Mapping BIM Materials

In BIM files, such as .ifc and .rvt, material name is a property of entities of the BIM model. Materials in BIM software represent real materials, such as Steel, Concrete, Glass. They specify the graphical appearance in drawings. Additionally, where the application provides support for it, physical and thermal properties, and additional information, such as manufacturer and cost.

The BIM Material Mapper palette lists the material names that exist in the loaded BIM files and lets you map those BIM material names to the material available in the BIM Drawings Materials Styles Library.

The BIMMaterialMapper command displays the BIM Material Mapper palette.

When you load BIM files into the current DWG file, the available materials are loaded as well. For each BIM entity, the Material property in the Properties palette displays the material specified in the BIM file. After mapping the materials from the BIM file, the Material property of each BIM entity will display the corresponding material name that you mapped to in the Material Library.

When you create or refresh a drawing, and view it isolated on sheet, BIM entities are represented according to the style definition of the material in the Material Library.

After mapping the materials from the BIM file, BIM entities will be represented in drawings according to the style definition available for the corresponding material in the CAD software.

To display the BIM Material Mapper palette:

1. Do one of the following:
   • On the ribbon, click BIM > Palettes > Material Mapper.
   • On the menu, click BIM > Materials > Material Mapper.
   • Type BIMMaterialMapper.

To hide the BIM Material Mapper palette:

• Type HideBIMMaterialMapper at the command prompt.

The BIM Material Mapper Palette

The BIM Material Mapper palette displays the list of all materials from all BIM files that you loaded in the current DWG file. For each material from the list, you can select the corresponding material from the materials library available in the CAD software.

Displays options for filtering the materials from the list.

• IFC Materials. Displays only materials from the .ifc files loaded in the current DWG file.
• RVT Materials. Displays only materials from the .rvt files loaded in the current DWG file.
• All. Displays all materials from all BIM files loaded in the current DWG file.
• Mapped. Displays only mapped materials. For mapped materials, a preview displays in the list.
• Not Mapped. Displays only the materials that you have not mapped yet.
• Selected Entities Only. Displays only materials from the selected entities.

To map materials to materials from the CAD software:

1. On the BIM Material Mapper palette, for each material from the list of material names that exist as properties of entities in the loaded BIM files, specify from the drop-down list in the Materials Library column the material you wish to map to.

   Click and use the available options to filter the material list.

To display materials for specified BIM entities:

1. In the graphics area, specify a set of BIM entities.
2. On the BIM Material Mapper palette, click and select Selected Entities Only.

For example, if you select a set of walls for which the Material property is set to Concrete, only Concrete appears on the BIM Material Mapper palette.