CAD, BIM & 3D

This is part 3 of a series of posts about getting BIM data into Unity. In the first two posts, we introduced the basic of getting an ArchiCAD and Revit model into Unity. We hinted on the option of actually parsing more data from Schedules. This is what we’ll discuss in the next few articles. However, beware that this requires some scripting afterwards. Not too complex, but required anyway. We start with ArchiCAD (but Revit will be discussed in a follow-up article, promised). Preparing an ArchiCAD Schedule for use with Unity Basic Objective: We will collect information from our BIM model into a table (schedule) for export. If we add the ID of the element in the first column, we can use that information to map the data from the table to the entity. In ArchiCAD, there are three types of ID to identify individual objects in a project: the ID, the guid and the IFC guid. There are two IDs that are set automatically and over which you don’t get any control. They are g...

Each day, Packt Publishing is releasing a free eBook from their back catalogue. These are usually slightly older books, but mostly usable and valid still. They give a good opportunity to dive into a topic and they will suggest possible alternatives, which are sometimes more up to date. Today (May 11th) my own book “ Unity for Architectural Visualization ” is free book of the day, but act fast, as it’ll not last long. https://www.packtpub.com/packt/offers/free-learning The book was written for Unity 4.x and uses mostly the features from the free version. Since Unity 5.x, most former Pro-features are also accessible in the free version. The biggest value (from my point of view) are the chapters on workflow with CAD or BIM software. You can get better lighting and materials more easily in Unity 5, but the rest of the book (including the scripting section) is mostly valid. I would advice though, to forget about the older Packages from Unity 4. Some of them are replace...

I’ve recently launched my new course on Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. Maybe you are familiar with this parametric design software. It is widely used in innovative architectural design offices and in architectural schools and research. It allows complete control over geometry generation, using the Rhinoceros modelling system, but controlled from a Visual Programming workflow. Grasshopper is a free add-in for Rhinoceros and currently requires the Windows version of Rhinoceros (commercial, educational or trial). What can you expect to learn? In this course, you apply a basic knowledge of 3D modelling into a Parametric Approach. Instead of creating one or two design models for a project, you learn how to develop an interactive, adapting model , controlled by a few chosen design parameters and capable of generating a wide range of design variants. Use the clever components to define an efficient and powerful system of interconnected components, creating geometry and applying geometric and mat...

For my introductory classes on 3D Freeform modelling, I re-recorded my Rhino video tutorials. This time, they are in English, so should appeal to more people. What can you expect to learn? This is a basic introduction and overview of modelling complex 3D Freeform shapes in the context of architectural design. Have you ever wondered how certain architectural designs are actually created? You might assume that it is helped by software, but which system is suited for this? In regular CAD software that architects often use, such as AutoCAD or SketchUp, the creation of organic models and surfaces is hard to impossible. We use Rhinoceros , a quite popular NURBS modelling software for McNeel. This is very popular within several innovative architectural offices where it is used for complex forms, organic architecture and extensive tweaking of 3D models. The software can also be used complementary to other architectural design software, although it is quite complete in itself. The course ...

This is part 2 of a series of posts about getting BIM data into Unity. In the first post, we managed to get an ArchiCAD model into Unity. This time we’ll tackle Revit. Direct export from Revit to FBX Let’s start with the “rac_basic_sample_project” which gets installed with Revit. We’re using the 2015 release. Since quite a while Revit supports direct export to the FBX format. At first sight, this seems a perfect workflow option. When we first imported the model and dragged it into the scene, it got too small. When switching the “Scale Factor” to 1 in the FBX Importer settings, the scale is correct. It is best to add a simple cube with known size (e.g. 1x1x1) to compare with. Example of the FBX structure in Unity Looking at the GameObject hierarchy, we see that we get a reasonably structured model, made out of meshes which are named by their Family type and which contain the unique Revit Entity ID in between brackets. That is good to know, as it allows us to relate to the original objec...

While I normally post on architectural CAD, BIM and visualisation, this post will show you a more playful endeavour: making a small Game. Udemy Learning Platform I've started migrating my tutorial videos to the Udemy platform instead of Youtube playlists, as they allow a more structured and focused learning experience. Whenever you engage in a course, you have access to it forever. They also have mobile clients, so you can watch on your iPad and work on your computer at the same time, if you want. The mobile app can even download videos for offline viewing or play them at a higher speed. Game Mechanics Last week, I released my first actual game-oriented course. It is a small clone of a Flappy Thingy, but only focusing on the game mechanics: moving things, reacting on collisions and keeping track of a score. I completely skip the actual game art, the textures, the sounds and effects, as I think that if you are making such a game, you'd better tweak it completely so it doesn...