Update history​

Open BIM Analytical Model

Changes in the management of visibility and object snaps of elements in the physical model

Due to the new management of visibility and object snaps of external elements system, the "Snap options" panel in Open BIM Analytical Model has been modified in order to remove the components of the physical model and thus avoid duplication. The "Template" tab now has only two elements: "Spaces" and "Openings".

Additionally, the "Show/Hide template" option in the toolbar has been removed as this action can now be performed from the "Elements read" panel in the left sidebar of the application.

Summary of the analytical model generation

As of version 2023.a, "Open BIM Analytical Model" displays a panel with a summary of the elements added to the project after completing the automatic generation process of the analytical model. The added components can be consulted from the "BIM Model" option in the program's toolbar.

Installation in Chinese

As of version 2022.g, Open BIM Analytical Model can also be installed in Chinese.

Defining overhang in connections between construction elements

As of version 2022.f, Open BIM Analytical Model allows edges originating from overhangs in the physical model, such as defences, to be introduced. To do this, the "Overhang" option has been added to the "Edge" configuration panel, in the "Adjacency" group.

Improved accuracy of the algorithm for automatically generating the analytical model

The algorithm for automatically generating the analytical model has been improved in the following ways:

  • The process used to assign the properties of the walls and floor slabs in the physical model to the surfaces generated in the analytical model has been optimised.
  • A problem in the process of detecting openings in the physical model (doors, windows, skylights, etc.) that could generate openings in analytical surfaces where this was not necessary has been corrected.
  • An error caused by the generation of edges with a length of zero after the analysis of the surfaces of the analytical model has been corrected.

Architectural model party walls

As of version 2022.c, the Open BIM Analytical Model "template editor" allows users to specify that an external wall from the architectural model is a party wall.

By doing so, the surfaces derived from said external wall will be assigned to the boundary "party wall" when using the automatic generation process of the analytical model.

 

Party walls have also been added to the "Template" group of "Snap options" in order to control their visibility and the object snaps in the application’s work area.

Reading the adjacent buildings on the site model

As of version 2022.b, Open BIM Analytical Model can read the buildings entered into the site model that has been defined for the project linked to the BIMserver.center platform. Project location information can be entered via the free Open BIM Site application, available from the BIMserver.center Store.

To read the buildings from the Open BIM Analytical Model environment, the corresponding collaboration must be marked during the linking or updating process of the BIMserver.center project. Once in the application, the buildings will be interpreted as the physical model’s "Own shadows". These elements can be used as a reference to design the analytical model manually or to automatically generate the analytical model. In the latter case, when using the "Analytical model" option in the "Generate" group in the toolbar, shadow surfaces will be created for the analytical model based on the shading elements of the physical model.

The BIM thermal simulation applications developed by CYPE can use the analytical model from Open BIM Analytical Model and, thus, consider the shading elements generated based on the buildings.

Clip volume

As of version 2022.b, applications with 3D drawing surroundings allow a viewing volume to be defined from the geometric envelope of the scene content. The arrows allow the viewing volume to be adjusted by moving their faces and the arches allow the viewing volume to be adjusted by means of 6 clips planes.

Geometric definition of the analytical model

As of version 2022.a, Open BIM Analytical Model includes the IFC Builder tool which allows users to design a simple architectural model, suitable for generating the analytical model, in the same Open BIM Analytical Model project. To launch the tool, users must press the "Architectural modelling" button available in the "Project" group in the application’s toolbar.

Once the architectural model is finished, it can be sent back to Open BIM Analytical Model using the "Export" option available in the "Analytical model" group in the IFC Builder toolbar. As the model already contains analytical geometry, when generating the analytical model in Open BIM Analytical Model the "Use the outlines of the spaces defined in the IFC model" option in the configuration panel must be checked.

General improvements

Version 2021.g of CYPE’s programs is a closing version of the 2021 version.

As well as the new features and improvements expressly indicated in each version of CYPE software, process optimisation involving internal updates for all our programs is normally included. In each revision, all programs are systematically checked and changes are made to improve their performance, therefore, we recommend that our users (in this case those of v.2021) always update their version to the latest one, regardless of the country for which they are using CYPE software or the language in which it is installed.

Object snaps in the "Measure" tool

As of version 2021.f, the "Measure" tool available in the "Edit" group of the application's toolbar allows users to apply the object snap of the model’s components. This way, a higher degree of precision can be obtained for measurements when they are carried out in relation to the position of the 3D elements in the Open BIM Analytical Model work area.

Editing project north

As of version 2021.f, Open BIM Analytical Model allows users to edit the northern direction of the analysis model. To modify its value, an "Options" button has been added to the application's toolbar where users can specify the model’s orientation. If there is already a physical model in the linked BIMserver.centre project, Open BIM Analytical Model can read the value of this model’s orientation, if it has been defined. The angle describing the orientation corresponds to the offset between the Y-axis direction of the scene and the north, in an anti-clockwise direction.

The north direction is shown in the bottom left margin of the work area corresponding to the floor views that have been defined for the Open BIM Analytical Model project.