BricsCAD BIM: Managing Door Cut-Outs

Have you ever inserted a door in a hallway or closet wall in BricsCAD BIM, and then the back wall disappears?

When components such as windows and doors are inserted, we are inserting parametric blocks that contain user-managed parameters to configure size; but there is not a parameter for the volume of space cut out of the walls when the component is placed.

The cut-out is made possible with a solid.  This solid is placed on a layer named BC_SUBTRACT which is frozen by default.  If you thaw this layer, you will see this:

What we can do is use the Push/Pull command on the face of the solid behind the door to make this cut-out narrower. Using the Bedit command to open the block and make this edit will do the trick but will only solve the problem for this drawing. Editing the source file which is a drawing file that resides in C:\Program Files will work only if you have read-write access to that folder, but the possibility that future updates could overwrite your changes does exist. The best method for modifying any of the components that ship with BricsCAD is establishing a shared folder for component customization and saving the modified files there.

Establishing a Shared Location

This will be the location where your team will access the BricsCAD components that you have customized. Open the Library panel, click the ellipsis, and click Manage Libraries.

This will open the Settings dialog with the Library Directory Path selected. Click the ellipsis on the right to configure this path.

Using the Add Path icon will add an additional line to the list which will bear an ellipsis on the right that you would use to add your path.

The original component files will still exist in the BricsCAD program folders, but components placed in the shared location will be available to all who have this path configured. To update the components on the Doors panel of the Library, click the ellipsis and click Generate Thumbnails.

Copying and Editing the Component File

There is a hard-to-find command called bmOpenCopy which can be typed at the command line or accessed from the QUAD after selecting the component in your drawing, as shown below:

A copy of the component file is opened. To resolve the issue with the cut-out solid, do the following:

1. Thaw the BC_SUBTRACT
2. Orbit the model by simultaneously pressing the shift key and left mouse button until you see the back of the solid.
   
3. Click the Prioritize Selection of Faces icon on the Quick Launch.
   
   
4. Activate the Push/Pull command from the Modeling ribbon > Edit panel.
   
5. With the pickbox, hover over the back face of the structure. Its outline will highlight. If it doesn’t, press the tab key repeatedly until you see the highlight, then click the left mouse button to select.
   
6. Press Enter once selected and the Press/Pull command will kick in allowing you to narrow up the solid.
   
7. After establishing the new cut-out volume, do the following:
   • Freeze the BC_SUBTRACT
   • Restore the Top
   • Update any other parametric components needed such as Width (W), FrameDepth, or FrameThickness.
   • Activate the Saveas command and browse to your shared location for your custom components, create a unique name for the component, and click Save. Close the drawing.
     

Updating the Model with the Custom Component

After creating the custom version of the block, we must update the drawing. The most efficient way to do this is to use the bmReplace command which can be typed at the command line or accessed from the QUAD after selecting the component in your drawing, as shown below:

1. At the command line, choose the from File
2. In the Select File for Component dialog, browse to the shared location for your custom components, select the updated file, and click Open.
   
3. The component updates and the wall behind the door is restored.
   

When using any BIM software, customization of the provided tools will be necessary to build models and generate construction documents. Knowing how to accomplish this and publish the results in a shared location will help you and your team to stay productive.