"Debugging" IFC files

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I wonder if anybody can share some tips about "debugging" IFC files. We have an app which produce IFC file. File looks fine (to naked eye), but when we attempt to open it with Archicad, it looks like IFCRELCONTAINEDINSPATIALSTRUCTURE gets ignored. If we look into IFC Manager, we can see Site -> Building -> Floor, but nothing below the Floor level.

Archcad does not complain about any problems with the file. It just does not want to link IFCBUILDINGSTOREY to IFCBUILDINGELEMENTPROXY.

You comments would be highly appreciated.

Cheers,
Andrei

[NandoMogollon]

I tried with solibri....
I'm not sure about what the problem is but at least it loos kind of fine there,

Note there is no layer assigned to the element, andno layer created for it in ArchiCAD either.

[Anonymous]

I have added layer assignment, but it did not help (see attached zip).

To illustrate problem more clearly I have added tow screenshots:
- good-example and
- bad-example
In both cases the screenshot shows structure pane of IFC Manager. As you can see in 'bad-example' there is nothing bellow 'First Floor'. when in good-example, you can see IfcBuildingElementProxy element under 'Ground Floor'.

In practical terms, it means that when I load attached IFC file into ArchiCad, nothing gets drawn.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Archicad is one of the IFC implementations with minimal "tolerance" for non-compliant IFC (with little indication of problems when they occur). However Archicad has a pretty strong implementation of IFC (at least coordination model view required for certification).

Building Smart has an online file verification tool so I'd start with resolving the errors it reports. http://87.106.131.195/apex/f?p=101:1 (image attached). Building Smart membership might be required to sign up for this.

If you do this and it still doesn't work, post or send me the file and I'll take a look.

Hope it helps,

Jon

[Anonymous]

Brilliant! This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a lot!

Cheers,
Andrei

[Anonymous]

99% Success. The model does produce 2D and 3D now. Was able to fix all issues except one:

constraint violation in inverse attribute 'PlacesObject'

(NOTE: attached zip contains corrected IFC file and screenshot of the "Quick Test" tool with full details for this error)

Any ideas what this may mean? It seems that this particular issue does not affect rendering, but I would like to be able to get rid of it.

Cheers,
Andrei.

[Anonymous]

IFC4 permits a placement to be referenced by multiple products, IFC2x3 mandates only a single product can reference a placement.

IfcQuickBrowser is another useful utility for checking relationships. Refer image. Building and Building storey are both referencing the placement in question.

If the file is working, it's not the end of the world but certainly minimizing errors is a good way to ensure success in opening the ifc in Archicad.

Glad it helped,

Jon