[BlenderBIM] Beginner Tutorial - Step by Step Project - Part 1

M by MennoMekes on 21 Dec 2022 #

Thanks @Ace, I'll do that.

G by Gorgious on 21 Dec 2022, edited 21 Dec 2022 # +2 votes

@jansolo said:

It didn't load the screenshot. Here it is

You disabled all addons in this workspace. Uncheck "Filter Addons" in the right hand side panel of the 3D viewport. You can see it in your screenshot :

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022 #

@Ace

Thanks for the nice tutorials, I've been watching this one from start to end:

A few questions:

How do I apply a void from the Window to a wall?
How do I cut multiple openings in the walls from multiple windows?
How do I control the distance in the wall opening itself? How can I do this for multiple windows?
Is it possible to open another Blender session in which you have the Window and reload it into your main IfcProject which then would update all you IfcWindowType instances?
From the 2D represenation edges, is it possible to make a fill hatch pattern for a certain window profile?

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022 #

I managed to make an opening, but now idea on how I did it. What kind of conditions does an IfcWindowType instance need to have before it will cut through a wall?

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022 #

@Coen said:

I managed to make an opening, but now idea on how I did it. What kind of conditions does an IfcWindowType instance need to have before it will cut through a wall?

In the youtube clip I also see you have the IfcOpeningElement? Or a Blender Boolean? visible. In the latest release I see nothing similar in the outliner.

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022 #

In this .gif I just used the standard library, I think I forgetting some step, it won't update the wall to cut an opening.

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022 #

When I load the standard demo library, change nothing, add a wall , then a window. it cuts an opening.

Trying to do it second time, the second window won't cut. I can't seem to discover a pattern in what I am doing wrong.

T by theoryshaw on 25 Dec 2022 # +1 votes

@Coen Merry Christmas.

One note, is that i think the wall needs to be selected before you add a window, via the type manager.

A by Ace on 25 Dec 2022 #

Hey @Coen I'm just done with Xmas lunch, I'll be free tomorrow some time to look at it.

I think because the boolean system changed things are a bit less transparent (although more reliable), but I'll have a look in the morning and see whats up if that's cool

A by Ace on 25 Dec 2022 # +1 votes

Ok actually quick simple example

A few questions:

How do I apply a void from the Window to a wall?

Select the void and the shift select the wall, on the 'tool' menu in the n panel you can click apply void

How do I cut multiple openings in the walls from multiple windows?

Select the Object (wall) before adding the cut (window or opening)

How do I control the distance in the wall opening itself? How can I do this for multiple windows?

CLick the eye tool that will say "show openings

Then you can edit the openings

after editing the opening, select the wall and click the tick to apply the edit

Is it possible to open another Blender session in which you have the Window and reload it into your main IfcProject which then would update all you IfcWindowType instances?

As far As I know it will just load as a separate instance, it tends to mess up my ifc files so I actively avoid this

From the 2D represenation edges, is it possible to make a fill hatch pattern for a certain window profile?

It would basically have to be 'drawn' like how we did the lines, you cant just apply the hatch

Hope that helps, if you have more Q's I'll check again tomorrow :)

Here's the ifc:

C by Coen on 25 Dec 2022, edited 25 Dec 2022 # +1 votes

@theoryshaw

@Ace

Merry Christmas to you too! Thanks for the answers.

Select the void and the shift select the wall

This was the trick, I did not realized I had to click shift select the IfcWallType instance before placing an IfcWindowType instance

I need to select the IfcWallType instance to see the openings and not the IfcWindowType instance I just discovered....

Y by yoayo on 10 Feb 2023 #

Thank you for a great tutorial!

I got error messages when I tried to generate arrayed beams.

The step described at Youtube is the following (somewhere around 11:00):

Does anyone has an idea?

Here are the machine info:

OS: Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64bit
Blender: 3.4.1
BlenderBIM: 0.0.230107

M by Moult on 10 Feb 2023 #

Try upgrading to the latest unstable release: https://blenderbim.org/docs/devs/installation.html#unstable-installation

Y by yoayo on 10 Feb 2023 #

Thank you for a quick response.

I installed latest version (0.0.230208).

Now, error messages pops up when I try to add new IfcBeam...

Error message:

Python: Traceback (most recent call last):

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\product.py", line 75, in invoke

return self.execute(context)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\product.py", line 78, in execute

return IfcStore.execute_ifc_operator(self, context)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\ifc.py", line 425, in execute_ifc_operator

result = getattr(operator, "_execute")(context)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\product.py", line 98, in _execute

if profile.DumbProfileGenerator(relating_type).generate(link_to_scene=self.link_to_scene):

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\profile.py", line 117, in generate

return self.derive_from_cursor(link_to_scene=link_to_scene)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\profile.py", line 121, in derive_from_cursor

return self.create_profile(link_to_scene)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\module\model\profile.py", line 180, in create_profile

blenderbim.core.geometry.switch_representation(

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\core\geometry.py", line 100, in switch_representation

data = geometry.import_representation(obj, representation)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\tool\geometry.py", line 197, in import_representation

ifc_importer.material_creator.create(element, obj, mesh)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\import_ifc.py", line 71, in create

self.add_default_material(element)

File "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\3.4\scripts\addons\blenderbim\bim\import_ifc.py", line 91, in add_default_material

self.mesh.materials.append(self.materials[material.id()])

KeyError: 67

For your information, when I started from scratch (I mean I started from a default cube), the beams were successfully generated with an array feature. Something has been broken in my file, perhaps...

By the way, I will continue to explore the world of BlenderBIM with the latest version!

A by Ace on 10 Feb 2023, edited 10 Feb 2023 # +1 votes

Hi @yoayo

This is my process when I can't find the problem with the Ifc file

You basically need to install a fresh version of blender you have not used before (I switch between the 3.3LTS and 3.4 latest)

And ONLY install the BlenderBim (the latest found at Moults link: https://blenderbim.org/docs/devs/installation.html#unstable-installation)

I use the blender launcher to manage it

Install the blender launcher:

Install 3.3LTS or an older version you havent used before

install BlenderBim:

Creat a fresh/new Ifc file and test the IfcArray

Otherwise share the Ifc file here and we can have a look to see if that is the problem

Y by yoayo on 13 Feb 2023 #

Hi, @Ace

I appreciate your feedback!

As you pointed out, I installed Blender Launcher. It allows me to use different versions of blender. It looks great.

While I was playing around a bit, I noticed that I cannot select which addons are to be installed for each blender version. In other words, the addons I have already installed in my PC are all enabled whether you lauch 3.3 (LTS) or 3.4 (latest).

Is it recommended to uninstall all other addons except Blender BIM when you use Blender BIM?

A by Ace on 13 Feb 2023 #

@yoayo said:

Hi, @Ace

I appreciate your feedback!

As you pointed out, I installed Blender Launcher. It allows me to use different versions of blender. It looks great.

While I was playing around a bit, I noticed that I cannot select which addons are to be installed for each blender version. In other words, the addons I have already installed in my PC are all enabled whether you lauch 3.3 (LTS) or 3.4 (latest).

Is it recommended to uninstall all other addons except Blender BIM when you use Blender BIM?

Hey @yoayo

It's my recommendation when doing troubleshooting for BlenderBim,

If all the addons for 3.3 LTS are still present you can either delete the addons manually in the 3.3 folder or just install a version you haven't used in the past (perhaps 3.5 beta) or another and test the file with that one.

Y by yoayo on 13 Feb 2023 # +3 votes

Thanks @Ace I will keep it mind.

BTW, let me tell you this. Your youtube channel is VERY helpful. It gave me an opportunity to understand how IFC works. I was reading some documents on that, but mostly they talk about the concept of IFC. That didn't help me understand what it is all about. But your channel gives real-life examples on how IFC works and how IFC SHOULD work. I now understand how big it is in this industry!

Y by yoayo on 15 Feb 2023 #

Please let me ask a question. This is a really basic question, but I got stuck on how to store a BIM data.

Let's say I start creating a BIM model with Blender BIM from scratch. After some pieces are added in the model, I decide to stop working. So I save what I have created as a .blend file (At this point, Blender asks me where to store a .ifc file). I store a .blend file and an .ifc file at the same location. The next day, I start Blender to continue working on Blender BIM, so I load the .blend file.

Is this a wrong way to start modeling BIM data? Am I supposed to import an .ifc file everytime I start working Blender BIM? In other words, a .blend file does not contain ifc attributes, but only an .ifc file does?

C by Coen on 15 Feb 2023 # +1 votes

@yoayo said:

Is this a wrong way to start modeling BIM data? Am I supposed to import an .ifc file everytime I start working Blender BIM? In other words, a .blend file does not contain ifc attributes, but only an .ifc file does?

You gave the answer yourself :-), I think it's wise to only use the .ifc file when using BlenderBIM. I never save the .blend file.

J by JanF on 15 Feb 2023 # +2 votes

@yoayo said:

The next day, I start Blender to continue working on Blender BIM, so I load the .blend file.

This is fine, generally speaking. The idea is to keep the link between Blender file and ifc file. The problem is, the link is not very stable right now-it happens to me quite often (I suspect for example the undo function) the link gets broken-then you have to import the ifc into fresh blender, to see what is really in it.

Is this a wrong way to start modeling BIM data? Am I supposed to import an .ifc file everytime I start working Blender BIM?

As I said. You don't have to. But I'm doing that, just to check my ifc is correct. (And also save as a lot) I also use the save/save as in scene panel, this saves your blender and ifc file with one click.

In other words, a .blend file does not contain ifc attributes, but only an .ifc file does?

Blender BIM is designed to use only IFC data (not just attributes, everything is kept in IFC). But if you keep the link live, you can use blender function that have no counterpart in ifc, for example the modifiers.

Y by yoayo on 16 Feb 2023 #

@coen, @JanF, Thanks for the feedback

From now on, I will save both .blend and .ifc.

Y by yoayo on 16 Feb 2023 #

The reason why I asked about saving files is that I lost a link between .blend and .ifc. This could be the situation @JanF pointed out...

I would like to know how to fix this link disconnection.

What happens is this:

.blend file seems no problem.

2D floor plan contains extra objects.

loading .ifc file from freshly started Blender, the extra objects are now shown.

After deleting extra objects from Blender, they are still displayed in 2D floor plan.

A by Ace on 16 Feb 2023 #

I think that is the deletion error, it's a bug with the caching of BlenderBim

People are discussing it here:

https://community.osarch.org/discussion/946/ifc-deleting-elements#latest

And it is logged as a bug here:

https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/2645

Unfortunately my way around this is to uninstall & delete every version of Blender I have on my PC and then come in with a fresh install of Blender & BlenderBim

I've deleted those extra walls for you so you can complete the exercise

Rather just use the Ifc file, the link between the two is very easy to break

Y by yoayo on 16 Feb 2023 # +1 votes

@Ace, Thank you for your help.

I downloaded the .ifc that you fixed and found that there still remain other extra objects...

Anyway, I will reinstall Blender and others, then start from scratch :)

Thanks

OSArch Community

[BlenderBIM] Beginner Tutorial - Step by Step Project - Part 1 - Modelling