Presenting Blender as a new IFC authoring tool

I am too fast :laughing:

pyparsing.py can be found in the zip on top-level but not within the folder “blender” within the zip.

That is correct, it should be in the top level, not inside the blenderbim folder. When you install it to Blender, it should copy the pyparsing.py file to your Blender add-ons folder, but it sounds like it didn’t. Can you please check if it is there? You can see where your Blender add-ons folder is here.

To be safe, when upgrading BlenderBIM versions, I recommend completely removing and uninstalling the old BlenderBIM first. To uninstall, you must manually delete all the files that it created. You can see a list of the files to delete in that documentation website I linked to. Note that when you install, you do not need to unzip the downloaded file :slight_smile: Hope it helps.

pyparsing.py is not in the add-ons folder or any subfolder.

I have to break now and will continue in some hours.

BR
Herb

As it is not there, I recommend starting fresh and installing BlenderBIM again. It should work out of the box. If not, a workaround will be to just copy the files over manually. If you have to resort to the work-around, contact me via private message or email (dion@thinkmoult.com) and we can debug it without disturbing the forum :slight_smile:

Cleaning the webbrowser cache before downloading the zip did solve the problem.

1 Like

New update!

  • Documentation added for the context panel
  • Site objects are now imported
  • Bugfix to export different types of curve objects
  • All non-polygonal extrusions now have an Axis representation exported
  • Material properties are now exported (like density, youngs modulus, etc)
  • New sample attributes for doors and windows shipped with the add-on
  • Point clouds now can be exported to IFC
  • IFC structural objects are now exported
  • UI improvement to only show predefined types and userdefined types if it is possible
  • Structural objects now export a topological reference representation
  • Parametric material profiles are now supported (rectangular, circular, I-Beam, etc)
  • New UI to manage material attributes
  • New UI to change material assignment (single / layer / constituent / profile set)
  • New UI to create a property set override instead of having to write properties in separate CSV files
  • BIMTester now includes model setup vocabulary, drafted in collaboration with BuildingSMART Australasia co-founder @john.mitchell - it tests basic project attributes and geolocation for both IFC2X3 and IFC4.
  • BIMTester now allows custom JUnit directories for better cloud integration
  • Bugfix where some context representations were not exported now fixed
  • UI to specify structural boundary conditions
  • New UI to specify structural member connections
  • Can export a group of structural objects into a Structural Analysis Model
  • Importing now has a progress bar and more consistent logging
  • Documentation for BlenderBIM and IfcOpenShell merged and restructured
  • New workaround for Revit incorrect geolocation being placed on the building object - enabled by default
  • Assigning product types is now done by a property instead of the Blender parent relationship to allow it to scale on large files
  • New experimental script to convert IFC into Code_Aster input for 100% free and open source structural analysis

A few pictures highlighting the major improvements…

Point clouds! Woo! As you can see, BIM, point clouds, and 3D annotations are all fused together - this presents exciting opportunities for recording this as-built fusion for our built environment!

As BlenderBIM can now author an IFC file containing structural analysis models, there is now an ability to convert this IFC file into a format that Code_Aster can read to perform structural analysis:

The results are visualised with Salome_Meca and ParaviS (effectively Paraview included into Salome_Meca). Shown is the deflection of a single cantilevering beam.

This is the start of a pipeline where structural modeling and structural analysis can be done with a 100% free and open source pipeline through IFC!

Shown below are the test vocabulary developed with @john.mitchell to check geolocation. This is still relatively fresh, but we hope to standardise this to verify that all models produced are properly geolocated.

Also quite exciting is how FreeCAD was combined with BlenderBIM - FreeCAD was used to parametrically model with constraints (Catia-style) a stair tread which was sent in STEP format for manufacturing. The native parametric file was associated with an IFC document association, and the FreeCAD export supplied the solid parametric representation item, whereas Blender provided the mesh based representation item. This demonstrates that it is possible to mix different mesh modeling techniques across different programs and use each to their strengths. Many thanks to @yorik who has made a lot of this possible in FreeCAD.

The same tread is shown with a faceted brep representation in Blender below:

Download the latest today: https://blenderbim.org/

3 Likes

:clap:t2: :+1:t2:
It is impressive to see how blenderBIM and FreeCAD can complement each other.

It’s me again :hear_no_evil:

Could you please provide a hint on following error report?

Cleaning blender addons folder after removal of old version in blender and installing new version afterwards solved the installation problem. :smiley:

Thanks @Moult !

1 Like

Blender 2.82 is released!

Most relevant to the AEC industry is …

USD support, to allow for the transfer of complex geometric scenes where IFC may have limitations due to its monolithic nature.

Improved AI denoiser, for better architectural visualization for faster, smoother, concept designs.

Custom bevel profiles make it oh-so-much easier to do various types of architectural modeling.

But so much more … better sun position integration, parametric vertex welding … the list goes on.

3 Likes

A new version of the BlenderBIM Add-on v0.0.200228 was released today! It’s been a month since the last release, but there are lots of new features!

  • 12D files, which usually have absolute coordinates, are now imported into Blender with an offset to allow you to work in local coordinates for vertical BIM
  • The BIM audit panel now allows you to select a particular BIMTester feature, and write tests directly from the UI instead of needing a text editor
  • Your spatial tree can now have geometric representations (most importantly, this allows you to export an IfcSite terrain)
  • Quick project setup button now sets up spatial objects too
  • Sites can now export a reference long/lat attribute
  • When importing, it now remembers what IFC file the data came from (in preparation for partial writes)
  • Minor bugfixes related to missing items in dropdown menus, curve orientations upon export
  • Import now associates type products
  • Bugfix allowing you to import multiple spatial structure elements with identical names
  • New option to toggle import of opening elements
  • Improved IFC-to-Code_Aster script
  • Preset render settings for creating documentation and diagrams
  • Create dimension annotations in 3D from any orientation instead of for a particular view
  • New support for IFC projection elements (opposite of void elements)
  • Allow you to create other types of leaders and section levels from any orientation instead of for a particular view
  • IfcPolygonalFaceSets are now imported with the correct units (useful for sites and terrains)
  • Extra checks to ensure exports don’t create GlobalId collisions
  • Allow duplicate names for both mesh and curve data
  • New option allowing people to maintain parametric behaviour to generate multiple IFC objects, or to bake the results into a single IFC object
  • New IFCPatch tool, allowing you to patch the data in an IFC file based on a series of preloaded “recipes”. These allow you to workaround various limitations in other IFC authoring exports in a safe way without breaking the rest of the IFC data. Recipies include:
    • Reset spatial element object placement locations
    • Offset from absolute coordinates to a local system
    • Remove representations from sites
    • Offset IfcBuildingStorey elevations
    • Set reference elevation
  • BIMTester now shows test results with a percentage success rate
  • IFC import now imports pset data
  • 2D grids are now imported even though curve data isn’t enabled, given the importance of grids. Support added for IfcGrid and IfcGridAxis
  • New ability to search for IFC objects by their attribute or pset property values with a case insensitive string, with support for regex for super advanced searching
  • You can select any IFC attribute or pset property and colour code the model by the value for a visual cue when auditing IFC data
  • Minor UI clean-up to hide panels by default
  • New import option to toggle import of IfcSpace objects
  • Handle import coordinate offsetting of IFC2X3 files created from Tekla which are poorly geolocated
  • Version bump to the latest IfcOpenShell library, which includes fixes for more stable geometry import

The stair design, which was done purely using open-source software, is moving into fabrication. A couple of cute pictures:

… and from the front …

Thought I’d also share a cool use of Blender that inge_handagard on the BlenderArtists forums had showed me. He used BlenderBIM to automatically parse point data from a compactor machine when building a highway, and creates an IFC from them so that BIM users can see the results to ensure that the road is being properly compacted.

Shown below is the IFC opened in Navisworks (proprietary), which is how others might open the file. This process is run automatically every day! (Blender is highly scriptable and automatable)

Get the latest version today: https://blenderbim.org/

2 Likes

Archipack 2.2.7 released - with faster workflows of drawing buildings. This may open a few eyes for those unfamiliar with how domain specific modeling can be used within Blender.

1 Like

Hello @Moult !
From the Universities of Argentina we are interested in contributing work to have an open source BIM alternative within a reasonable time. We think the work you are doing on blender is brilliant !!
I am doing a comparison between Revit / Archicad / Bricscad to fix targets, and it caught my attention that you managed to extract 2D construction documentation with BlenderBIM. The ability to do construction documentation is very important !
I have installed Blender + BlenderBIM but I don’t see this functionality. Will it be part of a new version not yet released? Can we test it? .
Greetings from Argentina !
Joselaks

Thanks @joselaks! The functionality is included, but not documented - so it is not obvious. Perhaps it’s easier to share a screen to demo this? I am generally online during all working hours Sydney time (and them some) in the IRC live chat: https://blenderbim.org/community.html

The ability to do construction documentation is extremely important, but still very raw. I am happy to say that for very, very small projects, I am able to apply it already, so perhaps with increased streamlined workflows and optimisation of the cutting process, it will grow to larger projects.

Here’s another sneak peek of some documentation produced with BlenderBIM (yes, these are colourful, but I can also produce pure black and white style drawings if it is appropriate for the job):

2 Likes

I agree with the importance of construction documentation!
I will be very attentive to your progress. Extracting the build documentation from a project designed in Blender would be great!

A new version of the BlenderBIM Add-on is now released: v0.0.200328! Get the new version today: https://blenderbim.org/.

One month since the last release, there have been over 30 fixes, stability improvements, and new features. Highlights include new import features for simplify and merge IFC models, brand new IFC to/from CSV data export and import, basic support for BCF-XML 2.1, and simple construction documentation sheet management.

  • Latest IfcOpenShell version, with various stability fixes to import more files!
  • BIMTester can now just generate reports if required
  • BIMTester can run a single test instead of the entire test suite
  • Fix import bug with some IFC object types aren’t related correctly
  • New BIMTester test to check if an element doesn’t exist
  • Improved support for IFC2X3 materials without transparency
  • Fix import bug where IFC spaces with the same name might not be in the right location in the spatial tree
  • New import option to auto-merge geometry by IFC class
  • New import option to auto-merge geometry by IFC material
  • New import option to disable element aggregation
  • Hidden lines in construction documentation may now be in 3D, useful for showing exploded axonometric views
  • New IFCCSV tool allows querying an IFC file and exporting attributes and psets and reimporting an updated CSV to the IFC model
  • IFCCSV tool allows querying using IFC class, attribute, pset, and qto filters, with multiple operators, AND and OR statements
  • Export fix where sometimes you could create an abstract IFC class
  • All IfcSpatialElements are now supported including obscure ones like IfcSpatialZone and IfcExternalSpatialElement
  • IFC exports now support multiple materials on a single object
  • Fix export bug where some aggregates don’t export
  • Fix import bug where some objects inside a space won’t import
  • New import feature to automatically clean meshes to get nicer topologies
  • New export feature to export objects inside spaces and any spatial element
  • New import feature to record the spatial relationship of objects inside spaces (with ability to scale for large projects)
  • New import feature where quantity take-off quantities are imported
  • New export feature where you can manually fill out quantities and export them
  • Fix import bug where materials may be on multiple shape representations
  • New support for BCF XML 2.1!
  • View list of BCF topics in the UI, showing basic metadata about each topic
  • New button to uninstall add-on, to improve the upgrade process
  • See multiple viewpoints for each BCF topic and launch a camera view for each viewpoint
  • Any type of curve object is now supported for construction documentation annotation objects
  • Spatial containers are auto-detected when exporting making it more convenient for users to do quick exports
  • Support for BCF topic comments
  • BCF topic reference links, BIM snippets, document references, and related topics are supported with buttons to quickly open both external and internal references
  • New buttons to quickly view BlenderBIM Add-on homepage, docs, wiki, and forum
  • Documentation titleblock and view templates heavily optimised to a fraction of the filesize - mere kilobytes!
  • New UI feature to add new sheets and add views to sheets
  • New UI features to quickly open sheets and views in external SVG programs / viewers
  • Views now store view scale in their vector output - in an indsutry where our vector output is non-semantic, which really changes things!
  • Fix IfcPatch bug for broken ResetAbsoluteCoordinates recipe
  • New feature to publish sheets with automatic view titles, scales, view numbers, and sheet names
5 Likes

2 weeks later since the last release, over 30 new OpenBIM features and fixes in a brand new BlenderBIM Add-on v0.0.200413 release! Get it today: https://blenderbim.org/

  • New feature to validate the syntax of IFC files, in case you receive a broken IFC file
  • New support for viewing and overlaying BCF snapshot images on top of the model to compare issues
  • More stabilisation fixes on multicore IFC import
  • Support added for BCF header files
  • IFC import now supports multiple materials for a single object
  • More robust material imports for BIM authoring tools that still use the deprecated IfcPresentationStyleAssignment or have missing styles (yes, Revit, that’s you!)
  • Experimental multicore support added to IFCClash
  • The IFC2CA project has joined the IfcOpenShell umbrella!
  • BIMTester now bundles test definitions so you get tests out of the box!
  • IFCDiff now checks inverse relationships for changes too
  • IFCDiff lets you specify filters for checking specific inverse relationships
  • BCF snapshots with varying aspect ratios are now supported
  • The IfcProject entity is now a real object in Blender, which can be queried and exported with all of its metadata
  • BIMTester now supports the full Project setup MicroMVD definition
  • New optional GUI in BIMTester for people who don’t like command line
  • IFCCOBie has various fixes for strange formatting on wrapped data
  • BlenderBIM Add-on dependencies repackaged inside add-on, to allow for native Blender install and uninstall procedures
  • BlenderBIM Add-on Uninstall feature removed, as it is now obsolete in favour of native Blender uninstall process
  • IFC spatial elements without any geometric representation are now imported
  • Invalid Psets without any properties (as created by Solidworks) are now imported
  • Diff import support has now been upgraded to the non-legacy import mechanism
  • Rebar is now treated specially to prevent BREP faceting, so it retains its parametric swept disk solid behaviour, and is easier to edit, imports 10 times faster and is 10 times smaller in terms of filesize
  • IFC import has an optimised spatial tree processing algorithm to handle files which have hundreds of sites and buildings for precinct BIM models
  • Psets and Qtos can be selected from a filtered list for easy user discoverability instead of having to know the IFC spec
  • New IfcExportSettings factory to let the BlenderBIM Add-on be integrated with other Blender add-ons like ArchiPack
  • Improved ArchiPack compatibility - export parametric IFC objects from Archipack!
  • Repository code cleanup of old experimental files
  • Fix for potential infinite loop during export
  • Fixed some invalid schema exports related to void/fill/projection relationships, and material assignment related to linked duplicate objects
  • New support for import and export of the IFCZIP format
  • New support for BCF component visibility settings, colouring options, and selection sets when viewing BCF topics
  • New support for BCF orthogonal camera scale factor
4 Likes

I thought I might try and record some mini demo videos on how parts of the BlenderBIM Add-on works, because it is quite feature-packed and can be quite daunting. Also, recording videos is faster than writing documentation :slight_smile:

Feel free to check it out - here’s the first to do with section planes, which is today’s new feature.

This one isn’t specific to OpenBIM / IFC / BCF, so in the future, I will refrain from posting generic BIM videos here, but instead may only post them when it is relevant to IFC and BCF… for example, Blender now supports writing your own property set template definitions, which is quite unique and probably warrants a demo!

Peertube link for the free software hippies:

… or Youtube if webtorrent is blocked on your network:

5 Likes

It’s another 2 weeks, so here’s another 30 new fixes and features in the v0.0.200428 BlenderBIM Add-on release! Get it today: https://blenderbim.org/

Highlights include bundled classification system selection including Uniclass and Omniclass, create and consume property set template definitions, reload IFCs, import/export with CSV, and section planes!

  • IFC export now supports assigning objects to CAD presentation layers
  • Fix for incorrect grid placement in some scenarios
  • IFC group objects are now imported
  • Rebar profiles now share instances if it has the same radius to optimise rebar imports
  • Attributes or pset values can now be copied across to objects in bulk
  • IfcDiff now checks model precision when determining tolerances
  • IfcPatch now has a recipe to offset and rotate an entire model
  • Graphisoft XMLs can now be parsed into IFC, now maintained by OSArch
  • New hierarchical classification system interface, which can read IFC files as input
  • Uniclass and Omniclass are now bundled with the BlenderBIM Add-on, but a repository is provided to download many more classification systems
  • IFC files for property set templates can now be loaded and viewed
  • You can now author property set definitions and property templates in Blender and export them
  • New workaround for importing Civil 3D files with absolute coordinates
  • Old CSV-based pset definitions deprecated in favour of IFC template definitions
  • New feature to create/remove a section plane in real time
  • Support for as many section planes as you want at any angle
  • Section planes can be applied to a subset of objects, not all objects
  • Crash fix to IFCCSV when exporting non-existant attributes
  • IFCCSV is now able to be loaded as a library to be used in other applications
  • BlenderBIM now has a built-in UI to export and import from IFC and CSV
  • IFCCSV now supports exporting IfcClass as a data column
  • IFCCSV now supports querying inverse spatial and type relationships (e.g. all objects in this container, or all objects of this type)
  • Import workaround for vendors like DDS-CAD who create widely duplicated style items
  • UI to visually select objects to be exported to CSV
  • Section plane colour can now be changed
  • Support for viewing BCF line annotations
  • Support for viewing BCF clipping planes
  • Support for viewing BCF bitmaps
  • IfcDiff panel now prompts for export folder if you haven’t set one already
  • New feature to reload an existing IFC file
3 Likes

OSArch is happy to release another BlenderBIM Add-on v0.0.200511 with over 50 new features and fixes. The BlenderBIM Add-on is 100% free and open source software that lets you author and document BIM data fully to ISO standards. Get it today: https://blenderbim.org/

Highlights include improvements to object type imports, IFC document reference and information data improvements, huge improvements to documentation abilities, and support for IFC annotation geometry.

New features:

  • Artists now have an option to merge aggregates into a single object to easier object manipulation
  • Metadata about aggregates themselves are imported, including attributes, psets, and relationships
  • New option to select all objects of the same object type
  • Classification hierarchies are now imported and can be browsed in a tree viewer
  • Element classification references are now imported
  • All document metadata is now imported, not just location
  • Document information metadata can now be authored and exported
  • Document information metadata can now be imported
  • Documents that are not related to objects can now be imported and managed in a UI
  • New feature to relate document information and reference entities
  • Classifications maintain their hierarchy and do not flatten upon export, allowing for richer (i.e. semi-lightweight) classification exports
  • Users can specify a list of IFC files to be cut in a section / plan / view
  • Exclude rooms from being cut by default in a section
  • New style preset for creating construction documentation graphics
  • Grid annotations now work in 3D
  • IFC metadata (like materials) is now cached when doing a section cut to improve performance
  • New UI to add annotation objects to a view like dimensions, leaders, text, levels, etc
  • New font size support for text sizes 1.8, 2.5, 3.5, 5, and 7.
  • Rebar is more efficiently created without the need for distinct circle profile objects
  • Background renders can be cached when doing a section cut to improve performance, if you are only changing annotation
  • Users can now specify a symbol for text annotation, like a label box
  • Text annotation now supports variables to extract data from IFC files
  • Geometric representation context and subcontext definitions are now imported
  • Relevant types are now auto-selected for export for convenience
  • Export feature is now more granular to export only specific contexts
  • 2D axis representations (i.e. not 3D) are now also supported from both meshes and curves
  • Authoring and exporting footprint geomset geometry contexts is now supported
  • Authoring and exporting 2D and 3D annotation geometry contexts is now supported
  • Authoring and exporting 3D profile geometry contexts is now supported
  • Text annotations with variables can have functions applied to them - e.g. to concatenate data, format data, or anything, for example to round text annotation to the nearest decimal point, or force uppercase formatting
  • BlenderBIM Add-on importing and exporting can now be done headlessly on a server, to allow for remote server processing of BIM data. There is now a BlenderBIM Add-on continuous integration server, to process IFC test cases: https://ci.blenderbim.org/
  • You can now bulk-add smart annotations to many objects at once
  • You can now manage the geometric representation contexts per object or object type, to switch, lazy-load representations from an IFC, and create new contexts
  • IFC unit settings are now preserved on import, instead of using your Blender settings
  • You can now export just a single representation to an IFC file, leaving the rest of the IFC data untouched
  • Type representations are now imported as well instead of just elements, with support for mapped geometries
  • IfcDoorStyle and IfcWindowStyle metadata (attributes, etc) from IFC2X3 are now imported
  • Annotation objects are recognised in the section cutting procedure, and not processed for a boolean cut for a more optimised cut
  • Solid line annotation objects are now supported (previously only hidden lines were supported)
  • A list of contexts are now imported for each object, and you can switch between them with a new UI
  • Section / plan / documentation cuts now recognise annotation objects, and will draw them as 2D linework
  • Stair annotations now work in 3D
  • New hatch patterns! Sexy.
  • New door tag symbol support.
  • New breakline annotation.
  • IfcAnnotation entities are now supported, to be used as you see fit.
  • Documentation sections / plans / views are now exported into IFC as groups
  • Text annotation is now exported as IfcAnnotation, with new support for IfcTextLiteralWithExtents
  • All other annotation objects (dimensions / leaders / levels / symbols / etc) are now created and exported into IfcAnnotation by default.

New fixes:

  • Fix section planes sometimes not cutting through aggregates and appearing at the cursor
  • Bug where poor material data may cause a bad section cut fixed
  • Lat/longs are now converted to decimal degrees from DMS format
  • Materials are re-used on subsequent imports if they already exist to prevent material duplication
3 Likes