Introduction to Virtual Design Construction & Point cloud BIM

Introduction to Virtual Design Construction & Point cloud BIM
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Way back in 1940 or 50 Architectural Designs or construction drawings were presented in a 2D format (hand sketch or 2D handmade Engineering drawings with specifications). These technical drawings were difficult to produce, and also needed too much time and effort to complete them. The accuracy level could also not be met.

The millennium saw the construction industry exploring new avenues in form of Architectural BIM ModelingBIM Coordination, 3D visualization, etc. Construction Industry saw the rise of virtual designing where buildings are constructed in real-time scenarios.  Computer-Aided Design came into existence and paved the way for much more innovative services. BIM Services is an excellent technology that helps in maximizing profitability, increasing project productivity, and leading to quick construction.  Virtual Construction Modeling is so eloquent that it made CAD Drafting look sluggish. Millennium opened up different avenues with Building Information Modeling aka BIM and this later diversified into other technical gradation like “Energy Analysis” “Scan to BIM” “Point cloud” “Facility Management” etc. The development of the Virtualization of design brought about a stupendous growth spurt in the overall business procurement and execution of the construction industry.

BIM Modeling

BIM is a process of developing a Virtual Construction Model with all the building-related information like quantities, material types, building components, site, etc. that gives a real-time feeling within a virtual setup. BIM Modeling includes Architectural BIM Services, Structural and MEP BIM Modeling, BIM coordination, 4D Construction Sequencing, 5D BIM Modelling, etc.

Certainly, BIM Modeling or Virtual Construction Modeling is much more than just 3d presentation or geometry. BIM has the capability to contain the complete end-to-end building data that can be used across different stages of construction.  Architectural construction drawings, 2D views, tags, quantities, properties of each bar or truss etc. can all be extracted from the model. BIM can also be interconnected with other scheduling applications or software to carry out other construction activities such as scheduling, material orders, estimation, etc. This technology has the capacity to automatically generate multiple reports that can be later used in actual construction.

Building Information Modeling offers a remarkable scope of visualization and enhances the productivity of the design team and process. It is a collaborative technology and hence it can enable designers, the contractor’s to collaborate and work on the same model jointly. This helps in accelerating the construction process rapidly.

BIM Modeling also facilitates Coordination between multiple trades such as Architectural BIM, Structural, and MEP. These trades can be collaborated digitally and checked automatically for any unwanted interferences and accuracies. These checks are called “clash detection”.  Well executed BIM Co-ordination process benefits all the parties that are directly involved in the construction process. This gives a positive impact on the construction timeline along with the overall cost.

Point Cloud to BIM Modelling

Renovation and Restoration projects have always been a major challenge for Architects and Engineers. Obtaining complete and accurate information on existing buildings and designs is very time-consuming and certainly not fully error-proof.  It used to be a very stringent and tedious process where the surveyors had to go onsite, measure every part of the building, note the measurements manually. This brought in a lot of inaccuracies and uncertainty in the renovation process.

The initiation of Point Cloud or “laser scanning” is a digital process of measuring old buildings or sites with equipment called a “Laser scanner”. This scanner scans images using “points” on the surface of any object.  The output of the scan is usually a data file and is accessible in .rcs, .rcp format, and multiple other formats. We can convert these scans or Point Cloud into a completed and precise 3D BIM Model.

We can also do reverse mapping and create Architectural Construction Drawings, and 4D construction sequences and analyze the old design to create a newly proposed one using Scan to BIM Modelling.

Conclusion: This is just the beginning. There are several other technological advancements like Big Data, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, AR/VR, etc. that will make Virtual Construction Modeling look obsolete.

  • Tesla OS

    Tesla Outsourcing Services is an Architectural and Engineering Outsourcing Company providing CAD Services, Engineering and E-building Design Solutions (BIM Services) to clients across the globe.


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Introduction to Virtual Design Construction & Point cloud BIM
Written By:
Tesla OS
Tesla Outsourcing Services is an Architectural and Engineering Outsourcing Company providing CAD Services, Engineering and E-building Design Solutions (BIM Services) to clients across the globe.