IFC Export with Separated Components

[LuisIOStudio]

Hi all,

How can we export Hardscape, Slab, Wall to IFC with separated components? And may be with color?

I'm using Vectorworks Landmarks 2022. And so far, after trying every IFC export setting combination, I cannot export hardscape and slab elements with color and components. They all come with white model and single solid element

[zoomer]

It should work by activating :

"Export Walls/Slabs by Components"

in Export options.

 

But maybe it will only work for Walls and Slabs specifically (?)

 

Also this Setting is not available when exporting in IFC 4.0 format.

 

 

And generally, I think that exports such Walls as "aggregated" objects.

Which caused some problems for me lately. These are within IFC specs,

but these may not be commonly used. Many importers seem to not

expect these.

 

 

The Color and/or Material thing in IFC for me is still a mystery.

[LuisIOStudio]

Thank you zoomer for your advice.

The main reason why we need separated components in the IFC is that this is a request from our client (Lead Architect).

For our current project, there are several types of paving elements and patterns. When we export Hardscape or Slab to IFC for coordination (in Solibri and Navisworks). All elements are white and solid. So this is hard for our client to see the design intention. Stone, Granite, Black, Gray, Brick, ... in IFC, all white.

We have to do some work around this week by converting all hardscape and slab to Mesh and then re-assign materials.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by LuisIOStudio

[Katarina Ollikainen]

Hi, The setting for IFC export you're looking for is the 'Export Walls/Slabs by component'.

IFC4 supports colour, while 2x3 doesn't.

 

To get the colour in the hardscape components is a bit more convoluted , but we're working on making it easier.

 

[LuisIOStudio]

Thank you Katarina,

For the Hardscape / Landscape Area / Site Model Elements, do we have any method to make solid operations with others solid elements (extrusion, mesh,...)? 

For example

A. SEO between 1. Sandstone Paving (modeled with Hardscape tool, with several components: Sandstone - Layering course - Subase -...) and 2. Kerb systems modeled with extrude along path command?

B. SEO between 1. Pathway (modeled with Hardscape tool) and 2. Garden Lawn modeled with Landscape area tools (with several components: top soil, subsoil-drainage layer-...?

We need this for the good section view representation.

 

Again thank you for your support.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by LuisIOStudio

[HebHeb]

Quote

IFC4 supports colour, while 2x3 doesn't.

I always thought that colors are handed by their entity (at least in 2x3) the visual appearance is set inside your ifc viewer?

So to make my presets future proof I would like to learn more about colors inside vectorworks and their appearance after exporting to ifc4. Any hints to read about? (textures, solid, class based, by components, ...)

For Landscape Models it would be kind of breathtaking to have tress and landscape areas colored in green

[HebHeb]

@Katarina Ollikainenany updates on this?

any hints on how the color information inside Vectorworks is embedded in the ifc4 export?
I somehow see colors for example inside BIMCollabZoom (even in 2x3), but I have no clue where are they coming (somehow unexpected :D)

Thinking of using Blender BIM to do automatic color-mapping, but guess what it would be easier to do it right away in Vectorworks...

any info much appreciated 🙂
Cheers!
 

[HebHeb]

i dont't have those options in the german 2023 SP4 build 😉

Yes for know i have a smart-View for BIMCOllab Zoom that maps color via a customPsets with all the  handy information like class,material, design layer,...

 

[TeeMuki]

Hello there,

so i'm wondering now is there a way to use different colors when exporting to IFC 2x3? It seems kind of weird that all the different Hardscapes are just the same grey when exported to IFC and observed via Solibri.

I'm running Landmark 2023 SP5.

[aage.langedrag]

I have set all my materials only as Style Solid color and at the same time changed all my Texture so that these also only appear as with RGB colors in the model and in IFC2x3. In order to have 3D solitary trees and plants shown as transparent, the entire object is overridden in the export, with the Class on which these are located controlling this. Hopefully there will be a better solution to this eventually.

IFC2x3_Objects with RGB colors.ifc

Edited January 10 by aage.langedrag

[aage.langedrag]

Landscape Area and Hardscap can be exported to IFC with each layer exported as separate objects with their own properties. For IFC2x3 you can use the setting in the export setting itself, but for IFC4 you have to enter the settings in the Data Manager. For each Plug-in Objects one must add ExportOptions, select <Export by Components>. Since this Type is BOOLEAN, you must choose =TRUE

Edited January 10 by aage.langedrag

[aage.langedrag]

Here is my setup in the Data Manager, which shows examples of settings for each material layer in Landscape Areas that are exported as separate components to get properties in IFC from the materials that belong to each individual layer, component.

[TeeMuki]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:27 PM, aage.langedrag said:

I have set all my materials only as Style Solid color and at the same time changed all my Texture so that these also only appear as with RGB colors in the model and in IFC2x3. In order to have 3D solitary trees and plants shown as transparent, the entire object is overridden in the export, with the Layer on which these are located controlling this. Hopefully there will be a better solution to this eventually.

 

Hi, How to make it work to Hardscape objects?

[Volkan]

Hi export with ifc4 and than in solibri you can click the wall and select all the wall or you can shift+click for selecting the parts of the wall like gypsum board or insulation.