Tom Klaber Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 What is this new BCF thing I am hearing about? How is this different than IFC? Does Vectorworks support BCF? The website says it does through some sort of link. If anybody has any experience with this I would love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 British Cycling Federation ? Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 http://www.buildingsmart-tech.org/specifications/bcf-releases Quote Link to comment
Tom Klaber Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Ha. BIM Collaboration Format... http://www.bimcollab.com/en/BIM/OpenBIM/BCF I can not tell if it is a file format type or a model collaboration hub.... Quote Link to comment
Tom Klaber Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Thanks.... Still confused on whether it is competing with IFC or if it is something else.... Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 (edited) I think it will be the successor of IFC. A file format, that will allow collaboration (hubs). Heard this today for the first time though. Edit : Or a a second format that is needed additional to the IFC data that does just communicate (?) Edited June 8, 2016 by zoomer Quote Link to comment
Tom Klaber Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Yeah - right? Confusing.... I think you maybe getting on to something there - that the BCF tells the model what is new and what is old - so you do not have to import the whole model during info exchanges....?? Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Yes, with IFC you needed to load the whole model with change requests ... BCF just includes the requests. Don't know how a "hub" is defined. But the BCF has also a part that allows that collaboration, but needs tools built into software to use it. But I don't get it completely. Looks like BCF floats mainly to the complete Model of the BIM Manager. So each party needs the whole model too, to see what they don't like to be able to define any requests (?) Or will these requests come from BIM Manager to clients only (?) Hey VW user, please push your sofa to the right because we have other stuff there. Quote Link to comment
Jeffrey W Ouellette Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 BCF is a complement to an IFC-based workflow. Think of it as an "open" issue/markup communication protocol for BIM (based on XML), working between any IFC and BCF compatible application. In order for it to work, all model collaborators must have a version of the BIM exchanged via IFC at least once. This is because the basic IFC information attached to the project and the identifiers of each object (GUID), are the key properties used to correctly synchronize, identify objects and attach viewpoint data and notes. BCF can be executed in a couple different ways. It can be explicitly file-based, where a .bcf file is created from an application for a particular model and then sent to a receiving application which will open and 'sync' the information to their version of the model. This application also has the option of further editing/adding info, saving and sending the revised .bcf file back to the other app. Or, BCF can be executed via a centralized server/web-based service, based on RESTful protocols. The BCF 'server' essential stores the BCF files, and content, for projects in a more dynamic database. Each application must still have a synchronized version of the IFC model(s) information on each end, but the BCF data is exchanged as more immediate and discrete 'packets' inside a BIM application interface, rather than as a whole file. More info can be found on GitHub, if you really want to geek out... < https://github.com/BuildingSMART/BCF-API > Vectorworks' 1st version of BCF implementation is strictly an explicit file importer/viewer inside Vectorworks. Opening a BCF file lets you view the issues associated with the project and even select and navigate between them, with viewpoints automatically being shifted, if saved in the BCF file. You could then use an application like Solibri Model Checker to edit the status of a BCF issue, or make notes, save and then reissue. Or you could use another app that acts as a direct interface to a BCF server. The plan is to evolve this into a full-blown BCF manager, with creation and editing capabilities and possible BCF server interaction. When? You know I officially can't say, but let's all be optimistic, ok? Quote Link to comment
gester Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I think it will be the successor of IFC. (..) oh man :eek: read first about the topic, and post then. rob Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Well explained Jeffrey ! Thanks for the internal view. Quote Link to comment
Tom Klaber Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 Thanks Jeffrey, I understood about 20% of that. Hopefully everything you said is going to be bundled into a nice-n-easy UX where I do not need to figure out the other 80%. Quote Link to comment
gester Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 so as for now, the bcf manager only works when some 3rd party application generates a proper ifc feedback for the vectorworks file and saves it as a bcfzip. there's no automatic recognition of the geometry clash issues from within vectorworks, and the manual one is pretty cumbersome. btw, both buttons 'new' and 'close' don't do much, beside irrevocably clearing all existing topics by the 'new'. if the report is not saved, the information gets lost. Quote Link to comment
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