Long-term workflow: BLK360 → Revit (Fiverr) → IFC4 → FreeCAD BIM → AI-assisted remodeling. Is this a
Long-term workflow: BLK360 → Revit (Fiverr) → IFC4 → FreeCAD BIM → AI-assisted remodeling. Is this a good strategy?
I'm planning a long-term DIY digital twin of my home and would appreciate advice from experienced BIM users.
My intended workflow is:
- Professional laser scan (BLK360 or similar)
-Scan registration by a professional
- BIM model created in Revit by a freelancer (likely from Fiverr)
- Export as IFC4
- Import into FreeCAD BIM
- Continue all future remodeling and design work in FreeCAD
My goal is to avoid vendor lock-in while preserving BIM intelligence for long-term ownership.
My questions are:
1) When importing a Revit-generated IFC4 file into the latest FreeCAD BIM, are walls, slabs, roofs, windows, and doors imported as editable BIM objects or merely as static geometry?
2). Which IFC import settings should I choose to maximize editability? I have seen references to using "Parametric Arch Objects" rather than shape import.
3). Is IFC currently the recommended workflow for moving from Revit into FreeCAD, or are there newer approaches?
4). Has anyone successfully adopted FreeCAD as the long-term owner/editor of a BIM model that originated in Revit?
5). If you were starting today, would you recommend this workflow, or would you suggest a different open-BIM strategy?
Comments
Why not hire someone to model it up in Bonsai or Freecad? The file will be an .ifc file.
@varocketry
...
my personal taste, FreeCAD is a great piece of software, but Bonsai at the moment offers a better approach to fully compliant IFC model, with a few tweaks here and there your scan can also imported in Blender I think
I believe here @semhustej is the FreeCAD guy, his videos are extremely useful
Thanks Steve. I'll check out Bonsai. my personal evolution has been Sketchup to ONSHAPE but this house rendering project exceeds those tools' design objectives. I recently saw an AI integration -GCP- into FREECAD which intuitively made me think of "What if?" options that might open up.
Editing any IFC objects in FreeCAD is currently very limited.
This setting is related to IFC models created in FreeCAD. It will have no influence on IFC created in Revit.
It is the best workflow, but I would not call it recommended.
I don't think so.
As @steverugi said, Bonsai is the recommended solution for working with and editing IFC files. Even though FreeCAD BIM offers limited native IFC editing, it is currently not practically usable. There are lot of unresolved bugs and the editing options are very limited.
I don't have much experience with Bonsai, but don't expect smooth sailing experience editing IFC model exported from Revit, especially if the model is created as a Fiverr gig. As @theoryshaw said, it might be worth considering finding someone who would create the model in Bonsai. I guess it should be doable - manually - in Bonsai.
Thanks,
that was my experience too but I thought I may do it wrong ....