BlenderBIM: requesting help with exporting multiple stories and setting object colours

G by glendaal on 9 Apr 2021, edited 11 Apr 2021 #

Hi guys. First off, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for everything you’re doing. That BlenderBIM even exists kinda blows my mind. I tip my hat to all of you who dedicate your time and effort to the project! I’ve been playing around with it for a while now and I’m getting more confident in its use. I managed to create a neat little isolated wall and strip footing IFC which works really well. I’m now moving on to more complex projects but unfortunately I’m really struggling to get multiple stories to export in the IFC.

I’ve attached a picture, in case my spacial tree setup is wrong. Just wondering if I’ve missed something obvious? I’ve tried a few things but nothing works thus far, such as:

Created an Empty (Plain Axes), renamed it “First Floor”, set the Z value to 3m (First floor FFL), moved it to IfcBuilding/My Building, assigned its IFC Class as IfcSpacialElement – IfcBuildingStorey (this created a “IfcBuildingStorey/First Floor” collection folder in the IfcBuilding/My Building collection). This seemed like the logical way to do it?

Alternatively - Duplicating the GF folder and renaming it and the empty to FF. This led the two empties to have the same GlobalID, but on attempting to change it for the FF, it changed it for the GF, too.

Also, I’d like for my IFC objects to have colour when they are viewed in a program like BIM vision but I can’t find a way to do it. I’ve tried messing around with materials, IFC materials, and an option called override colour but had no luck so far.

Any help you can offer would be hugely appreciated!

M by Moult on 9 Apr 2021, edited 9 Apr 2021 # +1 votes

Firstly, a disclaimer. The BlenderBIM Add-on is very alpha, and the most alpha of all features is the ability to author from scratch. The UX for authoring is really bad, but the good news is we know it's bad and we're gonna fix it :)

Let's start with how to create storeys. Creating an empty and changing its Z value is correct, and so is assigning it the spatial class of IfcBuildingStorey. The missing piece is to ensure the IFC Aggregate is set to IfcBuilding. This ensures that the storey is in the building.

I will build a feature to auto sync this, to prevent this poor experience for future users.

G by glendaal on 10 Apr 2021 #

That's brilliant @Moult , worked perfectly. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

BlenderBIM may be alpha but it's already seriously impressive. Really appreciate what you guys are doing.

M by Moult on 10 Apr 2021 # +1 votes

@glendaal great! Let's see if we can get colours working for you. In IFC, it is legal for a colour to be derived either from the material, or via a visual style, with the latter overriding the former. Some BIM apps only support one of these concepts, but most support the latter, so let's try that.

This colour is a basic RGB, which in Blender corresponds to the Blender Material's Base Colour. When editing it, you can refresh the style by pressing the Edit Style button:

Again, apologies for the poor UX. The features are there, but we need to polish the user experience.

G by glendaal on 11 Apr 2021 # +3 -1 votes

@Moult Success! Colours are working perfectly. I can crack on with some more complex IFC projects now. Thanks, you've been a massive help!

And no need for apologies; UX always has to take a backseat while the add-on's functionality is still being implemented. Looking forward to watching BlenderBIM as it develops, it's got the potential to blow Revit out of the water.