Custom IFC integration development
Appfront builds integrations with IFC, the open standard for BIM models from buildingSMART, formalised as ISO 16739. Almost any design software can export IFC. We make sure your own software can read those models: objects, quantities and properties into your estimating, scheduling or facilities management, checks on what a model must contain, and, where needed, data written back into the model.
What is an IFC integration?
IFC, Industry Foundation Classes, is the open standard for exchanging BIM models. It is maintained by buildingSMART and set out as ISO 16739. An IFC file describes a building as objects with properties: walls, floors, frames, installations, spaces. Almost any design software can export IFC, so parties can share models without using the same software.
Yet a model is often only viewed, not used. The estimator re-measures quantities from drawings even though they are in the model. The planner enters components into the schedule by hand. And after handover the model ends up in a folder, while the manager needs spaces, installations and materials for maintenance. Sometimes it only becomes clear late on that a model does not contain the information that was agreed.
We build custom solutions because each application needs different information from a model: which objects and properties, which quantities, which software they should go into, and which agreements exist about what a model must contain. We look at which IFC version and which design software produce the models in the first step. We usually start with one type of model and the information that saves the most measuring, then expand.
Models in your software
Objects and properties from IFC models into your estimating, planning or property management, without retyping.
Quantities from the model
Areas, volumes and counts per object type, directly from the model.
Checked against agreements
Verification that a model contains the agreed information before it is used.
How we build your IFC integration
We start with your application: which models, from which software, what information you need, and where it should end up.
Your models, design software, IFC version, and the software that needs the information.
Objects, properties and quantities from the model.
Checks against agreed requirements, and integration with estimating, scheduling or asset management.
Differences between versions of a model, and maintenance when new IFC versions arrive.
What an IFC integration actually does
The components below feature in almost every IFC integration. Which ones you need depends on your application.
Import
IFC models from any design software that exports IFC.
Objects
Walls, floors, frames, installations and spaces.
Quantities
Areas, volumes and counts per object type.
Validation
Whether a model contains the agreed information.
Integration
Objects into estimating, planning or management.
Versions
Differences between versions of a model.
Who we build IFC integrations for
The integration is for anyone who wants to use BIM models in their own software.
Contractors
Estimating and planning from the model. Quantities are the core.
Installers
Installations from the model to works preparation. Objects matter most.
Property managers
Models after handover. The integration with asset management is what's needed.
Software suppliers
Supporting IFC in your own product. Import is the core.
Technology and integrations
This page is about integrations with IFC. For BIM in general, see our page on BIM software; for architects, our page on software for architecture firms; and for reuse of structures, our page on a materials passport for donor structures. You can read about our way of working under get software built.
If you work in civil engineering with drawings under the Dutch CAD Standard (NLCS), take a look at our page on an NLCS integration.
If you work directly with Revit models and also want to write back, there is our page on a Revit integration.
Why choose Appfront for your IFC integration?
A model that is only viewed delivers half of what it can. We build on that: models your software can read, quantities without measuring on site, and checks before the model is used.
No duplicate work
Quantities come from the model, not from drawings.
Models that add up
Anything missing is spotted before use.
The model stays useful
After handover, the model feeds facilities management.
Security and privacy in an IFC integration
The integration processes building models, often confidential to the client and designers. Access is set up per role and per project, and every imported model is logged.
The integration runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily backups.
Frequently asked questions about an IFC integration
Questions that builders and facility managers ask before getting started.
Industry Foundation Classes is the open standard for exchanging BIM models, maintained by buildingSMART and documented as ISO 16739. An IFC file describes a building as objects with properties, and almost any design software can produce one.
Objects such as walls, floors, door and window frames, installations and spaces, with their properties, and quantities such as areas, volumes and counts. What is actually in the model depends on how it was created, which is why a check is part of the process. Two designers can record the same object very differently, and the integration translates that into one way for your software.
Yes. For each project you define which objects and properties a model must contain. The integration checks every model against that and shows what is missing, so it can be requested from the designer.
Yes. Quantities per object type are calculated from the model and passed to your estimating software, linked to your own coding. When a new version of the model arrives, the difference is visible, so an estimate can be updated without starting again.
Yes. Spaces, installations and materials from the model can go into your property or maintenance system, so the model remains useful after handover. The facility manager can see, per space, which installations are present and which materials were used.
The versions your designers deliver. Which those are and which software they use, we look at in the first step. When a new version of the standard comes out, we adapt the integration in its management.
For organisations that need information from models in their own software, where no standard integration exists, and for vendors who want to support IFC in their product.
BIM models that your software can read?
Tell us which models you receive, what information you need from them and in which software it should end up. We will show you what the integration would look like.