Requirements
Prior to performing the exercises in this chapter, you should:
• Have Surpac Vision software installed and started on your computer
1. Surpac Vision Interface
After successfully installing and starting the software you will be presented with the Surpac Vision interface.
The interface can be classified into 6 different areas: 1. Menus 2. Toolbars 3. File Navigator 4. Message Window 5. Status bar 6. Graphics 34
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Menus
Menus allow you to quickly access all the available functionality in Surpac Vision. The menus can be used to group functions from a particular module, such as the Blockmodel module, or to group particular core functions together, such as in the Edit sub-menu.
Explore the pull-down menus and submenus to view the available functionality of Surpac Vision. Right-click the mouse in the empty space to the right of the menus to display a list of the additional menus available in Surpac Vision.
Toolbars
Toolbars allow you to access commonly used functions without the need for searching through menus. Right-click the mouse in the empty space to the right of the toolbars to display a list of the additional toolbars available in Surpac Vision.
You can create your own menus and toolbars to display and group together any commonly used functions. User-defined menus and toolbars may contain combinations of any Surpac Functions or TCL macro scripts.
File Navigator
The file navigator works in a similar way to Windows Explorer. Surpac Vision has a simple directory/file based system to help you to manage your information. You will see that the file navigator presents the same directory structure as Windows.
Setting a working directory allows you to manage the locations where your files are saved. You can also manage your directory structures by creating new folders, cutting, copying and pasting folders as well as deleting folders.
Right-click the icon for the folder:
C:/SurpacMinex/Surpac_V5.2-C/demo_data/surpac_demo to set the surpac_demo directory as your working directory. The result will appear as shown below:
By right-clicking a file, a similar menu to the folder menu will appear. A list of functions -
Open, Edit, Copy, Paste, etc... - are available for all files.
Dependant on the file type, Open will open the file in its particular application. For example, Open a Surpac .STR file and it will be displayed in the graphics area. Open an .XLS file and it will open in Excel (or in the program that the file is associated to in Windows).
Plugin technology allows you to convert files from one known file type to another, for example, converting Surpac .STR files to AutoCAD .DWG files.
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Message Window
The message window shows any information, warnings and error messages that Surpac Vision produces. Keep a close eye on the information here as it will indicate any problems. Sometimes the message window will contain useful information such as coordinates of selected points. As shown below, you can copy this information and paste it into text files or documents.
Click the right mouse button inside the Message Window to display a popup menu. The Clear
Window option is useful when you are unsure whether an error or warning message is
related to the function currently being used.
Status bar
The Status bar shows the coordinate position of the mouse, the design string number and the design gradient. The status bar will also show if a database or blockmodel is loaded into memory. The image below shows that the geology database called surpac is loaded and the block model called block_model is also loaded.
Graphics
This is the area where most of the work is performed in Surpac Vision. The graphics region is a true 3-dimensional work area. Any file loaded into the graphics work-space will be displayed with full Y, X and Z coordinates.
To illustrate, click (hold) and drag (using the left mouse button) the file called pit1.dtm into the graphics area. The file is then loaded into graphics and displayed.
• • •
Use the left mouse button to rotate the image. Use the right mouse button to zoom in and out.
Use the middle mouse button, or both buttons to pan the image.
Notice that as the mouse cursor is passed over the data, the coordinates shown in the status bar are continuously updated.
2. Menu Structure
You will now investigate the menus in more detail. Here you will see where to find functions, as well as examining the various types of functionality Surpac Vision has to offer.
To investigate the menus you will need to have the same menus open as when the software was started. If you changed the menu display when we looked at the menus and toolbars earlier, make sure the Main Menu and the Applications Menu are both displayed.
The top menu is called the Main Menu. It is also referred to as the Core Menu as it contains the functions required for the basic operation of Surpac Vision.
The Main Menu is broken into 12 sub-menus, a brief description of each follows:
1. File contains functions you would expect in most Windows products eg. Open,
Close, Save, etc…. It also contains other functions such as Importing, Exporting, Converting as well as Licensing.
2. Edit contains functions that allow you to edit the three dimensional polyline data
(called a “string” in Surpac). For example, from the Edit menu, select Point then
Delete - a function to delete a selected point.
3. Create contains functions that allow you to create point and string information. An
example is: from the Create menu, select Create Circle by Drag. The first point clicked defines the centre of the circle and then you drag to the perimeter.
4. Display contains functions that change the way your data is displayed in graphics.
For example: from the Display menu, select Display Properties then Strings or
Points. Click on a point or string to display the information.
5. View contains functions related to the control of the graphics viewport. From the View
menu: select functions such as Zoom, then in or out. Another example from the
View menu is Window, then in or out. There are also more advanced functions that
enhance the software functionality such as: from the View menu, select Data view
options, then View along String.
6. Inquire contains functions that allow you to get specific information about the data
loaded into graphics. An example is to return the area of a polygon by selecting
Inquire from the main menu, then select Segment Properties. The coordinates of a
point can be found by using Inquire and then Point Properties.
7. File Tools is a collection of functions that allow you to work on files without loading
them into graphics. Some files may be very large and so will take too much memory to display. This collection of functions will perform powerful tasks such as
Transformations, Filtering, Maths, Summary, etc…
8. Surfaces are often referred to as wire-frames or DTMs. Surfaces typically represent pit designs, stockpiles, coal seams, topography, etc… The tools found in this menu allow you to perform actions such as: Create DTMs from layer, Clip or intersect
DTMs, Create sections from DTMs, Drape strings over DTMs etc… The menu is
broken into functions that run on data loaded into graphics or on files on the hard disk using DTM File Functions.
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9. Volumes are a very important part of Surpac Vision’s tools. There are several calculation methods, however the most powerful algorithm is the prismoidal volume calculation used in the Net Volumes between DTMs function.
10. Plotting is broken into two modules. There is the Autoplot module that allows the
user to plot the data displayed in graphics in WYSIWYG. There is also an advanced plotting module that allows you to generate very detailed and complex plots. You can also edit title blocks, grids and sheets sizes.
11. Customise allows you to change Surpac Vision settings. For example, you can
change the graphics background colour by selecting Customise, then Default
settings. Menus and toolbars can be modified by selecting Customise then Menus/toolbars.
12. Help is always at hand. You can open the help manual by selecting Help, then Table of Contents. You can also access tutorials from the web site at:
http://www.surpac.com/Tutorials.asp
The Applications Menu gives you access to the functions contained within the modules. Examples of the type of functionality included in the Applications Menu are listed below:
1. Block model module enables you to create a 3-dimensional spatially referenced database of any number of attributes. Quick and easy reports allow you to generate resource estimates in all popular file formats. For example, a Lerchs-
Grossman/Floating Cone Pit Optimiser is a sub-module within the Block model module.
2. Contouring allows you to create contour maps of topography. You can also use
Spline smoothing of contour lines for visual improvements.
3. Database contains functions for display of drillholes, compositing, and section
extraction for calculations or plotting. Drillholes can be stored in any ODBC relational database such as SQL or MS Access.
4. Geostatistics contains basic statistical analysis tools such as histograms, as well as advanced geostatistical analysis tools, such as variogram modelling,
variogram maps, and trend analysis.
5. Mine Design includes several modules to assist in the design of open cut pits,
stockpiles and waste dumps, drill and blast patterns, underground panel design, tailings dams and grade control. A scheduler module called a Graphical
Sequencer is also included in this menu.
6. Ring Design is used to create and charge underground drill and blast holes. Drill
rig, charging and explosive parameters combine with design to create flexible reports for production personnel.
7. Solids modelling to produce 3DMs or 3-dimensional DTMs of ore-bodies,
underground voids, stope design, etc… It allows you to use powerful tools including bifurcation, centreline and profile, connected segments and control strings.
8. Survey module enables surveyors to build and maintain a survey control
9. MineSched scheduler is a powerful scheduling tool to assist schedulers with the
day-to-day or long-term scheduling of their operations. MineSched caters for a wide variety of situations in both surface and underground operations.