BBim Feature request: Window & Door frame profiles

[Plae-Blue-Dot]

Most windows have unique frame profiles between the different material types,

Some examples:

Timber/wood (simple)

Steel: (simple)

Aluminium: (simple)

It would be very useful to be able to set the profile of the frame, especially for detailed construction drawings using the window and door modifier.

For local authority and council submission drawings the current square default frame is perfect but more detail is needed for construction

This topic was initially discussed here:

https://community.osarch.org/discussion/comment/18864#Comment_18864

[Moult]

So a general comment including #4207 and #4208 is that the current definition of doors and windows is based on the IFC standard case.

The standard case is objectively not the "best" door / window generator, but it is standard, so I think it is a good idea to support as a starting point, so that's what we've got right now.

I think it's good to have our own take on doors and windows. Would you be interested in helping design what that looks like? Ideally it would be not too dissimilar from the standard case, but it may also be totally fine to depart from it completely. It would be also awesome if we looked closer at FreeCAD (ping @yorikvanhavre ) - as I know FreeCAD definitely has a door / window generator. Maybe they've solved it already, or maybe you can use it as inspiration and come up with improvements, and then help both projects!

BTW I would prefer "simple" window / door generators that use basic forms (e.g. single rebate, double rebate) and are material typology specific (e.g. don't built a one size fits all, build a generator tailored towards wood, steel, and aluminium). I would also prefer as a starting point something that is purely based on parameters and not referencing geometric templates (e.g. use profile X as the extrusion) - later on something that references geometry can be a more advanced "generator".

[Plae-Blue-Dot]

Thanks for the thought Dion!

I think the standard case is a great start and #4208 doesn't suggest changing how that works just requests some additional scope/capability for a faster workflow. ( I think this is very needed)

"Would you be interested in helping design what that looks like?"
Definitely! I'm about to be in construction with a number of projects and tonnes of windows so I'd be more than interested to help.
I'll have a look at freecad to see if they are doing something good

"BTW I would prefer "simple" window / door generators that use basic forms..."
I agree with all of this Dion, the profiles request in this issue is mainly a 'nice to have' and a much more mature/ down the line feature. It also doesn't need to eventually work with a drawn profile but it would make this part of Blenderbim very powerful

As for this issue regarding opening and fixed windows
#4207
This is really trying to automate what is being done manually, in arguably the least interesting part of drawing haha, having to manually draw in the opening directions after using such an efficient window generator feels like blasphemy

[Moult]

BTW #4208 request 2 includes more panels, which is currently out of scope of the standard case.

[yorikvanhavre]

A little explanation of how the windows generator works in FreeCAD. A window is constructed from a series of components. Components can be frames or panels (or louvres, or - in the future, not yet implemented - whatever custom thing you want). They are basically extrusions of a profile. If the profile is one single closed polyline, the component is a panel, if there is an outer polyline and one or more inner polylines, it's a frame (the inner polylines define holes).

For each component, you can also give a material, and define an edge that serves as an opening "hinge" (so far no sliding support, the component gets simply rotted along that edge).

You can also turn on/off a feature to display an arc showing the opening in plan view, and a V showing the opening direction in elevation view.

Windows and doors are exactly the same thing in FreeCAD. Just the IFC type changes.

So far, all this is exported to IFC as one big blob object (with a series of IfcFacetedBreps inside).

[Plae-Blue-Dot]

BTW #4208 request 2 includes more panels, which is currently out of scope of the standard case.

I see, ok ya, this requires some thought, I think more panels are essential for anything more complicated than a small residential window

[Plae-Blue-Dot]

A little explanation of how the windows generator works in FreeCAD. A window is constructed from a series of components. Components can be frames or panels (or louvres, or - in the future, not yet implemented - whatever custom thing you want). They are basically extrusions of a profile. If the profile is one single closed polyline, the component is a panel, if there is an outer polyline and one or more inner polylines, it's a frame (the inner polylines define holes).

For each component, you can also give a material, and define an edge that serves as an opening "hinge" (so far no sliding support, the component gets simply rotted along that edge).

You can also turn on/off a feature to display an arc showing the opening in plan view, and a V showing the opening direction in elevation view.

Windows and doors are exactly the same thing in FreeCAD. Just the IFC type changes.

So far, all this is exported to IFC as one big blob object (with a series of IfcFacetedBreps inside).

It sounds like it has a few of these feature requests for BBim built in already, the hinge and the V!

I think having to draw a sketch before making a window gives a lot of control but takes way more time than typing the Height and width into a box. If the opening annotation is saved with the ifc It might be quicker to document windows in freedcad and bring it back to Blenderbim at the moment

@Moult I'm not a programmer, so I'm not sure besides: trying out workflows and giving feedback, how I can help with this, but is it possible to bring in the freecad code that allows you to designate an edge? And generate the elevation direction V?