Working with BIM Data and FME

Liz Sanderson
Liz Sanderson
  • Updated

Introduction

With FME you can convert and transform your BIM information to suit the needs of any stakeholder to ensure everyone gets the details they need. Read data from common BIM formats like IFC, Revit, and SketchUp and extract only the details you need like 2D floor plans, 3D shells, or specific attributes.
For a high-level overview of how FME can help you with BIM, see our website.

 

BIM Terminology

Building Information Modeling (BIM): commonly used in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry (AEC).  These models are digital representations of places, containing details about characteristics and geometry.  

Building Smart International (BSI): provides standards for BIM data.

Data Views: the Revit reader provides Data Views, which simplify the complex BIM data for conversion to simpler formats. For example, the Floorplan data view extracts 2D floorplan representations of the 3D BIM geometry. These data views give you a headstart on creating conversions from BIM to 3D, GIS, or CAD. For a list of the data views, please refer to the Revit reader documentation. The IFC reader does not presently provide Data Views. However, due to similarities between IFC and the RVZ file produced by the FME Exporter plugin, the Revit reader can be used to read many IFC files using Data Views.

FME Exporter for Revit: supports single and batch exports, creating .rvz files from .rvt to be used in FME Workbench FME 2018 and prior, and Revit 2018 and prior. You can use FME’s IFC with Data Views for Revit reader with Revit’s IFC Exporter with FME 2019+ and Revit 2019+. See this article for more information.

 

Tutorials

Getting Started Articles

BIM and FME Tutorial

Other

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Format Documentation

Autodesk Revit Reader
​​​​​​​BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) Reader/Writer
​​​​​​​CityJSON Reader/Writer
​​​​​​​HERE Venue Map (GML) Writer Parameters
​​​​​​​IFC with Data Views Reader
​​​​​​​Industry Foundation Class STEP/XML Files (IFC) Reader/Writer
​​​​​​​OGC CityGML Reader/Writer
​​​​​​​OGC IndoorGML Reader/Writer
 

Transformer Documentation

AutodeskBIM360DocsConnector
​​​​​​​IFCPropertySetDefinitionCreator
​​​​​​​IFCQuantitySetDefinitionCreator
​​​​​​​SurfaceFootprintReplacer
 

​​​​​​​Top Questions and Answers

Find the roofs of 3D buildings
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Additional Resources

Blogs

Active Metadata Platforms for Spatial Data and XML
​​​​​​​GIS Users On BIM Adoption (Infographic)
​​​​​​​Nuclear BIM: Forsmark Integrates CAD, GIS, BIM, and Non-Spatial
​​​​​​​Taking Building Modeling to the next level with Game Engines
​​​​​​​"The Great BIM vs. GIS Debate" and 2.5D City Models
​​​​​​​The State (+ Future) of BIM and GIS Interoperability
​​​​​​​The Why of BIM to GIS: George Washington's Mount Vernon​​​​​​​
Visualizing Geospatial Data in a Web Browser with Cesium ion and FME


Packages and Custom Transformers

Autodesk BIM360 Docs
​​​​​​​GetRevitServerModels
​​​​​​​IFCTemplater
​​​​​​​RevitVersionMapper
TraitsToAttributes
 

Presentations

All your BIM are belong to us - Revit and FME for Enterprise Data Management [21:29]
BIMfy Your PDFs [starts at 1:27:00, 24:15]
FME Experiences with GeoBIM in the United Arab Emirates [23:38]
FME: The Ultimate Missing Link and Workflow for BIM and GIS at Denver International Airport 
GIS im BIM-Projekt: Anforderungen und Potentiale [14:12 | German]
How to Use FME in BIM Workflows [13:14]
 

Videos

Airports Data Integration: BIM and GIS [5:10]
The FME Bridge Between BIM & GIS [8:23]


Webinars

BIM Workflows: How to Build From CAD & GIS for Infrastructure [1:05:00] 
Extend the Value of Your BIM Data with FME: Part 1 [1:00:00]
Extend the Value of Your BIM (& Revit) Data with FME: Part 2 [1:10:00]
How to Create GIS and BIM Interoperability [1:11:00]
Your Data in Unreal: How to Bring Data Into Gaming Environments [1:12:49]
 

Known Issues

For a list of Known Issues, see the following articles: 2021.x2020.x2019.x2018.x2017.x
 

Support

Can’t find what you are looking for? Search our Community for a related question or post your question in our Forums or contact Support.

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