Importing a civil design (LandXML)

What this is for

If your job came from a civil engineer, you probably have a LandXML file — a .xml export from Civil 3D, Trimble Business Center, Bentley, or any other civil-design package. LandXML import lets you load that file as the dig target so your bucket follows the engineered surface directly, with no survey-and-design step in between.

The map then shows the design as a colour-coded elevation surface, so you can see at a glance where the high spots and low spots are across the whole job.

How to enter

1. Tap the Excavation card on the Home screen.
2. In the wizard, tap Import Civil Design (LandXML). Description reads "Civil 3D / Trimble TIN surface — bucket-tip depth guidance and tap-to-mark completion grid."
3. The LandXML import dialog opens.

The dialog — what it asks for

A LandXML file usually contains one or two surfaces. The two surfaces correspond to two terms civil engineers use every day:

• Finished Grade (FG) — the surface you're digging to. This is what your bucket should end up sitting on when the job is done. Required.
• Existing Ground (EG) — the surface as it sits today, before you dig. Optional.

The dialog has two surface pickers. Use them like this:

1. Pick the FG surface. Load the LandXML file in the first picker, then pick which surface inside it is the finished grade. The file usually labels the surfaces (e.g. "FG-Pond", "Final-Surface"), but the labels come from whoever made the file — sometimes they're cryptic. You are responsible for picking the right surface — it's your liability. If you're not sure, ask the engineer who sent the file.
2. Pick the EG surface, or skip it. If the same LandXML file contains both surfaces, load it again in the second picker and pick the existing-ground surface. If you only have FG, leave the second picker empty.

What changes when you supply both FG and EG

• FG only — the map shows the design surface as a colour-coded elevation gradient (blue=low, red=high). Useful, but doesn't tell you how much cut is needed at any point.
• FG and EG both — the map shows a cut/fill heatmap (red where you need to cut, blue where you need to fill, with intensity matching how much). Far more useful for an excavator operator — you can see where the work is concentrated before you start digging.

If you have both surfaces, supply both. The extra step is worth it.

Coordinate systems

The dialog handles civil CRS projections automatically. Supported projections include all North American UTM zones (1N–22N in NAD83 and WGS84) and US State Plane Lambert systems. If the file uses something else, the dialog asks you to pick the right CRS from a list.

After import

Once you tap through the dialog, the excavator grade screen opens with:

• The design colour-coded across the map (elevation gradient or cut/fill heatmap depending on what you supplied).
• A thin-outline grid (see The completion grid below) covering the design extent.
• A benchmark calibration prompt — calibrate the BM by lowering the bucket onto a known control point on the design, tapping the BM badge, and using Advanced → Zero to current GPS (or typing the point's known elevation) in the Calibrate Elevation sheet.

There is no profile chart in this mode — a 2-D arbitrary design surface doesn't have a station axis to plot against.

Once running, your guidance is the same as any other Excavator job

The chevrons, the bucket gauge with the construction-tape target band, CUT/FILL labels, and the depth-error number all work exactly the same. The only difference is where the target comes from — it's the FG elevation at your current XY position, not a station along a surveyed line.