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I didn't want to open a new topic for this: Is it possible to export an IFC file that contains model textures? As i classify a wall to IfcWallStandardCase, there is no data set for textures. If i classify my wall as an IfcSurfaceTexture than the model is not exported in the IFC ( tested in Solibri Model Viewer or Autodesk Viewer, neither of them imported the model). Is there any way i could attach this IFC property to an IfcWallStandardCase as a data set inside of the IfcWallStandardCase?

Or how can i get this done? How is IFC 4 export in VW 2017-2018 certified if it doesn't work as it should?

Thanks for the replies.

 

EDIT: When i add the IfcSurfaceTexture data set to a Wall object in the IFC Data Mapping window, it doesn't show up in the wall's psets when i draw a wall and check it's IFC properties.

Edited by Kazemester
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Kazemester,

 

Although texture capabilities can be handled in IFC, textures were excluded from Coordination View 2.0 and other certified MVDs (IFC2x3). Texture support will be available in IFC4 Reference View, when certified  (it's in progress).

(IfcSurfaceTexture defines the "style" of a geometry representation part and it can't be used standalone. IFC is object-centric, so it works only with objects - each object has data, geometry and relationships with other objects. That's why geometry can't be used standalone also - an extrude can be the geometric representation of a wall, slab, column, beam... So you need to specify the object first (e.g. slab) and then its geometry and data)

 

Regards,

Misho

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8 hours ago, Mihail Rizov said:

Hi Kazemester,

 

Although texture capabilities can be handled in IFC, textures were excluded from Coordination View 2.0 and other certified MVDs (IFC2x3). Texture support will be available in IFC4 Reference View, when certified  (it's in progress).

(IfcSurfaceTexture defines the "style" of a geometry representation part and it can't be used standalone. IFC is object-centric, so it works only with objects - each object has data, geometry and relationships with other objects. That's why geometry can't be used standalone also - an extrude can be the geometric representation of a wall, slab, column, beam... So you need to specify the object first (e.g. slab) and then its geometry and data)

 

Regards,

Misho

I get all that. I just wanted to know that if i have a wall classified as an IfcWallStandardCase (by deafult) is there any options i can put a data set into that as a texture and export that in an IFC 4.

Or is there any way i can get any objects exported with textures with IFC4 in Vectorworks or not?

 

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I understand it like that,

always improving and extended IFC format meanwhile CAN include Material information, since IFC v4.

VW currently does not make use of Material/Texture options of IFC automatically.

For Apps importing IFC, it is up to them if they make use of such information.

 

It has been a while and don't now between wich Apps,

but think to remember that I have opened IFC's somewhere where the Window Glass Panes

were transparent and such. Could be completely wrong.

 

I don't overview if it is possible to assign such data from VW manually or how to get

such info over by IFC in a proper way.

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1 minute ago, zoomer said:

I understand it like that,

always improving and extended IFC format meanwhile CAN include Material information, since IFC v4.

VW currently does not make use of Material/Texture options of IFC automatically.

For Apps importing IFC, it is up to them if they make use of such information.

 

It has been a while and don't now between wich Apps,

but think to remember that I have opened IFC's somewhere where the Window Glass Panes

were transparent and such. Could be completely wrong.

 

I don't overview if it is possible to assign such data from VW manually or how to get

such info over by IFC in a proper way.

Neither Solibri or Autodesk online viewer open IFC4 with textures. We are working on making a "standard" for architects to save their projects to IFC 4 and than we can integrate that to a software such as Unity to make VR for customers...but i guess we have to make it the hard way as usual...export OBJ, or FBX and textures and lights and IES...etc...

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Just now, zoomer said:

I think it wasn't really textured materials but basic material colors and transparency.

But I would have to check and retry everywhere.

 

Unity has an IFC import o.O

(I have to immediately ask for that on Modo and C4D forums (again))

:)

I'm not sure there is, was just looking for a way what can be standardized (is that a word?:D )...anyways i know that some model elements can be exported by color and transparency, but i was looking for textures. As Mihail wrote IFC 4 is not certified in Vectorworks (still have no idea why is it there as a feature and how Building Smart let Nemetschek to use it)...so we need to look for another solution.

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Ah, ok, no IFC in Unity.

But I think especially 3D (Mesh) Apps should and could have IFC import.

And beside, as IFC an a) open and b) standard should not be as tedious to implement

like a proprietary DWG or such. I still hope that one day one App will start and the others

follow at a reasonable time frame.

Edited by zoomer
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1 minute ago, zoomer said:

Ah, ok, no IFC in Unity.

But I think especially 3D (Mesh) Apps should and could have IFC import.

And beside, as IFC an a) open and b) standard should not be as tedious to implement

like a proprietary DWG or such. I still hope that one day one App will start and the others

follow at a reasonable time frame.

Yeah, sorry...i was just mentioning Unity as an example (a bad one)... Archiving stuff would be a good reason to use  IFC 4 in that case though. Well, we hope the best and still looking for the best solution.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
12 hours ago, Kazemester said:

I get all that. I just wanted to know that if i have a wall classified as an IfcWallStandardCase (by deafult) is there any options i can put a data set into that as a texture and export that in an IFC 4.

Or is there any way i can get any objects exported with textures with IFC4 in Vectorworks or not?

 

Hi Kazemester,

 

IFC4 certification is in progress (for all, not only Vw) and there is no application that is certified. So, in the next months, at least the applications, that participate in the certification will release texture support (Vw, too).

 

Regards,

Misho

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On 10/17/2017 at 11:30 AM, Mihail Rizov said:

Hi Kazemester,

 

IFC4 certification is in progress (for all, not only Vw) and there is no application that is certified. So, in the next months, at least the applications, that participate in the certification will release texture support (Vw, too).

 

Regards,

Misho

Great! Thanks for the info.

 

By the way...is it possible to export a .vrl file from Vectorworks or is there any plug-in, add-on that makes VW capable doing so?

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Anton5,

 

Grid Bubble/Polar/Rectangular are automatically exported to IFC.

 

If you need 3-axis IFC Grid, there is a custom solution - group with IfcGrid attached, and inside lines with IfcGridAxis (where AxisTag is prefixed by 'U','V' or 'W', to denote which list this axis belongs to - UAxes, VAxes or WAxes).

 

Regards,

Misho

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ok thank you,

 

will have a try at this,

 

is there a way to rotate the grid bubble text? and also if two grid lines are close to one another, is there a way to re-locate the bubble slightly so that you can read both grid line references (letters or numbers),

 

also is there a way to skip a letter, such as the 'I' and the 'O', as these resemble to much of numbers '1' and '0'

 

also is there a way to add a preface code to certain of the grids, such as 'EOS' (edge of slab), and 'C/C' (centre to centre), this would be very useful and helpful.

 

thank you,

 

kind regards anton

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Anton5,

 

Currently, the text always follows the direction of the axis or is horizontal (Rotate Text is off), bubbles are all positioned, according to the bubble offset setting. If you want to skip a letter, you could split it to 2 grid bubbles. You can use the Prefix setting to put a text before the mark. If you think, your suggestions are important, please, add an enhancement request.

 

Regards,

Misho

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  • 1 month later...

Can i extract visible wall component areas from spaces somehow? Or is there any way to show the wall finishes in a worksheet shown in each room?

I want to have a worksheet with columns named: Room name, Floor, Wall ID, Wall surface name component name, Wall surface (component) area without the doors and windows in the space (not the whole wall, only inside each space one by one)

 

Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

How can i automatically add height and width (+sill height) to doors and windows center line as a text / Dimension marker?  2nd and 3rd columns on attached picture.

(I know i can add these manually if i convert a symbol from a door or window, but this should be a basic feature...not to mention that this is a standard over here in Europe...)

doors_windows.jpg

Screen Shot 2017-12-07 at 22.01.42.png

screen-shot-2013-05-15-at-12-14-34-pm.png

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  • 2 months later...

A Warm greeting from a GREENHORN here to all Staff and VW Power users who so graciously contribute to the forum.

 

I thought this would be a good place to post my thoughts - "Contemplating a Switch to VW" - however, if staff feel it should be elsewhere please move it. Okay, Will all I have read so far, here goes....

 

I am currently reviewing Vectorworks (VW) Designer Package at the suggestion of a fellow Architect. Although he and I currently use Chief Architect Premier (CAP). Neither are completely satisfied with it’s challenges in producing and overall solid and stable design and ConDoc layout - (i.e. if it ain't done with their out of the box methods they don't support it),  but it does okay for conventional residential track builders. I, on the other hand, design ESOP Homes (Elevated Structures on Pilings) or Houses on Stilts, I’ve even had someone call them Tree houses for Adults (must have had too much to drink). 

 

Most of the homes near the southern and east coast line of the USA are subject to Hurricanes and as such, home here are built above ground on 2x12 Floor Joist with a perpendicular Floor Beams or Glulams, fastened to the top end of 12 x 12 Square wood or Round concrete Pilings 11ft to 13ft (even 20 ft in some cases) spaced on 13’ centers  in an X/Y grid above grade and not on a traditional post and beam or monolithic slab. Okay, sorry for the all the detail. (Attached Example Video Walk-through of a Client Model review  - Same as pic below)

 

The home in the link was modeled in CAP. I would very much appreciate your comments /suggestions on how this would be done in VW and whether you see in unusual issues I may have to contend with in VW to accomplish this task. I would also appreciate any comments on some of the challenges you face using VW in general for your own projects. All comments will help me frame a reasonable comparison between CAP, REVIT and VW. The reason I ask this question? Often the Marketing Department and Program GURUs make using their product appear simple and fun, when In reality, a user can quickly become a slave to the very tool that is supposed to make what you love a tool to help you express your thoughts and ideas without first becoming a master of the program. I get all programs have a learning curve but after two years of using CAP everyday to design what you see below, I have yet to have one person , staff or others, provide a process that I can use consistently time and again without having to perform some kind of "Workaround" with the software. I'm not designing the "Burj Khalifa" here. Creating a template for all the defaults needed should not be a huge undertaking. 

 

If the above was not clear enough I would be happy to Skype with you and show you exactly what I am dealing with. Many thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions. 

Cheers for now!

 

image.thumb.png.0e99916385bdb258cdd911f6e015a13e.png

What ESOP structures look like..txt

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  • 1 month later...

The message i got 99% of the time...than with the same item the command just makes the fillet later after a couple hundred tries.

Anyways...VW2018 crashes more than any other VW combined together (the RAM is not the problem i have 48gb...or is that still not enough?)
Working with pointclouds is a pain in the *** over 40million points...

Extrude along path just became so sensitive it just doesn't make anything...and VW doesn't even let me know that after a couple minutes of "rainbowing", calculating the error.

Gamer mode walkthrough still doesn't work in Multiple View Panes mode since i reported it to tech staff a couple months ago using the latest SP3.

There are still no EU (eastern) standards in VW such as centerline data for windows and doors...etc. Doesn't Nemetschek own VW the same comany that owns Archicad? Please copy paste these "features" from there. By the way is there any way to classify building elements by deafult not by class? (Uniclass or Omniclass...etc?)

Thank you.

(I know nobody reads these entries here on the forums from VW staff but im so pissed off i had to write them down somewhere.)

Oh and please use your own software and try it out on user affordable computers how it works. It is not optimized at all. (I'm using a late 2015 27" 5K CTO iMac i7 though and it struggles...)

 

5ac0db9be23a9_ScreenShot2018-04-01at15_15_03.thumb.png.5730060b633bdfb88d3bb8d45e44f35a.png

Edited by Kazemester
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  • 5 months later...

Jim, hopefully you can help me with this.     I am running v2018 on a P710 Lenovo workstation with a Xeon E5-2623 quad core processor and 64 GB of ram with three monitors on a Quadro M2000 GPU.  A small amount of lag is noticeable but when I add the fourth monitor I need for checking and modifying 3D models, the lag between executing commands is annoying.   With the architecture of Vectorworks 2018, and 2019 soon coming, which is a better investment with the largest return?  A new CPU or GPU?  I can only afford to do one at this time.

Options:

I was looking at a 6 or 8 core Xeon processor at 2.6 to 3.0 ghz.

Or

Quadro P5000 (16mb) GPU

 

Thoughts on what would would make the biggest difference as the cost will be about the same?

 

Thanks!!!!

 

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What resolution do your monitors have? Full HD or UHD? If you have four displays attached, please keep in mind that the resolution between Full-HD and UHD is quadrupled. With four monitors, I would recommend that you only use Full HD resolution. Then you only need the same graphics performance as for a UHD display. A current high-end graphics card supplies one to two UHD monitors, depending on the size of your 3D models.
Full-HD: 1'920x1'080=2'073'600 Pixels x4 monitors = 8'294'400 Pixels
UHD:      3'840x2'160=8'294'400 Pixels x4 monitors = 33'177'600 Pixels!

Your current graphics card has only 4GB vram. It probably fills up with your four screens in OpenGL mode. You can easily check this with the task-manager. As soon as the memory is filled to about 80%, the drawing starts to lag. So I would recommend you to install a new graphics card. If you don't need it for other applications, I wouldn't use a Quadro card, but a gaming card like the Geforce GTX1080Ti, because Vectorworks doesn't benefit from the pro cards.

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