BIMIFY

Overview: In this lesson, you learn how to use BIMIFY to automatically classify elements, recognize profiles for linear solids that are available in the profile library, assign spatial locations, create BIM rooms, detect external walls and create model elevations and floor sections. 

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to automatically:

• Classify 3D solids, or block references
• Attach BIM Profiles for linear solids 
• Assign spatial locations to building elements
• Create BIM Rooms
• Detect whether walls are external or not
• Add elevation views (front, left, right, back) and a plan section per floor

About BIMIFY

BIMIFY analyzes the solids and block references and runs automatic classification and spatial location assignment for an entire BIM model. When the new buildings and stories are required, BIMIFY creates them to meet the model needs.

BIMIFY detects room entities and places them automatically in the model. It also detects whether walls are external or internal by indicating this information in the properties panel under the IFC Common property set and "Is External" property. When Is External property is ON, it means that the wall is categorized as an exterior wall. BIMIFY will not change the "Is External" property of a wall when it's already set to On by the user.

Moreover, if the solids are auto-classified as column, beam or member and their profile match a definition in the profile library,  the profile name will be automatically added to the entity’s properties as meta-data. 

More importantly, BIMIFY can be used on models at different stages. For example, if you have a few classified entities and unclassified entities in your model, you can use the BIMIFY to automatically classify the unclassified ones. The recently classified entities are also associated with the appropriate spatial locations. BIMIFY always re-uses the information that has been already chosen by the user. For example, if you have a few classified entities and unclassified entities in your model, BIMIFY automatically classifies the unclassified ones and skips the already classified ones in your model. 

Access

Menu: BIM > Bimify

Quad: BIM > Bimify

Toolbar: BIM > BIMIFY

Keyboard: BIMIFY

Procedure: Using BIMIFY in your BIM model

1. Choose BIMIFY from the Quad or type BIMIFY in the command line.

A dialog box displays: 

Ticking a checkbox allows to use a specific task or sub-task of BIMIFY. For example, clicking the classification checkbox only permits you to use the BIMIFY for auto-classification of solids and block references. 

Note: Here you can decide whether solids and block references should be automatically classified together or not. To disable the auto-classification option for solids simply click the related checkbox in the dialog box or vice versa. 

By default, all checkboxes are ticked. 

Ticking the Buildings, Stories, Rooms, and External Walls checkbox automatically includes the Classification option since this information is needed to find the other elements. 

2. When the BIMIFY process is completed, an overview of the result (1) is provided in the Prompt History panel.

There will be no prompts or dialog box at the end of the process.

Optional When you model more building elements in your project you can use the BIMIFY later to classify them automatically.

BIMIFY checks whether all entities are classified and have appropriate spatial locations. If spatial locations have already been created, these are used to locate the entities. If the entities are required new spatial locations, BIMIFY also creates new ones.

The following illustrations show the structure tree that displays the contents of the building model. In the beginning, the structure tree only had 3D solids (2), however after using BIMIFY, the building elements are displayed in their building and stories (3) and the building element types (4) since the automatic classification through BIMIFY has been made for these elements.

Note: The structure browser can be customized to control the content of the tree.

The following illustration shows beams profile data (5) in the properties panel. BIMIFY recognized the profile of these model elements as structural members and detected the axis location of the element.

The following illustration shows the elevation views and floor plan on a simple building after using BIMIFY. This building contains front (6), left (7), right (8), and back (9) views as well as a floor plan (10). 

For this simple building, one room and external walls are detected. The image below depicts the BIM room entity (11) and "Is External" (12) property under the Wall Common properties set.