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Dion Moult
167 lines
6.2 KiB
ReStructuredText
167 lines
6.2 KiB
ReStructuredText
Exploring an IFC model
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======================
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We're going to load an existing IFC model and explore some common properties
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most users will be interested in.
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If you don't have an IFC model available, here's a small one for your
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convenience provided by the Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics
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(IAI) / Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. It's in German, so you may need to
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use some creativity when reading the data :)
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.. container:: blockbutton
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`Download sample IFC <https://www.ifcwiki.org/images/e/e3/AC20-FZK-Haus.ifc>`__
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.. seealso::
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You can find more sample models online in the `OSArch Open Data Directory
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<https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=AEC_Open_Data_directory>`__
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Loading a model
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---------------
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Blender's interface is divided into panels. The main **Viewport** panel shows 3D
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geometry. The top right **Outliner** panel shows a tree of geometric objects.
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The bottom right **Properties** panel shows data and relationships.
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.. image:: blenderbim-layout.png
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The **Properties** panel has tabs to switch between different types of
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properties. Make sure you have the **Scene Properties** tab activated, and find
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the **IFC Project** subpanel. Click on the **Load Project** and browse to your
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``.ifc`` file.
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.. image:: properties-loadproject.png
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After loading, you will see the model appear in the **Viewport** panel.
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.. image:: example-project.png
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Let's take a look at the **IFC Project** subpanel again. It shows the loaded
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filename, as well as the **IFC Schema**. There are two commonly seen **IFC
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Schema** versions: IFC2X3 and IFC4. Checking the **IFC Schema** is important
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because it has an impact on what BIM data may be stored. IFC4 is the newer
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version and it is recommended to use IFC4 models as it has significantly more
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BIM capabilities compared to IFC2X3.
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.. tip::
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Blender's interface is highly customisable. Panels, panel types, colours,
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sizes, and tabs may be edited to suit your workflow.
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Navigating a model in 3D
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------------------------
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To navigate, can use the **Navigate Gizmo** on the top right corner of the
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**Viewport** panel. Click and drag on the coloured axes to **Orbit**, click and
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drag on the magnifying glass to **Zoom**, and click and drag on the hand icon to
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**Pan**. You can also click on the grid icon to switch between perspective and
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orthographic view.
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To switch to a top view, front view, or side view, click the relevant axis on
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the **Navigate Gizmo**.
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.. image:: navigate-gizmo.png
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You can also use your mouse to navigate. Hover your mouse over the **Viewport**
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panel and click and drag the Middle Mouse Button (``MMB``) to **Orbit**. Scroll
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the mousewheel to **Zoom**, and use ``Shift-MMB`` to **Pan**.
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If you have a numpad, you can use the numpad keys to quickly switch to top,
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front, or side view. Use ``7`` for top view, ``1`` for front view, and ``3`` for
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side view.
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.. warning::
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Blender's hotkeys are context sensitive. This means that a hotkey has a
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different meaning depending on the panel your mouse cursor is hovering over.
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If you press ``7`` to go to top view, make sure your mouse cursor is over the
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**Viewport** panel. Be very careful where your mouse is, or you might press a
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hotkey and it will have unintended consequences!
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If you click on an object, such as a wall in the **Viewport** panel, you can
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zoom to the selected object by clicking on ``View > Frame Selected``. The hotkey
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is the ``.`` button on the numpad. After zooming into an element, when you
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**Orbit** the 3D view will rotate around the center of that element.
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You can also zoom to all objects in the project by clicking on ``View > Frame
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All``.
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.. image:: frame-selected.png
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Another good way to navigate is by flying or walking around similar to a video
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game. Choose ``View > Navigation > Walk Navigation``, or use the ``Shift-```
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hotkey (the backtick key is usually to the left of the number 1 on the
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keyboard). With **Walk Navigation** enabled, use the ``WASD`` keys and the mouse
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to move around like a video game. You can use the ``Shift`` key to switch
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between moving fast and slow. If you scroll with the mousewheel, it will adjust
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the speed that you move at.
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Sometimes, you want to look through objects. You can toggle **X-Ray Mode** by
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pressing the button on the top right of the **Viewport** panel. The hotkey is
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``Alt-Z``.
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.. image:: x-ray-mode.png
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.. tip::
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Blender has lots of hotkeys to do things quickly. These can take time to
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learn but it is worth it as you will be much faster. These hotkeys can be
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customised in Blender's preferences.
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Overview of all objects
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-----------------------
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The **Outliner** panel on the top right shows a hierarchy of all the currently
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loaded physical **Objects** in your IFC project. These **Objects** correlate to
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what you can see in the **Viewport** panel.
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Every **Object** in the **Outliner** represents an IFC **Element**. These
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**Objects** have a name with the pattern ``Class/Name``. The class prefix
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represents the type of object, and the name is the name of the object. Examples
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of classes you will see are ``IfcBuilding``, or ``IfcWall``. This naming
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convention makes it easy to quickly spot types of objects.
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.. image:: outliner.png
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Objects are organised in a hierarchy. By default, this hierarchy represents a
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breakdown of spaces, from large spaces such as a site and a building, down to
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smaller spaces like building storeys and room spaces. The hierarchy will always
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begin with an **IfcProject** object. You can click on the triangle to toggle the
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hierarchy.
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.. tip::
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In large projects with deep hierarchies, you can ``Shift-LMB`` click the
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triangle to recursively toggle the hierarchy. You can also click and drag the
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``MMB`` to pan left and right.
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When there are lots of objects, you can type a name in the filter box to quickly
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identify objects by name or type.
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Clicking on an object in the **Outliner** panel also selects the corresponding
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object in the **Viewport** panel. A good strategy to find objects is to then use
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``View > Frame Selected`` to zoom to it in the **Viewport**.
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Viewing element classes
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-----------------------
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TODO
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Viewing attributes and properties
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---------------------------------
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TODO
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Viewing construction types
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--------------------------
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TODO
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Viewing materials
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-----------------
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TODO
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