontal reference
• X or Y-axis: Lateral position analysis
• Arbitrary: Custom orientations for angled surfaces or specific measurement requirements

Statistics

The Statistics panel displays calculated elevation metrics:

Metric	Description
Minimum	Lowest elevation value on the surface
Maximum	Highest elevation value on the surface
Range	Difference between maximum and minimum
Mean	Average elevation across all points
Standard deviation	Measure of elevation variability

These statistics update automatically when you click Update to recalculate the analysis.

Visualization Options

Range Adjustment

The range slider controls the color mapping limits:

• Lower bound: Elevations below this value appear as the minimum color
• Upper bound: Elevations above this value appear as the maximum color

Adjusting the range allows you to:

• Focus on a specific elevation range of interest
• Increase color contrast in regions of interest
• Exclude outliers from the visualization

Show Max Elevation

Enable Show max. elevation to display a marker at the point with the highest elevation value. This helps identify the peak location on complex surfaces.

Show Min Elevation

Enable Show min. elevation to display a marker at the point with the lowest elevation value. This helps identify the lowest point on the surface.

Pick Point on Surface

Enable Pick point on surface to show elevation to interactively query elevation values. When active, clicking on the surface displays the elevation at that specific location.

Actions

Update

Click Update to recalculate the elevation analysis with current settings. Use this after:

• Changing the axis direction
• Modifying the surface geometry
• Switching to a different surface

Export

Click Export... to save the calculated elevation data to a file. This exports the elevation values for all surface points, suitable for:

• External analysis software
• Documentation and reporting
• Further data processing

Copy to Measurements

Click Copy to Measurements to copy the visible elevation measurements (min/max markers) to the Measurements panel for persistent reference.

Practical Applications

Flatness Analysis

To assess surface flatness:

1. Align the axis perpendicular to the expected flat surface
2. Calculate elevation
3. Review the range (max - min) as a flatness indicator
4. Small range indicates good flatness; large range indicates warping or curvature

Manufacturing Tolerance Verification

For height tolerance checking:

1. Set the appropriate axis direction
2. Calculate elevation
3. Adjust the visualization range to the tolerance limits
4. Colors outside the nominal range indicate out-of-tolerance regions

Surface Feature Identification

To identify raised or recessed features:

1. Calculate elevation along the relevant axis
2. Enable both min and max markers
3. Use the range slider to highlight features of interest
4. Click on specific areas to query exact elevation values

Comparison Analysis

For comparing surfaces:

1. Calculate elevation on each surface with the same axis settings
2. Compare statistics between surfaces
3. Export data for detailed comparison in external tools

Technical Considerations

Elevation Calculation

The elevation value $e$ for a point $\mathbf{p}$ along direction $\mathbf{d}$ is calculated as:

$$e = \mathbf{p} \cdot \mathbf{d}$$

where $\mathbf{d}$ is the normalized axis direction vector and $\cdot$ represents the dot product.

This produces a signed value—points in the positive direction have positive elevation, and points in the negative direction have negative elevation.

Coordinate System

Elevation is calculated in the global coordinate system. If your surface has been transformed, the elevation reflects its current world position, not its original orientation.

Performance

Elevation calculation is computationally inexpensive (linear in the number of vertices) and should complete quickly even for large meshes.

Color Map

The color map uses a gradient from cool colors (blue) for low elevations to warm colors (red) for high elevations. The specific color map cannot be customized within this tool but can be modified through render properties if needed.

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue	Likely Cause	Solution
All same color	Range too wide	Adjust range slider to tighter bounds
No color variation	Uniform surface	Expected behavior for flat surfaces
Wrong direction	Incorrect axis	Choose different preset or adjust arbitrary direction
Markers not visible	Show options disabled	Enable Show max/min elevation checkboxes
Outdated results	Surface modified	Click Update to recalculate