Turn your BIM into a lighter 3D Shell Model

Welcome to the BIMShell app. This web tool ingests BIM models and automagically produces their shell (envelope) version. This is usefull for applications where the inside part of your BIM is not relevant or simply gets you in trouble (e.g., too detailed, too heavy to process, legal issues, etc.). The tool is still at its early days. Currently it only processes the geometry (in other word, you will lose information like color, texture, semantic, etc.) along the process. Those limitation will be adressed in future versions.

#About

How does it work?

Easy!
1- Create an account
2- Upload your model and
3- Click on a button to generate the shells.

Once finished you can download the result.

What input formats are supported?

For now: IFC, OBJ, OFF, DAE, PLY, FBX and 3DS. More to come!

What output do I get?

Two files corresponding to two different types of shell:

rawShell: Called "raw" because it consists of a "loose" collection of polygons visible from the outside of the model (output 1 in the video above). It provides a pretty accurate and ligher approximation of BIMs and is ideal for visual-based applications. It does not handle any topological information between the polygons however, and may not produce a perfect shell as some polygons of the model's envelope may be missing. It also keeps polygons spanning both inside and outside the model (hence, there may be some indoor parts).
voxShell: As its name suggests, it relies on a "voxel" data structure to produce a watertight approximation of the BIM's envelope (output 2 in the video above). It therefore benefits from a robust geometric and topological structure while offering a fairly close appearance to the original models. As a downside, directly related to the gridded nature of voxel structures, it may contain "zig-zaggy" surfaces on oblique parts of the models. It is ideal for analysis-based applications (e.g., simulation) where topology is more critical than appearance.

These shells can be exported in OBJ, OFF, 3DS, FBX or DXF formats, most of which can be visualised with the free software MeshLab.

What happens to the files I upload?

Currently, your files are uploaded and stored in servers (located in Australia) only for the time that they are being used and processed. They are automatically deleted as soon as you upload a new file, logout or simply leave the app. No copy of them is kept. This way of managing the files may evolve with future functionalities.

#Contact

Have some feedback or special query?
Send us a message to feedback [at] bimshell.app and we’ll get back to you ASAP.