topic Re: Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam in Collaboration with other software

Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam

Mario Sacco — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 15:23:01 GMT

I trying to export the beams of the Archicad Library in IFC.
When I import again that in Archicad and suppose in Tekla, it does not recognize them as normal beam native archicad component: extrusion of a profile along a vector.
Did someone found a IFC setting to export Beam object as real beam?

Re: Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam

alemanda — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 16:28:15 GMT

What if you assign to the object the type "beam" (in element classification)?
It's just a try I suggest to do ... I never tried.

Re: Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam

Mario Sacco — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 17:02:07 GMT

alemanda wrote:
What if you assign to the object the type "beam" (in element classification)?
It's just a try I suggest to do ... I never tried.

I already tried.

Re: Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam

Laszlo Nagy — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 17:35:36 GMT

I checked this and I think this is a limitation.
It is exported as IfcBeam, but it is exported as A BREP, not as an Extrusion, that is the limitation.
When a Beam element classified as Beam is exported to IFC, it is exported as an Extrusion. This is normal since in ARCHICAD it always exists as a Profile extruded along a path.
However, when an Object element classified as a Beam is exported to IFC, it is always exported as a BREP (boundary representation). This is because a GDL Object can have any geometry and only the BREP geometry method is guaranteed to produce the exact same geometry in the IFC file. So an GDL Object is always exported as BREP.
If you go to the Conversion Options Dialog in the IFC Translation Setup Dialog's Export Options panel, you will notice that there is no checkbox for the conversion of GDL Objects. This is because they are always exported as BREP due to the above.

And since the IFC contains a BREP geometry, which can be any kind of geometry (even though it is a simple Beam shape), it cannot be converted back into an extruded geometry in ARCHICAD. So it cannot be imported into a Beam, only into either an Object or a Morph, both of which can reproduce the exact BREP geometry in ARCHICAD. I suppose this works the same way in Tekla as well.

Re: Export BEAM Archicad Objects as IFC Beam

Mario Sacco — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 19:35:08 GMT

Thank you Laslo
Until now I haven't found any solution.
I'm trying to understand if we can find a trick.

Attached the GDL code of a native Archicad BEAM (saving in gdl from floor plan).
I would try to examine the XML IFC FIle to understand if it's possible doing only simple changes in the text; comparing the different from a native BEAM and a Brep generated from an object with the GDL code of a native beam.

My aim is manage complex structure in Archicad then export them in tekla, such us the image attached.

!
! Name : Temporaneo 01.gdl
! Date : Monday 26 September 2016
! Version : 20.00
! Written by ARCHICAD
!

body -1
model solid
resol 36
GLOB_SCRIPT_TYPE = 3
GLOB_CONTEXT = 3
GLOB_VIEW_TYPE = 3
GLOB_SCALE = 100
GLOB_PROJECT_LONGITUDE = 54.41666666667
GLOB_PROJECT_LATITUDE = 24.46666666667
GLOB_DRAWING_BGD_PEN = 19
GLOB_FRAME_NR = -1
GLOB_EYEPOS_X = -4.845419679064
GLOB_EYEPOS_Y = 18.55476395151
GLOB_EYEPOS_Z = 13.03259131199
GLOB_TARGPOS_X = -7.991260409689
GLOB_TARGPOS_Y = 50.32990783215
GLOB_TARGPOS_Z = 4.143480532318
GLOB_SUN_AZIMUTH = 349.9864826881
GLOB_SUN_ALTITUDE = 20
group "group_4AE709C0_D9BD_4041_8A94_E6428135A719"
pen 90
xform 0.6435435988455, -0.7081275552168, -0.2905288314912, -8.392100944531,
0.6454056632494, 0.7060845314427, -0.2913694635733, 45.29523389035,
0.411464659759, 0, 0.9114257148937, 3.1
sect_attrs "50 %", -1, 160, 30, ind(LINE_TYPE,"Linea Continua")
rotx 90
roty -90
sprism_{4} "Vernice - Grigio Chiaro", "Vernice - Grigio Chiaro", "Vernice - Grigio Chiaro", 7,
5, 0, 0, 0.411464659759, 0, -0, 24.296875698,
0, 0, 0.411464659759, 0, -4.75981927881, 24.296875698,
0.15, -0.4, 15, ind(material,"Vernice - Grigio Chiaro"),
0.15, 0, 15, ind(material,"Vernice - Grigio Chiaro"),
-0.15, 0, 15, ind(material,"Vernice - Grigio Chiaro"),
-0.15, -0.4, 15, ind(material,"Vernice - Grigio Chiaro"),
0.15, -0.4, -1, ind(material,"Vernice - Grigio Chiaro")
base
vert -0.15, -0.4, 0
vert -0.15, -0.4, -4.338221688954
vert 0.15, -0.4, 0
vert -0.15, 0, 0
coor{2} 2, 224, -1, -2, -3, -4
del 2
del 1
endgroup
group "group_995EB4A0_CAC2_2C4E_8FDF_A56EC275FD2E"
placegroup ("group_4AE709C0_D9BD_4041_8A94_E6428135A719")
endgroup
group "group_C0CAC234_0DB3_014F_9E4C_BC60708423DA"
placegroup ("group_4AE709C0_D9BD_4041_8A94_E6428135A719")
endgroup
killgroup ("group_995EB4A0_CAC2_2C4E_8FDF_A56EC275FD2E")
!!TRAVE - 001 9C699D1B-5012-1F43-9F9C-9650D6AE8C1C
killgroup ("group_4AE709C0_D9BD_4041_8A94_E6428135A719")
placegroup ("group_C0CAC234_0DB3_014F_9E4C_BC60708423DA")
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