Raster To TIN (3D Analyst)—ArcGIS Pro

Summary

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

Illustration

Usage

Converting a raster to a TIN will not, in and of itself, produce a better surface. You need ancillary data that's compatible with, and improves, the surface definition. Such data could be added to the TIN using the Edit TIN tool.
The default maximum allowable difference between the height of the input raster and the height of the output TIN is 1/10 of the z range of the input raster.
While the maximum size of a TIN that can be used under Win32 is between 15 to 20 million nodes, it's recommended to cap the size at a few million. Large input rasters, and small z-tolerance settings, may exceed this. If size is an issue, consider processing subsets.

Parameters

Label	Explanation	Data Type
Input Raster	The raster to process.	Raster Layer; Mosaic Layer
Output TIN	The TIN dataset that will be generated.	TIN
Z Tolerance (Optional)	The maximum allowable difference in (z units) between the height of the input raster and the height of the output TIN. By default, the z tolerance is 1/10 of the z range of the input raster.	Double
Maximum Number of Points (Optional)	The maximum number of points that will be added to the TIN before the process is terminated. By default, the process will continue until all the points are added.	Long
Z Factor (Optional)	The factor that the height values of the raster will be multiplied by in the resulting TIN dataset. This is typically used to convert Z units to match XY units.	Double

arcpy.ddd.RasterTin(in_raster, out_tin, {z_tolerance}, {max_points}, {z_factor})

Name	Explanation	Data Type
in_raster	The raster to process.	Raster Layer; Mosaic Layer
out_tin	The TIN dataset that will be generated.	TIN
z_tolerance (Optional)	The maximum allowable difference in (z units) between the height of the input raster and the height of the output TIN. By default, the z tolerance is 1/10 of the z range of the input raster.	Double
max_points (Optional)	The maximum number of points that will be added to the TIN before the process is terminated. By default, the process will continue until all the points are added.	Long
z_factor (Optional)	The factor that the height values of the raster will be multiplied by in the resulting TIN dataset. This is typically used to convert Z units to match XY units.	Double

Code sample

RasterTin example 1 (Python window)

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

arcpy.env.workspace = "C:/data"
arcpy.ddd.RasterTin("vermont_ele.tif", "TIN_VT", "2", "1000", "1")

RasterTin example 2 (stand-alone script)

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

'''*********************************************************************
Name: RasterTin Example
Description: This script demonstrates how to use the 
             RasterTin tool to create a TIN for each IMG raster in the 
             target workspace.
**********************************************************************'''

# Import system modules
import arcpy

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

# Create the list of IMG rasters
rasterList = arcpy.ListRasters("*", "IMG")
# Loop the process for each raster
if rasterList:
    for raster in rasterList:
        # Set Local Variables
        zTol = 2
        maxPts = 1500000
        zFactor = 1
        # [:-4] strips the last 4 characters (.img) from the raster name
        outTin = "C:/Output/TIN_" + raster[:-4] 
        print("Creating TIN from " + raster + ".")
        #Execute RasterTin
        arcpy.ddd.RasterTin(raster, outTIN, zTol, maxPts, zFactor)
    print("Finished.")
else:
    print("There are no IMG rasters in the " + env.workspace + " directory.")

Environments

Current Workspace, Output Coordinate System, Scratch Workspace, Geographic Transformations, Extent, Version

Licensing information

Basic: Requires 3D Analyst
Standard: Requires 3D Analyst
Advanced: Requires 3D Analyst