BlenderBIM Add-on Demo: Section Planes

[@SpaghettiMarinarable]

Wow! I mean wow! The sectioning is SO fast. I can't wait to see more of this add-on. I think this is going to change how I work. Thanks for sharing!

[@SteveWarner]

This is awesome! We've been porting our stuff out to SketchUp to do sections. I can't tell you how much time and effort this new feature is going to save us. Thanks a ton for all your work on this!

[@DionMoult]

Glad you enjoyed it! As of today 26/04/2020, the currently released BlenderBIM Add-on version does not yet have this feature, so you might need to wait a week for the next release to include this. There is usually a release every 2-4 weeks.

[@SteveWarner]

@@DionMoult Thanks, Dion! I downloaded the current release right after watching this video and quickly noted that the section plane was missing. I'll check back in about a week to see if it's out there. We've got a concept design we're working on and it's due the first week of May. Hoping we get to test this out on it before then! Thanks again!

[@DionMoult]

@@SteveWarner It's been released! Time for testing!

[@SteveWarner]

@@DionMoult What's the best way to provide feedback? I'm getting a hard crash when I add a section plane.

[@DionMoult]

@@SteveWarner [e-mail] perhaps with a sample .blend sent with send.firefox.com for end-to-end encrypted sending (I will not share your blend file, only use for the purposes of debuggin).

[@Mahm00dM0hanad]

If they put IFC exporter and Importer blender will enter the AEC industry high and mighty, I’m not joking this thing have a huge potential

[@DionMoult]

Please join the group of early adopter users and start testing! blenderbim.org/ and community.osarch.org/ it supports IFC import and export, and is already the most powerful IFC tool in the industry in terms of features. It also support BCF. Comparing IFC files. IFC quality checks, and more!

[@Mahm00dM0hanad]

Dion Moult sure thanks

[@j.m5888]

I just discovered BlenderBIM and I love it!! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@lasselund1830]

Crazy stunning.... the potential of the add-on is WOW 😍

[@mipe7755]

It would be good to also have a section cut that can be displayed in Solid View.

[@umbertouno]

I'm using v0.0.231104 and can't find the section plane button. Any idea what could be the issue?

[@moussahachemi4875]

Great job man. What about the 2D plan that can be produced with this addon ?

[@DionMoult]

The features are there, but the workflow is still very clunky and requires too many clicks for me to be proud to advertise it. Watch this space :)

[@Guileoni]

Thanks for your video! Why this option (SECTION PLANE) is not available in my blenderbim?

[@meshybonehead7027]

So happy I came across this! Thanks alot :)

[@MaracatuAtomico]

This is amazing! Is it possible to extract informations about how much volume of a material does the project have, like Revit? If not, will it be possible one day? Thank you.

[@DionMoult]

The Blender 3D print add-on allows volume extraction, and the BlenderBIM Add-on also has volume calculation, which can theoretically be scheduled. It is actually already possible now, but not documented. In the future, it will be documented and polished :)

[@MaracatuAtomico]

@@DionMoult It's amazing! I'm an architecture student and I've been looking for an opensource BIM for some time. Does it works with floor levels already? I mean, for modeling walls pinned to levels. I'll download the addon, glad to know it exists :) Wish I could help with the develpoment but I'm not a programmer. Great job!

[@EugenioFontan-h8h]

Hello there, I cannot find the Section plane tab under the Output Window as shown on the video. I just installed the latest version of BlenderBIM add-on. Is the Section Plane being removed temporally? Or is it accessible from another tab?

[@eztutor823]

Hi! Does this still work in thee latest release? Because it's not working when I try to use sections?

[@oliverr1021]

Nice! Will you be able to change the color of the cut? And can it be a different color per material?

[@DionMoult]

A new feature has been added to be able to change the colour of the cut. Thanks for the suggestion! I can build a feature for it to be a different colour per material, but what would the defaults be set to? How would you set it? Would it be random? Would it be based off the diffuse property? What about different colour per object?

[@oliverr1021]

@@DionMoult By default I would display the Base Color of the object. It would be great if you could override the color to highlight objects, e.g. " override all supports in red". I personally see no use for a random color.

[@DionMoult]

@@oliverr1021 Yes, that should be possible. I've just done a release, so perhaps in the next release? I tend to do a release every few weeks.

[@digitalcyclopsvideoproduct867]

Very cool! I'll have to go through the documentation, but I can't seem to override the 'red' section colour with something else.

[@DionMoult]

There is an option to pick the colour, but it only applies to new section planes.

[@digitalcyclopsvideoproduct867]

@@DionMoult Thank you! I just found that out as I was experimenting. => Very cool, just going through it now. Are you on Discord, or some other method if someone want's to ask questions etc?

[@domenicofranco5889]

What a wonderful tool! It would be perfect if the cutting plane was non-infinitive to allow the buildings to be sliced partially. Great work Thanks

[@DionMoult]

Agree, unfortunately that feature doesn't exist... yet!

[@aethelwolfe3539]

So you need to write the program to turn the plane to a volume….. like a cube.

[@RomboutVersluijs]

Just tested it out, just the single addon. Im seeing issues when deleting section objects. it doesnt remove the shade node group as like in this video. Also UI could use some improvements. button titles are way to long, simple icon with single or 2 words is enough. It also shows animation checker icon.

[@wallacegontijoarquiteto]

Very good. I managed to install it and it worked but in the Output Properties tab it doesn't appear with the name Section Planes, but Temporary Section Cutaways. Was it the same?

[@DionMoult]

Yep :)

[@tulasinathreddy8310]

can we export this cut to autocad ?

[@infotech8846]

Does this option still exist? Upon installation, I tried looking for it but couldn't find it.

[@designfreedom3651]

Great and very much needed work! Is it supposed to cut faceless objects? I have a number of contour lines as a terrain mesh basis. It cuts the mesh but not the lines. Neither grease pencil strokes. This would be useful, because in many instances a building model contains a lot of faceless graphical info (only vertices and edges) such as furniture indications, openings indications, all kinds of symbols, arrows, dashed lines etc.

[@DionMoult]

Unfortunately no, it works based on meshes because it is a shader override :( I understand your pain, but I don't have a solution (well, no good ones - you could add a small curve bevel and then copy to selected, but that's a hack and is annoying to do - it also doesn't work on greasepencil). I would highly recommend voting here: blender.community/c/rightclickselect/W3fbbc/

[@joedhistira]

in sketchup, when you use section plane, you can render the interior without affecting the shadow. can i do that here too? can you show me how?

[@RomboutVersluijs]

Could this also work on more organic shapes or does it only work on planes. Since the code seems to look at normals, it should work right?

[@benveasey7474]

Amazing tutorial, thank you! Maybe one day there will also be an UnrealBIM for Unreal Meshes.......

[@mishlenieomishlenii]

take a look "modumate"

[@RodolfoBarcelli]

I cannot seem to select objects for the section planes, whenever I try to add a select only one ifc tag as you showed in your video, it will still section other objects with different ifc tags.

[@htlcnn]

Do the Section Planes appear in Outliner? If not, how could we delete all Section Planes?

[@DionMoult]

Yes. The section plane is a regular Blender empty object. You can treat it like a regular Blender object - snap it to things, scale, rotate, grab, etc.

[@claystudiofx]

is there any way we can see the cut section as solid rather than hollow ?

[@SrongLady]

In what soft was the BIM model created? And what format of the file was imported to blender?

[@DionMoult]

This one particular BIM model started from Revit. It was exported as an IFC and imported into Blender as an IFC. Blender can create and consume IFC files, so you can do full BIM projects to ISO standards in Blender.

[@SrongLady]

@@DionMoult Thank You 4 answer.

[@akustiqmad8510]

Tried to use BlenderBIM to cut section planes in my Blender 2.9 model (not ifc and modeled in sketchup and blender) and got some problems in it, can I ask anywhere for solution? Thanks! One of the best add-ons in my Blender for Archviz and learning BIM!

[@DionMoult]

Certainly! You can post on github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues if it is a bug, or community.osarch.org/ if you prefer. It helps to attach your Blend file for debugging. If it is private you can send your Blend file to [e-mail]

[@akustiqmad8510]

@@DionMoult Thankyou very much sir! will certainly wait for more updates on this add on too!

[@ereceeme]

In what software was this building design made?

[@finabentley-kimura4588]

Can you keyframe the changes you make with blenderBIM. A few years ago I saw a video where the 3D house was grown from the ground up.

[@DionMoult]

Yes, this can be keyframed and animated. I've used it to do exactly that effect - where portions of a building is "revealed" for construction sequencing.

[@finabentley-kimura4588]

@@DionMoult I've been looking on the web for videos showing how to do the "reveal" effect in blender. But I have not found any. Do you know of any videos?

[@DionMoult]

@@finabentley-kimura4588 the technique used in this add-on can achieve it. It's simply an Eevee material shader. You can do the same in Cycles. With the add-on installed, apply the section cut and then look at how the material nodes are set up.

[@NewWaysMedia]

This was so helpful! Thank you

[@UHStudio]

Nice, Dion! Smart to do the sections with a shader instead of booleans as well! :)

[@mrbenson63]

Yes indeed but how to get the details of a cutplane ?

[@j.m5888]

Hi Dion! I have a quick question about the add-on: have you noticed any pixelation of your models in Solid mode after using the Temporary Section Cutaways options? I noticed it with a file which was originally a .dae; do you think that could be related? If I disable the add-on the view doesn't return to normal, and when I rotate the model it's like it leaves a trail of pixels which marks its original location. If anyone has any ideas that would be great! Cheers.

[@DionMoult]

Either sounds like a large coordinates issue (be sure to work with a false origin!) or a graphics card glitch.

[@perseuslegend8580]

This looks great! Can other meshes be used as sections instead of the default plane?

[@DionMoult]

It actually doesn't use a plane, it uses an empty object, which extends to infinity. So, uh, I guess the answer is no :( However, you _can_ add multiple sections at arbitrary angles, so hopefully that helps.

[@perseuslegend8580]

@@DionMoult Thank you for the clarification. Unfortunately in my case it can't be flat. I think I'll have to use boolean then.

[@Constantinesis]

Hello! Does the section plane work with any 3D model or only with those imported as IFC ?

[@DionMoult]

It will work with any 3D model.

[@CourierSixFallout]

Great work exciting stuff!

[@eztutor823]

Really awesome this!! I came across this solution through the CutAway shader topic on Right-click Blender community. Question: does the "Section Select Objects" feature only workes for IFC related models, or does it target all shader of selected models? I tried it out on regular blender objects with different shader materials, but even with the "selected feature enabled" it always cuts everything (Unless I manually delete the shader node per Object material afterwards).

[@DionMoult]

It should work with any model, not just IFC. If it isn't working, please report it as a but on the Github issue tracker github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell or the OSArch community community.osarch.org/

[@jnntmm2369]

We need a complete tutorial for BlenderBim addon

[@DionMoult]

Agree :) Would you be interested in helping make them?

[@jnntmm2369]

@@DionMoult yes I would like it

[@DionMoult]

@@jnntmm2369 Since the add-on changes very quickly, my recommendation is to learn as much as possible about what's currently working. You can find me online on the OSArch.org live chat anytime to ask questions, or on the community.osarch.org forums. Feel free to ask as many questions and I can help provide guidance on any tutorials you'd like to make!

[@axv_1428]

Can u make tutorial how to use it. And manage the instrument. Like wall, window, door, pipe,ect.

[@DionMoult]

There are plenty of good Blender tutorials out there :) I highly recommend learning some basic modeling first.

[@ArchCaster]

Ticking time bomb for Autodesk !

[@mipe7755]

Looks promising!

[@reactionsgalore6670]

this just blew my mind

[@axv_1428]

The section plane doesnt work on cube object. It just for ifc file only?

[@DionMoult]

Make sure you are in material or rendered mode. It will not show in solid mode. It will work for any file not just IFC.

[@tcdoe]

Great! Does this work on blender 2.9x ?? I couldn't get it to install just error

[@DionMoult]

It works on 2.92 and below. For 2.93, a new release will come out this week or so.

[@tcdoe]

@@DionMoult Fantastic!

[@RomboutVersluijs]

Is that node an osl shader?

[@RomboutVersluijs]

I looked at the code and it's really nice that this works on both Eevee and cycles and thus on both cpu and GPU. I had done some work to revive the cutawayshader, but sadly I can't get everything to work properly again. Saw your comment on blendertoday. This is great work. I was wondering if it would visually be easier to identify if the empty was replaced by a plane. That would be perhaps a bit more clear to see

[@azizwidianto318]

Tutorial please

[@axv_1428]

Hi. Can i measure the pipe length with this add-on?

[@DionMoult]

Blender has a variety of measurement tools including the ones built in with Blender 2.8x. You do not need this add-on do do measurement as it is already available as a feature :)

[@axv_1428]

@@DionMoult is it addon like revit or archicad? So they can estimate cost for the project automaticly.

[@DionMoult]

@@axv_1428 There are some basic scheduling and quantification features but it is not yet ready for costing purposes, but if you have experience in this area and can make specific suggestions, I can help build the features to make it possible. Welcome to free software :)

[@axv_1428]

@@DionMoult cool bro. Thanks a lot

[@fallogingl]

Like Blender is almost everything at this point lmao

[@jhdcruz]

Always has been

[@Tokamak_9]

Excepting NURBS witch I do need to replace Rhino3D!

[@26jori]

@@Tokamak_9 what are you working on that you prefer Rhino and NURBS?

[@Tokamak_9]

@@26jori I do design chairs for a living. I need to have very smooth surfaces.

[@AGvfx]

Where this function in new version?

[@DionMoult]

In the Quality tab under Sandbox.

[@indiehintsho1488]

@@DionMoult where is this, i dont see where sandbox is, thanks

[@infotech8846]

@@DionMoult Does this option still exist? Upon installation, I tried looking for it but couldn't find it.

[@DionMoult]

@@infotech8846 In the Quality tab under the Sandbox panel.

[@axv_1428]

which version are you using?

[@DionMoult]

Blender version 2.82

[@axv_1428]

@@DionMoult add-on version?

[@DionMoult]

@@axv_1428 any version released after this video date will work.

[@axv_1428]

@@DionMoult UI add-on is so different i think

[@DionMoult]

@@axv_1428 The BlenderBIM Add-on is under active development, and UI changes are to be expected. Please see the video description when I describe this.

[@VYJ-7]

Que bueno!!, que genialidad!.

[@johnharvey517]

Awesome

[@ahmadajipangestu7980]

Can u share your email? cause i have a problem when i use section plane. I want to send my file Thanks. Sorry if my English so bad.

[@DionMoult]

[e-mail]

[@danielkrajnik8627]

0:00 Gentoo

[@shaddyeldesouky8953]

WoW

[@franzg.trujillanoch.8912]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@arko3822]

It is very unstable

[@DionMoult]

Do you have a file it fails on? Can you report a bug? Note that you need to use the add / remove buttons - you are currently not allowed to delete the section plane object like any other object.

[@arko3822]

@@DionMoultI have looked in the issue ..... I think the size of this addon along with other large no. Of preinstallled addons had led to the crash ...let me retry 4 to 5 times again and check what happe ns....I hope it will not crash again

[@arko3822]

@@DionMoult please provide us a documentation link for this addon

[@DionMoult]

@@arko3822 sorry, this add-on is not documented, due to the fast pace of change. You are welcome to help document it here: wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=Main_Page - an older attempt that was started was here: blenderbim.org/docs/blenderbim/scene.html

[@arko3822]

@@DionMoult this is true democracy.....I like it

[@mukondeleliratshilavhi5634]

Dammmmmm

[@AyelGoth]

Could you explain your videos more slowly? It looks like the FBI is running it thinking you are a member of the Islamic State, hahaha.