As I
have mentioned previously, BIM is about
sharing and collaboration.
Sharing is easily
done if all the disciplines
are working within
the same software
but on a large project that is
not always the case.
With BIM the disciplines
are working much closer together and sharing
data much more often. Sharing of data should
be worked out and
planed at the start of the
project and the
sharing procedure should be
outlined in the BIM execution plan. From the
initial BIM meeting each discipline should decide what software they are using
so a comprehensive plan for sharing data can be established. Sharing between
the different software’s should be tested to ensure that the best procedures
are implemented. When sharing data, data is exported from 1 product into
another and sometimes the export/import is not 100% or problems can occur with
project standards. If you test your transfer procedures and issues are
discovered, then you can look at ways of working around these issues to get
around the problem. It’s often hard to know where the problem lies. The problem
could be caused by the program that is exporting the data or the program that
is importing the data. These exporters and importers are only as good as the
person that wrote them and tested them. Just because 2 programs have IFC
exporters or DWG exporters they may not both be to the same quality, it depends
on how the software development company have implemented and tested this part
of the software.
In a lot of projects people use dwg as a format for transferring
data between products. This makes sense because all CAD and BIM software import
and export dwg. But in the BIM industry if you use dwg you will only get
graphics you will lose all the data behind the graphics that has been built up
in the BIM model. There is another format which can be used between different software’s.
This format is called IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) IFC is not a new format
and has been around since 1994. IFC is a platform neutral, open format. It is
not controlled by any one vendor. It is developed by an independent company
called buildingSmart to facilitate the sharing of data within the AEC industry.
In Denmark it is compulsory to use IFC
on publicly aided building projects.
If you would like to learn more about IFC you can get more
information from the following links
BuildingSmart:
http://www.buildingsmart.org/
Bentley: http://ftp2.bentley.com/dist/collateral/whitepaper/Building_IFC_Position_Paper_whitepaper_eng.pdf
AutoDesk:
Graphisoft Archicad:
If you are working within the Autodesk suite of products, Autodesk
has developed a file format called adsk (Autodesk exchange format). This format
can exchange data between Revit, Civil 3D, Inventor and AutoCAD Architecture.
In Revit you can bring in an inventor file through > Building Component
commands. You can export to Civil 3D from Revit through .adskfile format by selecting
Export >Building Site. I will chat
about the adsk file format and other Autodesk formats in later blogs.
If you are using Bentley products you can use the Bentley
native DGN format. The great thing about the DGN file format it never changes.
In all the years I have been using MicroStation it only changed once between
version 7 and 8.
If you are using Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Trimble Tekla,
Nemetschek All Plan or others you will need to use IFC. Always checkout the
software providers website for the latest version of IFC export/Import or other
plugins they may have for exporting and importing IFC. For example if you are
using ArchiCAD with Revit Graphisoft have a Revit plugin for improved importing/exporting
between Revit and ArchiCAD. Check out the Graphisoft website for further
details,
http://www.graphisoft.com/downloads/interoperability.html
To sum up this article make sure you decide how you are
going to exchange and share data. Test the import/export and document the procedure
noting any issues and work arounds. Share the data regularly through your
chosen format so if any issues arise they can be tackled as they arise and you
won’t have any surprises when you are under pressure to issue models. Always
keep in mind the deliverables for the client and document your sharing
procedure. Let all start sharing our data.
If you have any questions on anything in this blog or
any other blog please feel free to contact me at dan@siscin.ie
Dan Deery is a director of Siscín which is a company based
in Ireland specialising in BIM Consultancy, 3D modelling Animation and
Visualisation. Siscín have worked on many different projects across the world.
For more info on Siscín and their services check out their web site on
www.siscin.ie.
No comments:
Post a Comment