Everyone reviews, nobody owns the result
The coordinator runs a check on a desktop machine and posts a screenshot. Nobody else can open the same clash, and the discipline that has to move the duct finds out from an email.
BIM coordination
Clash detection in IFC models, run in the browser
Clash detection finds the places where two models occupy the same space: a duct through a beam, a pipe through a wall. In Fidrel you open the models together as a federated model, choose what to check against what, set a tolerance in millimeters and run the check. Each clash is listed with its overlap, and any of them can become an NCR for the person who has to resolve it.
30 days free · No long-term contract.
Where clash checks go wrong
Touching is not clashing
A hanger that rests on a slab or a duct that grazes a wall is not a clash a designer needs to fix. When the report is full of those, the real ones are lost and the team stops trusting the list.
A clash with no record of what was done
A clash is discussed on a call, agreed and forgotten. The next model issue shows it again, and no one can say who took it or whether the answer was ever recorded.
What counts as a clash
Objects that only touch do not count. A clash must go deeper than the tolerance, measured where the objects meet, so a duct that only grazes a wall is not a clash whatever the wall’s angle or shape. The test compares each object with its neighbors using the objects’ triangles, and it also catches a solid that sits completely inside another, such as a duplicate or a pipe inside a wall. The first 100 clashes are listed, and Show more adds 200 at a time.
BIM & 3D
From a clash to someone’s task
Press Create deviation on a clash and Fidrel opens an NCR form titled with the two objects, for example a supply air duct against a core wall, with the current view of the model saved in it. The NCR gets a responsible person and a due date like any other, and the person is notified in Fidrel. Show whole model returns the view to everything that is shown.
Running a clash check
Step 1
Open the models together
In BIM models, press Federated model to open every ready model in one scene. Each IFC model is positioned by its own coordinates, so the architectural, structural and MEP models must share the same origin to line up.
Step 2
Choose what to check against what
Open Clashes, pick a model and an object type under Check and a model and object type under Against, for example MEP ducts against structure. Leave All object types if you want every class.
Step 3
Set the tolerance and run the check
Enter a Tolerance (mm) from 0 to 500 and press Run check. Overlaps smaller than the tolerance are not counted, and a progress bar runs while the geometry is compared in your browser.
Step 4
Read, assign and export
Open a clash to see the two objects, their levels, classes and the Overlap in millimeters, then press Create deviation to open an NCR form titled with the two objects. Export report (CSV) saves the whole list for the coordination meeting.
Working without desktop coordination software
The models open in the browser with nothing to install, so a project engineer, a subcontractor’s BIM lead or the owner can run the same check. Up to twelve models open in one scene, and a model can be as large as 512 MB. The check runs on your computer, so very large models need a computer with enough memory, and the upload dialog warns when a file is large.
What clash detection in Fidrel does not do
Clash detection runs on IFC models only; Revit, Navisworks and other native files must be exported to IFC first. Fidrel does not export clashes as BCF; the report is a CSV file. There are no clash rules, no 4D clash test against the schedule and no automatic grouping of clashes. Rooms, zones, openings, annotations, grids and the site, building and storey objects are never checked.
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Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usYes, if your models are IFC files. Upload them to the project, open the federated model and run the check in the browser. Models in other formats must be exported to IFC first, because Fidrel does not open them.
That is your decision. Fidrel starts at 10 mm and accepts values from 0 to 500 mm. Overlaps smaller than the tolerance are left out, so a higher tolerance gives a shorter list of deeper clashes.
The listed clashes with the two objects and the overlap in millimeters, exported as a CSV file. It is not a BCF file, so import it into another tool as a table, not as issues.
Yes. A clash can start an NCR with a responsible person and a due date, and the record keeps the view of the model with it. The button is labeled Create deviation in the viewer.
Rooms and zones, openings, annotations, grids, virtual elements and the site, building and storey objects. Every other IFC class can be picked as either side of the check.