ArcGIS 3D Layers

Use this skill for 3D-specific layer types in SceneView: scene layers, integrated meshes, point clouds, voxels, dimensions, and glTF model imports.

Import Patterns

ESM (npm)

import SceneLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/SceneLayer.js";
import IntegratedMeshLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/IntegratedMeshLayer.js";
import IntegratedMesh3DTilesLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/IntegratedMesh3DTilesLayer.js";
import PointCloudLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/PointCloudLayer.js";
import VoxelLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/VoxelLayer.js";
import DimensionLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/DimensionLayer.js";
import BuildingSceneLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BuildingSceneLayer.js";

CDN (dynamic import)

const SceneLayer = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/layers/SceneLayer.js");
const PointCloudLayer = await $arcgis.import(
  "@arcgis/core/layers/PointCloudLayer.js",
);
const VoxelLayer = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/layers/VoxelLayer.js");

All 3D-specific layers (SceneLayer, IntegratedMeshLayer, PointCloudLayer, VoxelLayer) require SceneView — they do not work in MapView.

SceneLayer

SceneLayer displays 3D building models, objects, and mesh data from scene services.

Basic SceneLayer

const sceneLayer = new SceneLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
  popupTemplate: {
    title: "{NAME}",
    content: "{*}",
  },
});

map.add(sceneLayer);

SceneLayer with Renderer

const sceneLayer = new SceneLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
  renderer: {
    type: "simple",
    symbol: {
      type: "mesh-3d",
      symbolLayers: [
        {
          type: "fill",
          material: { color: [244, 247, 134] },
          edges: {
            type: "solid",
            color: [50, 50, 50, 0.5],
            size: 1,
          },
        },
      ],
    },
  },
});

SceneLayer Edge Rendering

// Solid edges
const solidEdges = {
  type: "solid",
  color: [50, 50, 50, 0.5],
  size: 1,
};

// Sketch edges
const sketchEdges = {
  type: "sketch",
  color: [50, 50, 50, 0.8],
  size: 1.5,
  extensionLength: 2,
};

sceneLayer.renderer = {
  type: "simple",
  symbol: {
    type: "mesh-3d",
    symbolLayers: [
      {
        type: "fill",
        material: { color: "white" },
        edges: sketchEdges,
      },
    ],
  },
};

Querying SceneLayer

const layerView = await view.whenLayerView(sceneLayer);

// Client-side query
const query = layerView.createQuery();
query.geometry = view.extent;
query.where = "HEIGHT > 100";
const results = await layerView.queryFeatures(query);

// Server-side query
const serverQuery = sceneLayer.createQuery();
serverQuery.where = "CATEGORY = 'Commercial'";
serverQuery.outFields = ["*"];
const serverResults = await sceneLayer.queryFeatures(serverQuery);

Editable SceneLayer

// Apply edits to scene layer (if editing enabled)
await sceneLayer.applyEdits({
  addFeatures: [newGraphic],
  updateFeatures: [updatedGraphic],
  deleteFeatures: [{ objectId: 123 }],
});

IntegratedMeshLayer

IntegratedMeshLayer displays photogrammetric mesh data (3D reality capture).

const meshLayer = new IntegratedMeshLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../IntegratedMeshServer",
});

map.add(meshLayer);

IntegratedMesh3DTilesLayer

For 3D Tiles 1.1 data sources:

const mesh3DTiles = new IntegratedMesh3DTilesLayer({
  url: "https://example.com/tileset.json",
});

map.add(mesh3DTiles);

Mesh Modifications

// Clip or replace mesh areas
const modification = {
  geometry: polygon,
  type: "clip", // or "replace", "mask"
};

PointCloudLayer (LiDAR Data)

Basic PointCloudLayer

const pcLayer = new PointCloudLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
});

map.add(pcLayer);

PointCloud Renderers

// RGB (True Color) Renderer
pcLayer.renderer = {
  type: "point-cloud-rgb",
  field: "RGB",
};

// Classification Renderer
pcLayer.renderer = {
  type: "point-cloud-unique-value",
  field: "CLASS_CODE",
  colorUniqueValueInfos: [
    { values: ["2"], label: "Ground", color: [139, 90, 43] },
    { values: ["6"], label: "Building", color: [194, 194, 194] },
    { values: ["5"], label: "High Vegetation", color: [34, 139, 34] },
  ],
};

// Elevation Stretch Renderer
pcLayer.renderer = {
  type: "point-cloud-stretch",
  field: "ELEVATION",
  stops: [
    { value: 0, color: [0, 0, 255] },
    { value: 50, color: [255, 255, 0] },
    { value: 100, color: [255, 0, 0] },
  ],
};

PointCloud Density and Size

pcLayer.pointsPerInch = 40; // Density control

PointCloud Filters

// Include only specific classifications
pcLayer.filters = [
  {
    field: "CLASS_CODE",
    mode: "include",
    values: [2, 6], // Ground and Building
  },
];

// Remove filters
pcLayer.filters = [];

Smart Mapping for PointCloud

import * as colorRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/color.js";
import * as typeRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/type.js";

// True color renderer
const rgbResponse = await colorRendererCreator.createPCTrueColorRenderer({
  layer: pcLayer,
});
pcLayer.renderer = rgbResponse.renderer;

// Classification renderer
const classResponse = await typeRendererCreator.createPCClassRenderer({
  layer: pcLayer,
  field: "CLASS_CODE",
});
pcLayer.renderer = classResponse.renderer;

VoxelLayer (Volumetric 3D Data)

VoxelLayer displays 3D volumetric data (atmospheric, oceanographic, geological).

Basic VoxelLayer

const voxelLayer = new VoxelLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
  currentVariableId: 0,
});

map.add(voxelLayer);

VoxelLayer with Map Component

<arcgis-scene viewing-mode="local">
  <arcgis-zoom slot="top-left"></arcgis-zoom>
</arcgis-scene>

<script type="module">
  import VoxelLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/VoxelLayer.js";
  import Map from "@arcgis/core/Map.js";

  const vxlLayer = new VoxelLayer({
    url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
  });

  const viewElement = document.querySelector("arcgis-scene");
  viewElement.map = new Map({
    layers: [vxlLayer],
    ground: { navigationConstraint: { type: "none" } },
  });
</script>

VoxelLayer Configuration

const voxelLayer = new VoxelLayer({
  url: "...",
  currentVariableId: 0,
  enableDynamicSections: true,
  volumeDisplayQuality: "high", // "low", "medium", "high"
});

await voxelLayer.load();
console.log("Variables:", voxelLayer.variables);
console.log("Styles:", voxelLayer.styles);

Voxel Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
currentVariableId	number	Active variable to display
currentStyleId	number	Active style/rendering
enableDynamicSections	boolean	Allow interactive slicing
volumeDisplayQuality	string	"low", "medium", "high"
variables	VoxelVariable[]	Available data variables
styles	VoxelTransferFunctionStyle[]	Rendering styles

Voxel Slicing (Dynamic Sections)

voxelLayer.enableDynamicSections = true;

// Configure slice plane
const slicePlane = {
  point: { x: 0, y: 0, z: -500 },
  normal: { x: 0, y: 0, z: 1 },
};

Voxel Isosurfaces

// Create isosurface at specific value
const isosurface = {
  value: 25,
  enabled: true,
  color: [255, 0, 0, 0.7],
};

Voxel Color Stops

// Customize color stops for variable rendering
// Accessed through voxelLayer.styles

DimensionLayer (3D Measurements)

Basic DimensionLayer

import DimensionLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/DimensionLayer.js";
import DimensionAnalysis from "@arcgis/core/analysis/DimensionAnalysis.js";
import LengthDimension from "@arcgis/core/analysis/LengthDimension.js";

const dimensionAnalysis = new DimensionAnalysis({
  style: {
    type: "simple",
    textBackgroundColor: [0, 0, 0, 0.6],
    textColor: "white",
    fontSize: 12,
  },
});

const dimensionLayer = new DimensionLayer({
  title: "Dimensions",
  source: dimensionAnalysis,
});

map.add(dimensionLayer);

Add Length Dimensions

const dimension = new LengthDimension({
  startPoint: {
    x: -122.4,
    y: 37.8,
    z: 0,
    spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 },
  },
  endPoint: {
    x: -122.5,
    y: 37.8,
    z: 0,
    spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 },
  },
  orientation: 0,
  offset: 10,
});

dimensionLayer.source.dimensions.push(dimension);

Interactive Dimension Placement

const layerView = await view.whenLayerView(dimensionLayer);

const abortController = new AbortController();

async function startPlacement() {
  try {
    while (!abortController.signal.aborted) {
      await layerView.place({ signal: abortController.signal });
    }
  } catch (error) {
    if (!promiseUtils.isAbortError(error)) throw error;
  }
}

startPlacement();

// Stop placement
abortController.abort();

BuildingSceneLayer

const buildingLayer = new BuildingSceneLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer",
});

await buildingLayer.load();

// Access sublayers (disciplines and categories)
buildingLayer.allSublayers.forEach((sublayer) => {
  console.log(sublayer.title, sublayer.type);
});

Importing 3D Models (glTF)

glTF Symbol

const graphic = new Graphic({
  geometry: {
    type: "point",
    longitude: -122.4,
    latitude: 37.8,
    z: 0,
  },
  symbol: {
    type: "point-3d",
    symbolLayers: [
      {
        type: "object",
        resource: {
          href: "https://example.com/model.glb",
        },
        width: 10,
        height: 10,
        depth: 10,
        heading: 45,
        tilt: 0,
        roll: 0,
      },
    ],
  },
});

graphicsLayer.add(graphic);

Interactive Model Placement

import SketchViewModel from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Sketch/SketchViewModel.js";

const graphicsLayer = new GraphicsLayer({
  elevationInfo: { mode: "on-the-ground" },
});

const sketchVM = new SketchViewModel({
  layer: graphicsLayer,
  view: view,
  pointSymbol: {
    type: "point-3d",
    symbolLayers: [
      {
        type: "object",
        resource: { href: "https://example.com/model.glb" },
      },
    ],
  },
});

sketchVM.create("point");

sketchVM.on("create", (event) => {
  if (event.state === "complete") {
    sketchVM.update(event.graphic);
  }
});

Elevation Info

// Feature placement relative to ground/scene
layer.elevationInfo = {
  mode: "on-the-ground", // Features draped on ground
  // mode: "relative-to-ground"  // Features offset from ground
  // mode: "relative-to-scene"   // Features offset from scene
  // mode: "absolute-height"     // Features at absolute Z values
};

// With offset
layer.elevationInfo = {
  mode: "relative-to-ground",
  offset: 100,
  unit: "meters",
};

// With expression
layer.elevationInfo = {
  mode: "relative-to-ground",
  featureExpressionInfo: {
    expression: "Geometry($feature).z * 10",
  },
  unit: "meters",
};

3D Analysis Components

Component	Purpose
arcgis-building-explorer	Explore building scene layers by discipline and floor
arcgis-elevation-profile	Generate elevation profiles along a path
arcgis-line-of-sight	Analyze line-of-sight visibility
arcgis-shadow-cast	Simulate shadow casting at different times
arcgis-slice	Slice through 3D content to reveal interior
arcgis-directional-pad	Navigate 3D scenes with directional controls

Viewing Modes

// Global mode (default) - spherical Earth
view.viewingMode = "global";

// Local mode - flat, for local areas
view.viewingMode = "local";

<!-- Local mode for indoor/underground/voxel -->
<arcgis-scene viewing-mode="local"> </arcgis-scene>

Common Pitfalls

1. SceneView only: SceneLayer, IntegratedMeshLayer, PointCloudLayer, and VoxelLayer only work in SceneView, not MapView.

2. VoxelLayer requires local viewing mode: Use viewing-mode="local" for best results with voxel data.

3. PointCloud renderer fields: Common fields are RGB, CLASS_CODE, ELEVATION, INTENSITY.

4. glTF model scale: Models may need explicit width/height/depth to fit the scene properly.

5. Ground navigation constraint: Set navigationConstraint: { type: "none" } to allow underground viewing.

6. Load before accessing metadata: Always await layer.load() before accessing variables, styles, allSublayers, or similar properties.

Reference Samples

• layers-scenelayer — Basic SceneLayer
• layers-scenelayer-edges — Edge rendering styles
• layers-pointcloud — PointCloudLayer with renderers
• layers-pointcloud-filters — Filtering point cloud data
• layers-voxel — VoxelLayer basics
• layers-voxel-isosurface — Isosurface visualization
• layers-voxel-dynamic-sections — Voxel slicing
• layers-integratedmeshlayer — IntegratedMeshLayer
• layers-dimension — DimensionLayer measurements
• import-gltf — Importing glTF 3D models

Related Skills

• arcgis-scene-environment — Lighting, weather, atmosphere, shadows
• arcgis-custom-rendering — RenderNode for custom 3D WebGL rendering
• arcgis-visualization — Renderers and symbology
• arcgis-layers — Common layer patterns and configuration