Import Architectural IFC File to Drawing

The Import Architectural IFC File to Drawing permits architectural information stored in an "open IFC" format (see http://www.buildingsmart.org/standards/ifc for additional information regarding Industry Foundation Classes) to be imported into the current drawing. Common uses of this routine are to permit the graphical representation of a building (or its component entities) within the Carlson environment for construction staking.

Note:

• In the event the data represented by the IFC file needs to be scaled to better align with the units found within Drawing Setup, consider using the Scale Wizard command.
• In the event the data represented by the IFC file needs to be aligned to better fit the coordinates of the project, consider using the 2D Align command.
• In the event the data represented by the IFC file needs to be elevated for better visualization within the project, consider using the Change Elevations command.
• Quick visualizations of the imported IFC file can be viewed via the 3D Viewer Window command (experiment with the Clip Plane control along the bottom of the Viewer window to slice through the model).
• As entities are imported from the IFC file, they are assigned to a layering convention based on the IFC entity type. A template drawing (Carlson_ifc.dwt, set-able via Carlson Configure is available that contains an introductory layer scheme for many of the classifications found within IFC files.
• Various sample IFC files abound on the Internet and can be found at locations such as:
  • http://www.ifcwiki.org/index.php/Examples
  • http://download.bimserver.org/ifc-examples/
  • http://openifcmodel.cs.auckland.ac.nz/Model

Prompts

IFC File to Read: Navigate to and select an IFC 2x or later file and click Open.

Pulldown Menu Location(s): BIM
Keyboard Command: ifc2dwg
Prerequisite: IFC 2x or later file