BIM coordination

Combine multiple IFC models in one view

Architecture, structure and MEP arrive as separate files from separate consultants, and coordination starts when they sit in one scene. In Fidrel you upload one IFC file per discipline and open them together in the browser, with nothing to install, each model placed where its own coordinates put it. This page covers how to set that up, how to tell the disciplines apart, and what the combined view is not.

Get started free View our plans

30 days free · No long-term contract.

The Fidrel BIM viewer on a laptop, tablet and phone, with a 3D building model on screen

Why coordination stalls before it starts

Models that do not line up

A structural model exported from one origin and an MEP model exported from another land in different places. The coordinator spends the first hour of the meeting hunting for the offset instead of looking at the clash.

Everything is the same gray

Once several models are open, a duct, a beam and a partition look alike. Without a way to separate the disciplines at a glance, nobody can say whose object is running through whose.

The viewer is somebody’s license

Coordination often happens in a desktop viewer that only the BIM team has. The superintendent, the owner’s rep and the subcontractor’s foreman are the ones who need to see the model, and they cannot install anything.

What combined means here

Combining means that up to twelve models open in the same scene, each positioned where its own coordinates place it. It is a view, not a new file. Each model stays as the discipline uploaded it, with its own objects, levels and properties, and you can still click any object to read its attributes. The Models tab lists each model with its discipline and object count; selecting a name zooms to that model, and a switch hides it. The Model tree tab sits beside it for browsing by level and object type.

BIM & 3D

A combined model in the Fidrel viewer, with the model tree grouped by level and a count of objects and levels

Separating the disciplines by color

The color coding panel offers Original, Model, Level and Object type. The Model choice appears only when more than one model is open. Choosing it gives every discipline a color, and the legend lists each group with its count of objects. Level and Object type cut across the models, which is useful when you want every wall on level 3 in one color regardless of who modeled it. X-ray, hide and isolate help when one system is buried behind another.

The BIM models page in Fidrel, one model per discipline, each with its version and an Open in 3D button

How to open several models together in Fidrel

Step 1
Export one IFC per discipline
Ask each discipline for an IFC 2x3, IFC 4 or IFC 4.3 file, one per discipline, from the same coordinate system and origin. Native files from Revit, Archicad, Tekla or Navisworks are not read; they must be exported to IFC first.
Step 2
Upload each model with its discipline
On the BIM models page choose Upload model, drop the file, set the model name and choose its Discipline. Fidrel builds the 3D model in your browser, so keep the tab open until the model shows as Ready.
Step 3
Open the Federated model
Choose Federated model, which opens every ready model together. A Loading message counts the models while they come in, and if one fails the viewer says One model could not be loaded and shows the rest.
Step 4
Tell the disciplines apart
Open Colors and, under Color by, choose Model. Each model gets its own color, the legend counts its objects, and clicking a legend entry hides or shows that group. The Models tab lists each model with a switch to show or hide it.
Step 5
Check how they fit
Place a Section box, measure distances and areas, or run Clash detection between the models you choose, with a tolerance in millimeters. The clash list exports as a CSV report.

Coordinates decide where models sit

Fidrel places each model by the coordinates in its file. The upload guide gives the rule in one line: every discipline must use the same coordinate system and origin, or the models will sit in the wrong place in the federated model. If a file is off, the fix is a new export from the discipline, uploaded as a new version of the same model so the history and the linked issues stay with it.

What the combined view does not do

The models are shown together in one scene; Fidrel does not merge them into a single file or export the combined model. Only IFC files are read, so native design files must be exported to IFC first. Up to twelve models fit in one scene, and each IFC file can be up to 512 MB. For very large models the guide suggests splitting by building or level, because the model is built in your own browser.

One project. One subscription. The entire platform included.

Your trial applies to your first own project and starts when that project is created. No card required. Afterwards, choose card or invoice to continue.

Get started free View our plans