Component Name in IFC

[squall_tmo]

Hi,

I'm trying to export an IFC file to a cost-estimation software.
I'd like to keep elements geometry, to ease filtering elements by ARCHICAD Properties, but when I do this way Component quantities are listed like "Component1.Projected Area...", "Component1. Volume...", "Component2.Projected Area..." and so on.

Is there a way to see the material name?
Something like "Concrete.Projected Area.." instead of "Component1.Projected Area.."

Many thanks for you help!

[Laszlo Nagy]

Could you show us a screenshot of an element in ARCHICAD, then the resulting data in an IFC Viewer? It would be easier to understand the exact situation.

[squall_tmo]

yes, many thanks!

[Laszlo Nagy]

Which ARCHICAD version is this?
Could you also show me screenshot of two Dialogs within the IFC Translator Dialog?
1. Geometry Conversion for IFC Export settings.
2. Data Conversion for IFC Export settings.

[squall_tmo]

Sure:
I'm using AC23.

If I save in IFC 4 I always find components informations organized this way (both if if I explode elements into components or not, because every element looks always the same way).

[Laszlo Nagy]

OK, I think I know a solution:

In the "Geometry Conversion for IFC Export" Dialog, change the "Material Preservation Mode" field to the "Explode all elements into parts, preserve materials" option. Then in the IFC Viewer. you should see a Relations Tab (at least in Solibri Model Viewer), and there you can see the Decomposes group, which lists the Components of the Composite. Then you can click any of the Skins and then the Component Properties and Component Quantities will return the proper values.

[squall_tmo]

Hallo Lazlo!

Many many thanks for testing and answering me!

Unfortunately I had to use another IFC viewer, because Solibri Anywhere "freeze" every time I try to open any IFC 4 file.

I tried to do what you wrote, but it seems like it works just if you are using IFC 2x3, while if I use IFC 4 skins are not separated even if I activate "Explode all elements into parts, preserve materials"...

Is it right?

Many thanks anyway for your help!

[Laszlo Nagy]

If you look closely in the Dialog, in that field it says in parentheses that these options apply only to IFC 2x3. So this is why it has no effect when saving as IFC4.
Try the options below that (Split Complex Elements into Parts) when exporting as IFC4.

By the way, I have experienced the same as you: when I saved it as IFC4, Solibri always said that it cannot open the file. I will report this to GS, although I am not sure if it is an ARCHICAD bug or a Solibri bug. The fact that you could open it in another IFC Viewer would suggest that this might be a Solibri bug or issue with their IFC4 support.

[squall_tmo]

Ok, Many thanks again Laszlo!

I hoped there was an alternative solution, because it seems to be quite strange that one of the most important new features is that AC23 fully supports IFC4 but no one thought about how to use it for QTO.

I really hope that they will find a more readable way to name Component's parameters in IFC without the need to explode components:

When you are doing a cost estimation and you export an IFC file exploding parts into components, all the properties you created in ARCHICAD are just applied to the element itself, not to the component, so you can't use them unfortunately.

[Laszlo Nagy]

I will forward your findings and comments to GRAPHISOFT, and hopefully, they will implement these changes to the IFC Export in the future.