LandXML Import Export

Import and export LandXML survey data with support for real-world coordinates, axis orientation, Blender origin reference, Z rotation, and file XY order.

Designed for geodetic, terrain, and construction workflows, especially where Blender is used to create or inspect LandXML data for downstream machine control use.

Panel location:
3D Viewport → N Panel → Survey → LandXML Import Export

Installation

1. Open Blender (5.0+).

2. Go to Edit -> Preferences -> Get Extensions -> arrow in the upper right corner → Install from Disk.

3. Select the ZIP file and click Install from Disk.

Main Features

Import from LandXML:

• TIN surfaces

• Breaklines

• Contours

• Boundaries

• CgPoints

• PlanFeatures

Export to LandXML:

• TIN surfaces

• Breaklines

The add-on applies axis orientation, Blender origin reference, Z rotation, and file XY order consistently on both import and export.

Axis Orientation

• X Axis / Y Axis can be set to East, West, North, or South

• One axis must be East/West and the other North/South

• Used for coordinate conversion during both import and export

Blender Origin Reference

• X (East), Y (North), Z (Height) define the real-world coordinates of Blender world origin

• Rotation is applied around Z

• The same reference is used for both import and export

Units (Metric & Imperial)

The add-on supports both metric and imperial LandXML files.

• Linear units are automatically detected from the LandXML tag on import
• Geometry is internally converted to Blender meters (1 BU = 1 meter)
• Blender Origin Reference and known point coordinates are always interpreted in the current LandXML unit (e.g. feet for imperial files)
• On export, the add-on writes the block according to the currently selected unit

This ensures consistent coordinate transformations and allows working seamlessly with both metric and imperial survey data.

Calculate Origin from Known Point

The add-on can calculate the Blender origin reference from a known point already present in the scene.

Typical workflow:

• set axis orientation and rotation

• enter known coordinates

• select the corresponding point in the scene

• calculate origin

• apply the calculated reference values

Order in File

Choose whether LandXML uses:

• Y X Z - this should be LandXML default

• X Y Z

This affects only the order of horizontal values in the file, not the axis mapping itself.

Import

The importer:

• reads the LandXML file

• creates a new collection under the active collection

• creates subcollections only for element types that exist in the file

Supported import data:

• TIN Surfaces

• Breaklines

• Contours

• Boundaries

• CgPoints

• PlanFeatures

Optional Calculate at Origin can center imported geometry at Blender origin while preserving coordinate reference.

Export

Export uses the active collection as the source, including nested subcollections.

• Meshes with faces are exported as TIN surfaces

• Edge-only meshes are exported as breaklines

• Vertex-only meshes are exported as CgPoints

TIN surfaces are generated directly from mesh faces and automatically triangulated during export.

Breaklines are exported from separate edge-only mesh objects, where each object must form a single connected non-branching polyline.

Both TIN surfaces and breaklines are gathered from the active collection during export.

Invalid breakline objects are skipped and reported automatically.

Notes

• Breaklines can also be exported as a separate surface named "lines"

• Export preview shows collection name, object counts, and breakline validity

• The add-on requires Blender 5.0.0+

• Blender precision decreases as coordinate values get farther from the origin. To maintain millimeter precision (0.001), you should remain within coordinates smaller than 999. For centimeter precision (0.01), it should remain within coordinates smaller than 9999, and so on.

• For larger projects, the scene can be split into multiple files. Support for multiple reference origins separated by collections may be added in the future or on demand, allowing much larger projects to preserve 1 mm precision while still being exported into a single file.