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Export IFC for coordination
Write an IFC4 file of the whole model, steel, bolts, footings and rebar, to share with architects, engineers and other software.
Written for DetailCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
The IFC export writes the whole model as one IFC4 file that BIM software and IFC viewers can open.
Export
- Choose IFC in the Output group.
- The browser downloads
<name>.ifc. The status bar says what went in, for example "IFC4 exported: 25 parts, 88 fasteners, 7 footings, 132 bars."
If the model has no parts and no footings, the status bar says "Nothing to export yet."
What is in the file
| In DetailCraft | In the IFC file |
|---|---|
| Each level | A building storey (IfcBuildingStorey), under one project, site and building |
| Grids | An IfcGrid with its axes and labels |
| Columns, beams, braces | IfcColumn, IfcBeam, IfcMember (brace), each an extrusion of a standard profile shape with its real dimensions |
| Plates, end plates, base plates | IfcPlate |
| Holes and copes | Openings (IfcOpeningElement) cut from the part |
| A member and its welded plates | An assembly (IfcElementAssembly) tagged with the assembly mark |
| Bolts and anchor rods | IfcMechanicalFastener with diameter and length |
| Footings | IfcFooting (pad footing), with the concrete text as its material |
| Each bar | IfcReinforcingBar with its bar mark, diameter, area and length, swept along its true centerline with real arcs at the bends |
Each part's tag is its part mark. Each element also carries a "DetailCraft" property set with its marks, profile and weight. Each element sits in the highest storey at or below its lowest point. Materials are grouped by grade.
Stable ids for re-exports
Every element's IFC id (GlobalId) is worked out from the model name and the element's own id in the model. Export the same model twice and the ids match, so software that compares versions can tell what changed.
Check it
DetailCraft's IFC files are read back by an independent IFC reader in its test suite. Programs differ in how they read IFC, so open the file in the software your team uses before you rely on it. CadCraft's BimCraft app opens IFC files too.
Not yet
- Bringing holes, bolts, connections, footings and rebar in from an IFC file. Import IFC brings in beams, columns, members, plates, grids and levels only, and lists what it left out.
- Analytical or structural-analysis data.
- Anything other than the IFC4 reference view.