GEM4D Version 1.8.2.4 has many improvements for adding data to a scene, which can then be saved as data files to record observations as points or lines type data. The PPV (or PGV) function from seismic or blasting vibrations was also improved and extended.
New functionality
Added a quick measurement line that is automatically deleted after the measurement as "Top toolbar => Lines => Single measurement". By default, the "TOGGLE: Delete lines" is checked and the lines automatically deleted after the measurements. Uncheck the toggle to keep the measure lines.
When digitising Mark Points, Map Discs and Poly Lines, the digitised objects and data can be deleted from back to front by pressing either the "Delete" or "Backspace" buttons. This functionality has been available in previous versions, but was significantly extended.
Interactive lines can now be generated, which is great when every selected section contains different information.
Three additions were made to "Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate":
Added a "Vertical offset", which adds a vertical offset to the picked coordinate.
Added a button "Accept the values, but pick the coordinate", which allows the mouse picking of the coordinate after setting of the variables.
When selecting "Accept the values, but pick the coordinate", keep the SHIFT-button pressed to colour the mesh as new coordinates are selected.
Changes
The plane generated for digitising by "Left toolbar => Clipping Plane" was occasionally too small and was enlarged by five times.
Changes were made to the layouts and working of following "Top toolbar" menu items; "Mark Points", "Map Discs" and "Lines". The settings for all these options are now part of the original drop-down, and can be changes before the specific action is selected.
In previous versions, after selecting "Top toolbar => Lines => Digitise polylines", open or closed polylines were selected by a checkbox in "Settings". Open and close polylines are now two separate menu items "Create open polylines" and "Create closed polylines" - see the discussion below.
"Top toolbar => Map Discs => Interactive map discs" no honors the selection in "Top toolbar => Map Discs => SETTINGS: Map Discs". Previous versions assumed that interactive map disc creation was done by 2 -points.
Bug fixes
When mouse double clicking in the scene on the plane from the snapping option "Left toolbar => Clipping Plane" resulted in a crash - fixed.
While digitising polylines, the digitised points can be deleted from back to front by pressing either the "Delete" or "Backspace" buttons. When closed polylines are generated, the HR-value of the closed polygon is automatically calculated. If the above two functionalities were combined, the HR-values were not always correctly calculated - fixed.
"Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate" had a mismatch between the descriptions and the "Generic blasting formula" used - fixed.
"Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate => Metric System -results in mm/s" did not reflect correctly in the legend - fixed.
The settings in the pop-up form "Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate" did not always update as expected - fixed.
Discussion 1: Building geotechnical models
Download a tutorial on the creation of block models in GEM4D from here. The tutorial explains more than just the creation of block models, is also covers block models basics and more advanced data filtering.
Discussion 2: PPV extensions
In previous GEM4D versions, the coordinate used for PPV-calculations was selected in the pop-up selection form when pressing Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate". The default coordinate was the the rotation point of the scene, which is selected by mouse double clicking. A common approach was to double click on the point of interest and then select the PPV-functionality, which automatically populates the coordinate text boxes.
The PPV-functionality was extended with "Top toolbar => Colour palette 2 => Colour on PPV from coordinate => GEM4D PPV from seismicity and blasting => Accept the variables, but pick the coordinate". This button allows for the selection of a PPV-coordinate after the pop-up form selections were made. An additional benefit, is that the simultaneous press of the keyboard SHIFT-button allows for the selection of multiple locations without re-opening the PPV selections form.
Thus, press the keyboard SHIFT-button after selecting the "Accept the variables, but pick the coordinate" button, and press on different mesh locations, and the PPV-colouring will update with every press. To allocate specific PPV-ranges as in the screenshot below, change the number of colours in "Ribbon => Mesh => Scalar bar settings => Colours".
