Ifc exported from Revit takes forever to open in Solibri Model Viewer ( SMV)

[pipapongo0909]

Hi forum,

We have been using Revit 2017 for +- 8 month and have been exporting IFC's. Lately the IFC Files take quite a while ( 5 Min )  to open with Solibri Model Viewer.

I did not change the IFC settings ( not on purpose at least).

Did anybody had this issue allready?

I updated the IFC Exporter by installing this version IFC for Revit 2017 v17.3.0.msi from here but no change...

Is there a way to check the version of the IFC Exporter in Revit?

any push in the right direction is appreciated.

thanks in advance

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

An IFC Optimizer that can reduce the file size by around 90%, making the opening process much faster.

Both the Solibri Model Viewer and IFC Optimizer can be found HERE

Let me know if the optimizer resolves the issue.

Please mark this response as "Accept as Solution" if it answers your question. Kudos gladly accepted.

Regards,

[pipapongo0909]

Hi @Viveka_CD,

Thanks for your response.

I installed the IFC Optimizer and ran the file.

the size went from 4.7 MB to 3.3MB

Unfortunatelly SMV still takes more or less 5 Minutes to open the file.

You might have an another idea?

Thanks

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

Good to know that the file size got reduced.

Can you share a file to troubleshoot? I can send you a private folder if you want.

Regards,

[pipapongo0909]

Hi, thanks for the answer.

Yes i can share but i prefer if it would not be public - i checked the personal message, there i do not find an option to attach a file.

what do you mean by "I can send you a private folder if you want."

regards

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

Please check your messages. I sent you a link to upload your file.

Let me know once you have uploaded.

Thanks,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

Thanks for sharing your file. I was able to optimize your IFC file using the IFC optimizer. (Yes 3.3MB is the file size after optimizing)

There were few errors inside Revit which had to be taken care of:

1) elements had to be unjoined

2) instances of in-place family cutting hosts needed resolution

3) unused elements were purged multiple times

The optimized file took approximately 6 minutes to open in the Solibri model viewer.

I tried this with the downloads from the manufacturer's website.Here is the screenshot below:

I was able to check the model tree but wasn't able to detect any clashes, or run any reports.

However with the help of my team member @jonathan_moreno we were albe to detect the IFC for clashes in Navisworks

Screenshot below:

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have additional questions. Good luck with your project!

If you find posts have solved your problem, please click on 'Accept as solution' to help others with similar questions. 

Regards,

[pipapongo0909]

Hi @Viveka_CD,

thank you for your your effort.

I have several questions though

How were you able to take care of the issues in Revit while i only provided the ifc File?

---

@Viveka_CD wrote:

Hi @pipapongo0909

Thanks for sharing your file. I was able to optimize your IFC file using the IFC optimizer. (Yes 3.3MB is the file size after optimizing)

There were few errors inside Revit which had to be taken care of:

1) elements had to be unjoined

2) instances of in-place family cutting hosts needed resolution

3) unused elements were purged multiple times

The optimized file took approximately 6 minutes to open in the Solibri model viewer.

---

1) which elements needed to be unjoined, is this a general rule: "do not join elements if the model is exported to IFC" ??

2) i thought that there would not be an inplace family in the project, i will check this

3) how is it possible to purge something twice? "once it's gone it's gone" ? by "purge" do you mean "manage tab-->Purge Unused"?

Before and after the ifc optimisation the file took approximately 5 Minutes to open which is quite long for such a small file.

I tested another thing:

I deleted the injectionPiles in Revit ( see screenshot) and exported again, this time the ifc opened instantly. so i guess there is the problem somewhere.

I still do not really know what to do though...

regards,

[Keith_Wilkinson]

Something definitely odd there.  We have much larger files than that that open in a fraction of that time.

Is it just this one file that's causing the issue?

Also just a note, I'd be careful with IFC optimiser - you don't know what it's doing to your file, where possible stick to the original output.

[pipapongo0909]

Hi Keith,

thanks for your comment.

Yes indeed this is strange. it is a quite small file with only structural parts, so the loading time should not exceed several second.

Whats strangethough is that Navisworks is much faster, it only takes seconds.

I have not had the problem before. it appeared a few days ago with this file. the Architect is checking the different files and is quite anoyed that the opening time is so high, which i can understand.

thanks

[Keith_Wilkinson]

mm... I think there needs to be understanding from the architect - IFC still has a long way to go and we are all very much at the mercy of the exporter.

I would try exporting different element sets - for example try exporting just the columns and see if you can narrow down where the issue is - if you tailor your 3D export view this should be fairly simple especially if the file is quite small.

[pipapongo0909]

thanks,

I'll try that

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

Do you have the latest updates installed from your Autodek Desktop App for your Revit version?

Delete contents of your temp folder.

To answer you questions:

1)Here is the note on which elements had to be unjoined:

2)Instance of in-place family cutting host

3) Purged approximately 334 elements, but make sure they are not in use in the file

I agree that more than 5 minutes is a long time to open the small file.

Narrowing down the issue to exporting individual elements is a good suggestion by @Keith_Wilkinson

Since you mentioned the file opens after deleting the injection piles can you check the in place family?

Also take a look at this screencast HERE

I also suggest that you post to the Revit Structural forum for more responses.

Regards,

[pipapongo0909]

Hi @Keith_Wilkinson, @Viveka_CD

I managed to locate the problem to the little voids cut out from one structural foundation that are inside of the SA_InjectionPile_001_vert_INST family ( see attachement) i am cutting from the structural foundation.

I changed the family in the way that it does not cut the host ( st. foundation) inside the family. This gives me the result that the IFC does not contain the little holes ( see solibri snapshot in attached pdf ) but opens within seconds.

I suppose i made a mistake while creating the family.... i attached the original family that caused the trouble.

Would it approve things if i created a Void Family and nest that one into the SA_InjectionPile_001_vert_INST family?

thanks in advance

[Keith_Wilkinson]

@pipapongo0909 glad you've got to the bottom of the problem at least!

This is an interesting one that might affect our own proposed workflow to some extent - I think I'll try a few tests here and see if I can recreate the issue - can you confirm roughly how many piles you have and their diameter?  I'm on the train just now so can't download your files.

[pipapongo0909]

Hi @Keith_Wilkinson,

Thanks for your feedback and your effort.

in the project file i have exactly 2014 pile-families. The diameter of the pile itself is 100mm. The dimensions of the void extrusion/Blend ( at first it was a blend then i changed it to a simple extrusion- which is not exactly the desired visualization):

• side length of the square void at the bottom of the hole: 600 mm
• side length of the square void at the top : 650 mm
• depth : 200 mm

I'll try to reconstruct the error and share a project.

Thanks again, have a great day

[pipapongo0909]

Hi @Keith_Wilkinson,

I created a project with only a huge structural Foundation and placed 500+ injection Piles to test if the problem of the slow opening IFC still appears: YES it does 😞
I think my family must be not setup ok. this is quite a simple thing that Revit & IFC should be able to handle....
i tried also to create a void family, nest that one into the actual foundation Pile Family BUT: i do not manage to cut the structural foundation with the void.
i attached all the files, ( i had to "zip" the ifc that the platform lets me upload it)
Maybe you have an idea where i went wrong.
Thanks again for your help, this question is evolving from "IFC does not open" to "how i create a face based Family with a void cutting its Host that exports 'OK' into IFC"

have a nice day

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @pipapongo0909

Thanks for sending over these files.

You can upload these files in the drive link I sent you earlier.

We will troubleshoot and let you know for a resolution.

Regards,

[Keith_Wilkinson]

I don't think there is a problem with the family or the IFC file, I think it's simply the complexity of the resulting slab with all the elements cut out of it, or it could be an issue with Solibri and how it is translating the graphical data.

The next thing I would try is opening it in another IFC viewer and see if that works any better.  There are list of options at the link below.

http://bimblog.bondbryan.com/model-viewers/