The volume measurement tool measures the volume between a base surface (defined by a volume polygon) and the active point clouds. As a default, this method connects all the vertices and triangulates the volume above and below the base surface.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Description
Starting from 1.69.0, PIX4Dmatic introduces a powerful volume calculation feature, enabling quick and accurate measurement of stockpile volumes, excavation sites, and other 3D objects directly from the project data. This streamlined process enhances applications in industries like construction, mining, and agriculture.
How to create a new volume
To create a new volume:
- On the tools bar, select the Volume measurement tool by clicking
or use the keyboard shortcut V.
- To draw a volume, left-click on points in the 3D view. Right-click or press enter to complete the volume base polygon.
- (Optional) To accurately mark the vertices, select the volume using the simple selection tool
. The position of each vertex can be corrected in the 3D view, or on the images. - (Optional) To assign a common elevation to the vertices of the volume base surface, first select the volume using the simple selection tool . Then, in the Properties panel
, click align vertices 
to choose how to align the vertices.
Tip: Aligning the vertices to the lowest base elevation simplifies the volume measurement for stockpiles leaning on walls or in a bay.
After drawing the volume, details about the volume measurement are displayed in the Properties panel . More specifically:
| Property | Description |
| Name | Name of the Volume that can be edited |
| Description | (Optional) A short description textbox to describe a specific volume |
| Use vertices as tie points | When this option is enabled all vertices for this specific volume will be used as Vertex tie points and will be added to the Tie points table of the project (Available from the 1.69.0 version or newer) |
| Layer | The layer this volume belongs to |
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Measurements (Before Compute) |
Basic measurements of this volume include:
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How to compute
Once the volume is drawn, the computation is the next step. To compute each volume separately there are two options:
| Option A | Option B | Option C |
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buttonTo compute all volumes together there are three options:
| Option A | Option B | Option C |
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buttonAfter completing the volume measurements, the cut/fill volumes and errors are displayed.
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More specifically:
- Cut volume [units3]: Volume above the volume base. The volume is measured between the volume base and the surface.
- Fill volume [units3]: Volume below the volume base. The volume is measured between the volume base and the surface.
- Net volume [units3]: The absolute difference between Cut and Fill volume (Cut - Fill volume)
- Total volume [units3]: The total volume (Cut + Fill volume).
Export
The Volumes created within a PIX4Dmatic can be exported from the Layer export window
To export the Volumes:
- Select the Volumes geometry type in the Geometry section
- Select the Layers that contain the desired volumes to be exported in the Layers section
- Select the desired file format from the drop-down list. The available formats are:
- DXF
- DXF (For Autodesk)
- ZIP SHP
- SHP
- GeoJSON
- Select the desired Destination to save the exported file
- Click Export
Important: The exported volume files will only contain the base polygon outline or surface, and not the computation results.
Volumes in Custom Report
The calculated volumes can be added to the Custom report in PIX4Dmatic. To include the volumes in the Custom report:
- Access the Custom Report window
- Enable the Overview plan and select the Layers that include volumes
- Enable the Inventory and select the Layers that include volumes
- Select the desired destination path for the export of the Custom Report
- Click Export
An example Custom report that includes volumes looks like this:
