Good Morning,
Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a imodel file and a IFC file, please? I assume that the IFC file (when the details have been hammered out) will be a file format that can be exchanged between different CADD software, like Land XML, am I correct? But IFC will be a step above Land XML, it will have more information and intended to contain a 3d model, right? But will it be as detailed as a "imodel", or will it be more or less?
From what I understand the IFC model is still being ironed out between industry and the standards organization, so there are no details yet. I'm just trying to get a better handle on how they compare to one another.
Thanks, and have a Good Holidays Folks,
I hope you found the answer to this. I am trying to figure it out myself as well.
Currently my understanding is that IFC and iModels are essally read-only 3D model file extensions. Just like a PDF is to a word doc.
I beleive iModels are bentley specific, and IFC files are more universal and can be shared across all disciplines.
iModels has more features than IFC so it may be more detailed and contain features which IFC does not yet or will not support. Like textures, 3D line styles.
I guess there are many ways to answer this question but for information on IFC see
https://www.buildingsmart.org/standards/bsi-standards/industry-foundation-classes/ and for information on iModels and Digital Twins see
https://www.itwinjs.org/#anchor-why-digital-twins-section
What you will find is that IFC is a file format that is being developed as an open industry standard for data exchange and is gradually expanding to include infrastructure and more recently, road and rail infrastructure.
On the other hand, Bentley has developed iModels as an open standard that encompasses everything we can build in DGNs from all the various Bentley applications (and a range of 3rd party applications) to publish as a Digital Twin and then manage, view, consume, analyse and report on the content in the Digital Twin. So iModels are not just a file format but part of a larger Digital Twin initiative from Bentley to not only support open standards such as IFC (that can be consumed within an iModel) but also to provide the technology and tools to work with the Digital Twins.