The required reading of Chapter 2: BIM Tools and Parametric Modeling from the BIM handbook was very informative and had a lot of information. The first part of the chapter discussed the concepts behind BIM and why it was created. It then described early forms of solid modeling and the development of programs that are used in BIM. Some of these programs are ArchiCAD, Bentley Architecture, Revit Building, and Digital Project. These programs are used to represent space defined by a building's walls, floor, and ceiling. The article discusses the information that BIM uses in parametric modeling to create structures. The last section discusses the biggest problem with using BIM and that is scalability.
The article I read 'BIM Getting Bigger' talks about this issue. The problem is when BIM models get too large due to the large amount of information that is inputted. Buildings can be made up of millions of objects, each of which has constrains attached to them in order for all the objects to work together. It can be difficult for a model to be broken into parts and still work the way it should. These large models are also difficult to share. For most design and construction projects there is more than one group of people working on the project. The model may be designed in one office but then may need to be checked by another office. Then when construction begins the model may be needed out in the field. Currently this transfer of data is possible but not efficient and takes a lot of time and effort. The article I read talks about how different companies are trying to find a solution to this issue. For example Bentley Systems has formed agreements with Adobe Systems and Bluebeam Software. These companies are creating a solution that will allow models to be converted to PDF format and can still navigate the 3D models while within the PDF documents. If this problem of large files that are difficult to manage can be solved BIM may be used more readily in the construction industry.
One of the problems I read in an article was the size of the data collected for large scale projects. The bigger the project the bigger the size of the data and the more people are involved in different parts of the project. I also watched a video of a new Disney FantasyLand construction and they wee using BIM effectively during their construction process. I don't know the size of that project but since it's Disney I assume it to be pretty big. They didn't mention anything about difficulties in data sharing and they seemed to be enjoying it's use in the project...
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