Some users found a few bugs in the first release candidate for version 1.0 of the open source BIMserver software. We fixed these issues and also did some additional work on the ‘intelligent merging’. You can test this new merging feature by selecting ‘intelligent merging’ in the settings screen. The merged models (project with subprojects) are now better merged than before. Feel free to try this version and send us feedback. Download it from http://download.bimserver.org
Blog Archives
Integrated Clash detection
As you guys know, the BIMserver team works very close with the guys from TNO in the Netherlands. A year ago this resulted in a special client side IFC viewer with an ‘open from server’ button. In the 0.8 release we integrated the IFC Engine DLL that makes it possible for the BIMserver to export to CityGML, Collada, Google Earth, and more….
Today we announce a new feature of the BIMserver that is a result of our cooperation with TNO: integrated Clash detection!
The 0.9 release of the BIMserver will have the ability to check your model for clashes. This means you can check a submodel (two walls modelled by the architect clashing) or even the merged complete model (to check if a pipe that’s modelled by the HVAC modeller clashes with a wall that is modelled by the architect).
This feature is seen as a key feature for working with BIM. The open source BIMserver is proud to offer this feature to our users. We will keep you posted on the details and the release date.
BIMserver.org on FOSS4G2009
These days all the open source GIS nerds are attending the FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial information) congress in Sydney Australia. Because the BIM world and the GIS world are starting to overlap each other, BIMserver.org was also present at this conference. We made a contribution by presenting the CityGML extension for BIM and it’s implementation in BIMserver.org. For those of you who missed it you can find the sheets, the extension and some example files on foss4g.bimserver.org.
“IFC needs modernization”
The open geospatial consortium and the BuildingSMART alliance have put the results of a ‘testbed’ online. In the testbed the teams discovered that areas of the IFC model are not as amenable to interoperability as once thought, and modernization is believed necessary.
A quote from their press release:
“The teams discovered that areas of the IFC model are not amenable for interoperability as commonly defined and practiced by industrial communities that require collaboration [..]. The IFC structure, first developed in the 1970′s, can be modernized by the community so that a more complete suite of benefits from interoperability reaches critical mass and adoption in the market. With IFC modernization, a far more open, comprehensive and intelligent life-cycle data model of buildings can be achieved. IFC modernization working in parallel with highly efficient network-based communication, process management, decision-support and performance simulation of design alternatives is the sweet spot for achieving benefit in real industry projects..”
This is one of the first public notices from BuildingSMART stating that IFC can and should be modernized to fit the needs of today. Users of bimserver.org software that experience intense project collaboration have been one of the first to notice this issue in practice. At bimserver.org we believe that modernizing IFC would be to best way to fully profit from the modern possibilities of technology and to fully fit the needs of today’s users.
The development-team of bimserver.org is very aware of the current issues, but also hopeful about future possibilities. The modernization of IFC is on of the key-issues for our RnD team. Bimserver.org is happy and proud to be on the front of innovation by developing technology that helps stretching possibilities of IFC and the AEC-industry.
More info about the testbed and the webcast can be found at this link.
Tagged buildingsmart, ifc, modernisation, modernization
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