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Ceiling grid to IFC


ida

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Hi,

Was wondering if anybody have solved the issue of ceiling grid to IFC?

At the moment we have modeled the ceiling as an IFC covering/(ceiling) with the slab tool.

That basically is just a slab in IFC.

Last time I used the ceiling grid tool that also has IFC data it did not export the grid. And you cannot set the thickness on the ceiling grid in VW.

The grid is extremely important to placing installations from ventilation and electrical engineers, and making it look good. Checking that everything works in IFC.

The engineers are modeling in Revit by the way.

Know that this feature is available in Archicad and Revit, something for VW2016?

Ida

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Cberg,

According to the US. vectorworks people we had visiting our office. They want new users, people working up to IFC to use the slab tool and attach IFCcovering data. The ceiling grid tool is an older tool they haven't developed further. But it would actually be great to use for us esecially for ceilingplans in 2d that we also have to do. And it would be even better if the grid actually exported to IFC!

Ida

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  • 4 months later...

There weren't any significant improvements in BIM Tools in 2016.

We get SubD, Point Clouds, Marionette, .... this year.

Walls still lose their connections when edited in OIP, Columns still not recognized by Spaces, .... pity but true.

I prefer Allplan over Archicad ...

But not such a big problem for me.

I see VW as Bim light and for design and presentation,

like for Competitions.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi,

Still no way of making ceiling grid in IFC....

See that the ceiling grid tool now shows in 3d vectorworks (2016), the ceiling is 25,4mm and the grid lines are a bit heigher 35,4mm. But it still exports to IFC as one uniform shape.

The problem for me is also that I want to adjust the thickness! 25,4 mm is not a good thickness for Norwegina standards. I guess this is a feet and inch thing.

Since i now need to do two objects on top of eachother. One slab taged as IFC covering with the correct thickness and one IFC ceiling grid to be abel to work with the ceiling grid in 2D. Is it possible to untag the IFC entity from the ceiling grid? Or do I need to do yet a nother layer.....

Ida

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Guest Wes Gardner

Hi All,

I can make the Ceiling Grid tool export to IFC just fine...below is a link to some files. Yes, the tool is limited in its thickness, yes the tool can quickly create a 2D grid that is easily modifiable..this is standard out-of-the-box (default content) behavior, no tricks, no smoke, no mirrors...:-) exports as IFCcovering...

Also some screen shots from Solibri...in all fairness, you can't see the actual grid in IFC, just the shape that makes it

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9bdzep0u1bhb9a0/Ceiling%20as%20IFC.zip?dl=0

Edited by Wes Gardner
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Hi Wes,

The ceiling exports fine to IFC (ceiling grid tool), but I cant use it because I can not change it to the correct thicknesses. So have to use the slab tool and tag it. I would like to untag the ceiling grid so it can be on the same layer as the tagged slab. I can of course just have it on another layer. Was actually wondering if it was possible to untag an IFC entity? I would like to use the ceiling grid tool in addition because of the easy change in size and placing of the grid.

Also see that you now have implemented the grid lines in 3D, the lines are a bit higher than the thickness ceiling so you can see it in 3d render mode. This would be really great to also get into solibri. Then we have more control with the installations from the consultants on the project.

Ida

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Guest Wes Gardner

Hi Ida,

Couldn't agree with you more...I'll try to get this in front of the "powers" as an enhancement request. Having a pretty capable 2D tool is OK...BUT we need to have this tool "upgraded" for current usage!

Dang, I thought I could "untag" but I get a "it's not allowed" warning...sorry

Wes

Edited by Wes Gardner
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  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

Just installed SP3 and a bit disappointed that there is no development on the ceiling grid tool. It still exports the same way to IFC without the marking of the ceiling grid like in 3d VW. I really need an easy way to get grid lines of the ceiling to export to IFC.

Do anybody have a good solution/ work around for this?

What i want is control of the ceiling grid pannels so that we can see the placing of the other consultants fixtures in our ceilingrid when exported to IFC. To model each panel separately is not a solution....

Ida

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  • 5 months later...

@idaDo you collaborate with IFC and Revit files?  We are just dipping our toes in this, and we have been told that IFC is more trouble than it is worth and that they rather rebuild our scope from scratch in Revit than use IFC.  This was a little bit scary - and made us question whether Vectorworks really can be our long term solution.  I would love to hear a success story.  What type of projects have you BIMed up?

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  • 1 month later...
On 7. september 2016 at 4:02 PM, Tom Klaber said:

@idaDo you collaborate with IFC and Revit files?  We are just dipping our toes in this, and we have been told that IFC is more trouble than it is worth and that they rather rebuild our scope from scratch in Revit than use IFC.  This was a little bit scary - and made us question whether Vectorworks really can be our long term solution.  I would love to hear a success story.  What type of projects have you BIMed up?

Hi Tom, Been very busy so not so active on the forum, hence the late reply. In Norway the open format (.ifc) is really pushed, and here I think vectorworks is getting there. The user interface is much easier than Revit, so if you are using vectorworks and good at it I don't see the reason to change. Revit is not an open file format so to use .ifc and then solibri as the checker and viewer program is the norm here. On our current school 8500m2 school project we are using ifc exchange with revit and its not a problem. I also think in 2017 you can import revit files, so that makes it easier for you. To give your work to so somebody else to draw up in a format that is not open, sounds a bit scary. There are some issues with VW and IFC, but i think you will meet that in every program. In Norway architects work mostly in archicad and revit, but we are currently sticking to Vectorworks. And it's working well on a large complex project at the moment.

Hope this was helpful :)

Ida

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  • 3 weeks later...

for my projects i am also collaborating with design consultants working with revit mep and structure. the only trouble is the setting of the common project origin, as the first ifc imports from them were with a remarkable offset from the x and y axes, only 'z' axis was right. and make sure they design all their elements and objects in the right storeys.

 

we have now the non-editable reference view in the vw v2017, the editable design transfer view is still missing.

rob

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Could you point me in the right direction in the document, at first glance I don't see what you are referring to.

Our problem is that we would like to bring in the 600x600 pattern in a ceiling into IFC to check the placements of light fixtures, vent and other building equipment.

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1 minute ago, ida said:

Could you point me in the right direction in the document, at first glance I don't see what you are referring to.

Our problem is that we would like to bring in the 600x600 pattern in a ceiling into IFC to check the placements of light fixtures, vent and other building equipment.

 

Here is something I think could be useful for you, but I'm not sure. Let me know.

Schermata 2018-09-14 alle 10.54.53.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is good for grid lines, but not for a ceiling grid. Way to much workaround and to complicated, for our process 🙂

What we are looking for is to be abel to get the ceiling grid tool to go directly into IFC with a 600x600 or 1200x600 panels.

To be able to control the placement of HVAC and electrical installations.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Ida,

 

AFAIU, you want 2 things:

- to be able to control the thickness - enhancing Ceiling Grid tool, as currently the thickness is always 1";

- to be able to export in IFC this as separate coverings - one covering is one tile, like 1200 x 600;

 

If this is what you want - you should enter 2 enhance requests. The second one depends more on me and it is not that hard to achieve.

 

Regards,

Mihail Rizov

  • Like 1
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Hi Mihail,

 

The second one is the most important for our work.

The first one we can achieve with workarounds.

 

But I have stressed this issue, to our Norwegian distributer, Jim W, at the summit in Chicago and other VW people on several ocations.

As I understood it the ceiling grid tool is an old tool that will probably not be developed further.

As you see I started asking for this in 2015. 

It is something one can do in Revit and Archicad and its a really important feature for us. Since IFC is the main exchange for files and checking of instalations.

 

If the ceiling grid could export like below to IFC that is what we are looking for.

 

Skjermbilde 2018-10-02 kl. 08.53.51.png

  • Like 3
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  • 7 months later...
On 10/1/2018 at 10:47 AM, Mihail Rizov said:

Hi Ida,

 

AFAIU, you want 2 things:

- to be able to control the thickness - enhancing Ceiling Grid tool, as currently the thickness is always 1";

- to be able to export in IFC this as separate coverings - one covering is one tile, like 1200 x 600;

 

If this is what you want - you should enter 2 enhance requests. The second one depends more on me and it is not that hard to achieve.

 

Regards,

Mihail Rizov 

 

I am coming to this conversation very late.  But we really do need the ceiling grid lines to export to IFC as Ida indicates.  Has there been any progress on this issue?  Or a workaround?

 

Edited by cberg
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@ida

 

I found a way to export. 

 

Take your grids and copy them to a blank model (making sure layer elevations are all coordinated).  Select everything and convert to Mesh.  Convert again to generic Solids.  Attach IFC data to the resultant group.  I use the tag called IFC Covering.  And then export the IFC or bring the generic solid back into the IFC Export Model.

 

But this doesn't mean the tool needs to be updated and fixed.  It's not smart BIM!!!  Or even dumb BIM

 

1717145773_ScreenShot2019-05-17at5_41_21PM.thumb.png.6c5aeb103def47eb59157fd3446b5c71.png

Edited by cberg
  • Like 2
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