If one really wants/needs to work with ASCII files, one option to grid them is [gdal_grid][5]: > Creates regular grid from the scattered data. Read the 'Reading comma separated value' section. ------------------------------------------------------ **On the other hand**, I'd convert the ASCII files to **.las** (or .laz) which is the standard LiDAR point cloud format, then would proceed processing from there (especially if this is not a one-time only processing and/or other types of processing are due as well). Because working with .las is faster; better for storage (more compact); and can take more information (see for example, https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/158973/benefits-of-las-vs-xyz-or-ascii-when-working-with-lidar-in-arcgis-for-desk/159063#159063). Besides, it has more and better software options for processing and visualization. LAStools [txt2las][1] converts ASCII files to .las is [free and open source][6]: > Converts LIDAR data from a standard ASCII format into the more efficient binary LAS/LAZ/BIN representations. Another option is PDAL [translate][2] (see example 3): > The translate command can be used for simple conversion of files based on their file extensions. More useful info in [PDAL readers.text][3] and [reading with PDAL][4]. [1]:http://lastools.org/download/txt2las_README.txt [2]:https://pdal.io/apps/translate.html [3]:https://pdal.io/stages/readers.text.html [4]:https://pdal.io/tutorial/reading.html [5]:https://www.gdal.org/gdal_grid.html [6]:https://github.com/LAStools/LAStools