ManualRelease 2027.11.30 →

Measured sections, checked against the design.

TunnelCAD is desktop software for tunnel monitoring. Import surveyed profiles or cut them from a point cloud, lay them on the theoretical template, and take out volumes, clearance and a report.

Windows · Linux · 166-page manual

TunnelCAD section view at station 0+487.050: measured lines and template lines around a tunnel profile, with deviation ticks and a centre-line.

Measured section at 0+487.050, with the template and deviation ticks

LAS · LAZ · E57
point-cloud sections
A–D
excavation grades
LandXML
import and export
PDF · XLSX · DXF
reports and drawings
166 pp
user manual
Tunnel Section Viewer at chainage 0+153.500: a scanned ring against the design circles, and a 3D preview of the point cloud with the cutting plane.

A section cut from the scan, with a 3D preview of the cloud

From scan to section

Cut the section from the point cloud.

Load LAS, LAZ or E57 and walk the stations. The section viewer samples the scan, draws it against the design, and keeps a 3D preview of the cloud around the cut.

  • LAS, LAZ and E57, or an attached .iqpc cloud
  • Slab thickness, and a vertical or tilted plane
  • Filters for outliers, bins and the template
  • Saved sections drawn back along the alignment
TunnelCAD analytics: a station table with grades, a clearance heatmap along the drive, and a polar deviation diagram marked FAIL.

Grades, a clearance heatmap, and the polar diagram for one station

Excavation quality

Grade every station. See where it fails.

Compare a measured line with the template, or two surveys with each other. Each station gets an RMS, overbreak and underbreak, a clearance result and a Cpk. The drive below the table is a heatmap.

  • Grades A to D from RMS and excavation ratio
  • Clearance by sector: pass, warning, fail, or no data
  • Tolerance band and process capability (Cpk)
  • The same run exported to XLSX, PDF and DXF
Plan view in TunnelCAD of a curved tunnel alignment with section ticks along the drive.

The alignment in plan, with sections ticked along the drive

Alignment

The drive, in plan and along the chainage.

Horizontal and vertical geometry stay with the sections. Chainage is the same number on the section, in the report and on the sheet. When the axis moves, realignment takes the survey with it.

  • Several tunnels in one .tun project
  • Chainage on the section, the report and the sheet
  • Realignment of an existing survey onto a new axis
  • LandXML in and out, and legacy .tcm converted in
Forepoling Umbrellas dialog: pipe design inputs and a sketch of numbered pipes along the alignment.

Forepoling umbrella — design inputs and a sketch of the pipes

Forepoling

Umbrella pipes, from the collar to the stake-out.

An umbrella stores the collar chainage, the crown window, the spacing, the pipe length, the lookout and the diameter. Calculate fills the stake-out table. The sketch shows the numbered pipes along the drilled length.

  • Collar and tip coordinates, bearing and inclination
  • Drilling toward decreasing chainage when that is the design
  • CSV for the instrument, and a PDF report
  • The design is stored in the .tun project
A 3D mesh of an excavated tunnel following a curved alignment, with chainage labels.

The excavated tunnel as a mesh along the alignment

Quantities

Overbreak, lining, or a formula you write.

A volume is a formula over the lines on each section. Add or subtract measured and template lines, clip to a level, then accumulate the area along the chainage. The mass table lists every station and the running total.

  • Applicable length, or the average of the two adjacent areas
  • Overbreak, underbreak, lining thickness, total excavation
  • Clipping levels, and a constant on every section
  • Mass table to CSV or Excel
The toolbox

What a tunnel record needs.

Sections

Measured profiles

Line definitions for excavation, shotcrete and lining, with deviation ticks against the template at each station.

Templates

Design profiles

Assign a template by station range, transition between them, import a DXF profile, and copy a set to another tunnel.

Point clouds

Scan to profile

LAS, LAZ and E57, sampled into a section with a slab, filters and a 3D preview of the cloud.

Grades

A to D

Per-station RMS, area and excavation ratio. The A–D limits are stored in the project.

Clearance

Pass or fail

The lining divided into sectors. Each sector is a pass, a warning, a fail, or empty.

Tolerance

Band and Cpk

Share of the profile inside the band, the largest exceedance, and process capability.

Volumes

Your formula

Overbreak, underbreak, lining or a custom sum of lines. Applicable length or average areas, then a mass table.

Reports

Line by line

Coordinates, deviation against the theoretical line, and DR trend. PDF or XLSX, summary or every point.

Alignments

Plan and profile

Horizontal and vertical geometry, chainage on every section, and realignment onto a new axis.

Forepoling

Umbrella pipes

Collar, crown window, spacing, length and lookout. Stake-out to CSV, and a PDF of the design.

Files

In and out

.tun projects, LandXML 1.2 and 2.0, DXF templates, measurement text, and legacy .tcm converted in.

Projects

More than one tunnel

Several tunnels in one file, a calendar of the work, and units saved with the project.

What leaves the project

A file the next person can open.

The numbers stay attached to the stations they came from.

Quality record

Grades, clearance, the tolerance band and Cpk, with the heatmap of the drive. The same run goes out as PDF, XLSX or DXF.

Analytics in the manual →

Quantities

A mass table of area and volume at every station, with the cumulative total, written to CSV or Excel.

Volumes in the manual →

Interchange

The project is a .tun file. LandXML, DXF templates and measurement text move the geometry. A legacy .tcm file converts in.

Import and export →
Why TunnelCAD

Checkable numbers. Ordinary files.

The method is named, and the file is not a private format only.

Named methods

Radial deviation, grades from RMS and ratio, clearance by sector, and two ways to turn area into volume.

radial deviationgrades A–DCpkapplicable lengthaverage areas

Your data stays yours

The working file is .tun. LandXML, DXF, CSV, XLSX and PDF are the way out. A .tcm file from an older TunnelCAD converts in.

.tunLandXMLDXFCSVXLSXPDF.tcm

Written down

A 166-page manual, release 2027.11.30: sections, templates, volumes, point clouds, analytics, reports and the file formats.

166 pagessearchableEnglish

Try it on a real drive

Sign in for an installer, then open a project.

sign-in required
Who it's for

Built for the people who measure the tunnel.

Illustrative profiles, not customer testimonials.

Tunnel surveyor

Brings the round in from the instrument or the scanner, checks the deviation against the template, and sends a PDF that shows the station.

Profile · survey crew
Excavation engineer

Watches overbreak and underbreak station by station, and sees the bad stretch on the heatmap before the lining crew arrives.

Profile · tunnel site
Quality engineer

Files clearance and Cpk for the client, with the sector that failed and the chainage it sits on.

Profile · supervision
Site engineer

Sets a forepoling umbrella, exports the stake-out, and steps the sections without leaving the project.

Profile · construction
Quantity surveyor

Takes a mass table of overbreak or shotcrete, with the formula written down and the total at the bottom.

Profile · measurement
Project lead

Keeps several tunnels in one .tun file, and hands over LandXML or a PDF instead of a seat on someone else's software.

Profile · project office
Contents page of the TunnelCAD user manual, listing getting started, projects, sections, templates and volumes.
Documentation

The manual, online and as a PDF.

Getting started, projects and alignments, sections, templates, volumes, point clouds, analytics, reports, and import and export. 166 pages. Release 2027.11.30. The same manual opens from Help inside the application.

Get TunnelCAD.

Sign in to download the builds assigned to your account.

Windows 64-bit · 2027.6.30 installer · 8.1 MB
Linux x86_64 · 2027.3.38 DEB · 5.3 MB earlier package, 8 May 2026

Windows installer 2027.6.30, 1 July 2026. Linux package 2027.3.38, 8 May 2026, an earlier build. Installers are issued to each account. The SHA-256 is shown after you sign in. The manual is release 2027.11.30 and does not need an account.