IFC DOOR HANDING DATA
IFC allows for the handing of a door or in IFC speak the door operation to be detailed. The types of door operation include:
- Single swing
- Double swing
- Revolving
- Folding
- Roller door
By ensuring that the operation of all doors is correctly detailed, consistent data is added to the model. This allows for the easy and robust production of door schedules. It also allows for advanced model checks that can be achieved through tools such as Solibri Model Checker
Solibri Model Checker - A Model Quality Checking Application
Solibri Model Checker also checks if doors have associated door operation information. An error (or issue) is raised for doors without information about the operation of a door.
Advanced Model Door Operation Checks
Model checking tools such as Solibri Model Checker take the parameters of the door, such as size and operation, and work out if the door is likely to clash when operated (opened). So for a single swing door, this will involve the door going from a closed position to an open position.
As a door opens there may be an item of furniture or a fixture that may prevent the full opening of the door. Solibri also checks if there are items of furniture that may be too close to the door, as these could prevent free access into a space.
In the above example, the door swing is clashing with the wall mounted radiator, it prevents the door from fully opening. Although, also in this example the door operation has been incorrectly detailed as double swing, which contradicts the single swing graphical information.
IFC Door Operation Terminology
Within IFC, door operation is detailed using IfcDoorTypeOperationEnum
The available range of IFC door operation includes:
| IFC Description (Enumerator) | Operation Description |
|---|---|
| SINGLE_SWING_LEFT | A single panel door that opens to the left (the opening direction depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| SINGLE_SWING_RIGHT | A single panel door that opens to the right (the opening direction depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| DOUBLE_DOOR_SINGLE_SWING | A double panel door with each panel swinging out (the opening direction depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| DOUBLE_SWING_LEFT | A single panel door that swings in both directions, with the primary direction swinging from the left (the primary opening direction depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| DOUBLE_DOOR_DOUBLE_SWING | A double panel door that swings in both directions (the primary opening direction depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| SLIDING_TO_LEFT | A single panel door that slides to the left (the direction and location of slide depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| DOUBLE_DOOR_SLIDING | A double panel door where one panel slides to the left and the other panel slides to the right (the location of slide depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| FOLDING_TO_LEFT | A single panel door that folds to the left (the direction and location of folding depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| DOUBLE_DOOR_FOLDING | A double panel door where one panel folds to the left and the other panel folds to the right (the location of fold depends upon the location of the object within the model) |
| REVOLVING | An entrance door with four leaves and revolving around a central vertical axis |
| ROLLINGUP | A door that opens using a rolling mechanism |
| SWING_FIXED_LEFT | A double panel door where one panel swings to the left and one panel is fixed |
-
Additional information and additional enumerators (operations) can be found on the BuildingSmart website, including the option for a "user defined" operation.
Summary
Hopefully, you can appreciate the importance and the benefits to providing door operation information within your IFC model files. This data should all be contained within your doors object libraries. They only need to be setup correctly once and the benefits will be obtained in all your future models using the library objects.
A model will either be incorrect or will have insufficient information if door operation parameters are missing.
Ultimately, we all want to produce better buildings and fully coordinated models. Buildings, with correctly operating doors will assist in achieving that goal.
Contents