BIM model (IFC): quantities and 3D viewer
The quantities are already written inside the model. Every wall knows its own square metres, every slab its cubic metres. Measuring them again by hand on a printed drawing is redoing work that was already done. In the "BIM model" tab under Drawings you upload the .ifc file and the server reads it: out comes a table by element type, family and level, with counts, m², m³ and metres. From there you wire each row to the budget line item it belongs to. You don't need to know how to model, and you don't need Revit open: this is for whoever prices the job and whoever runs the site.
- The "BIM model" tab lives inside Drawings. It takes .ifc files from Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla or any software that exports IFC, up to 400 MB.
- It uses no credits. The quantities were already in the file; here they are simply read and added up.
- The table comes out by type (wall, slab, column…), family and level, with Count, Area, Volume and Length.
- To wire a row into the budget you pick the magnitude FIRST (Area, Volume, Length or Count) and the line item second. Only line items billed in a compatible unit show up.
- The numbers come from the SERVER, not from the 3D viewer. The 3D only draws.
- If the model came in millimetres, the app says so and has already converted to metres. Read that before you use the figures.
- The whole table — with whatever filter you have on — downloads with "Export to Excel".
- 1
Upload the model
Go to Drawings and switch to the "BIM model" tab. Tap "Upload IFC model" and pick the file. You'll see "Uploading the file…" and then "Reading the model on the server…": a large model takes tens of seconds, and that's normal. You can upload several — one per discipline, say architectural and structural — and switch between them with the pills at the top.
- 2
Read the header before the table
Above the numbers is what you need in order to trust them: how many elements it holds, how many groups, how many levels, the file schema and — most importantly — "File units". If it says millimetres or feet, the model did not come in metres and Matterial has already converted it. Below that, the reader's notices appear in amber: they aren't errors, they're things worth knowing before you price anything.
- 3
Filter down to the group you care about
"All levels" and "All types" narrow things down by floor and by element; the search box filters by type or family ("wall 15", "slab"). The Total row at the bottom adds up what's visible, not the whole model — so you can see at a glance how many m² of wall there are on level 2. "Clear" removes the filters.
- 4
Wire each row into the budget
The "Feeds line item" column has two steps, in this order. First you pick the magnitude — Area, Volume, Length or Count — and only the ones that group actually has are offered. Then you pick the line item, and only those billed in a compatible unit appear: a group measured in m² cannot feed a line item priced per linear metre, which is why it isn't on the list. If you change the magnitude later, a line item that no longer fits releases itself.
- 5
Export to Excel if you need it outside
"Export to Excel" downloads the table exactly as you're looking at it: type, family, level, count, area, volume, length and the line item each row feeds. Useful for cross-checking against the designer's own takeoff, or for sending to someone who doesn't log into the platform.
- 6
Look at the building in "3D model"
The other tab is for understanding, not for counting. It doesn't load on its own: the "View in 3D" button tells you how many MB the file weighs before downloading it, because the 3D really does download in full to your device. Once open, the pills at the top let you isolate a single level, you tap an element to see what it is and which floor it's on, and "Fit" brings the camera back if you get lost. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, right-click to pan; on a phone, one finger orbits and two zoom.
Frequently asked questions
Do the budget numbers come from the 3D viewer?
No, and it's worth being clear about it. The quantities are computed by the server when you upload the file, reading it in full. The 3D viewer is a different thing: it downloads the model to your device purely to draw it, and a browser can run out of memory mid-load and show you an incomplete building without saying so. That's fine for looking; never for billing. If the 3D won't open or shows only part of the model, the quantities in the other tab are still valid.
Does uploading a model use credits?
No. There's no AI here: the quantities are already written in the file, and this reads and adds them. Charging for that would be charging for arithmetic.
It says the model came in millimetres. Is that a problem?
It's a notice, and an important one. An IFC stores quantities in the project's units, not in metres: an exporter working in millimetres writes areas in mm², so a 12 m² wall comes out as 12,000,000. Left unconverted, that number times a unit price gives you a budget a million times too expensive without a single visible error. Matterial detects the file's unit, converts to metres and tells you where it came from. The figures in the table are already converted; the notice is there so that, if someone questions a figure, you can say which units the modeller wrote it in. One more thing: if the file doesn't declare its units, metres are assumed and it tells you that too — in that case, check a couple of quantities against the model before pricing.
Lots of elements show up as "No level". What do I do?
It means the model doesn't say which floor they belong to: nobody tied them to a level on export. They can still be quantified — the totals are complete — what you can't do is split them by floor. If you need the split by level, ask the designer to export with elements contained in their levels and upload the file again. In the meantime, work with the filter by type, which still works.
The 3D says "This model has no shapes". Is the file broken?
No. That IFC was exported with the properties but without the geometry needed to draw it, which happens often when someone exports purely to quantify. The file is fine and the figures in the "Quantities" tab are still valid. All you lose is being able to see it.
Why isn't the line item I want on the list?
Almost always it's the unit. The list only shows line items billed in a unit compatible with the magnitude you chose: pick Area and you get the ones in m²; pick Length and you get the ones in linear metres. If it says "No budget line item is billed in this unit", change the magnitude or check the line item's unit. If it says the project has no budget yet, create the line items first.
A wall has several areas in the model. Which one does Matterial use?
The net one over the gross one, always and consistently. A wall can carry NetSideArea, GrossSideArea, GrossFootprintArea… all of them legitimate areas, and adding them up would count the same wall three times. One is chosen per element, and the net one wins, because the gross one ignores openings: a wall with three windows doesn't get plastered or painted in full. Same with volume.
Does it count door and window openings as material?
No. Revit exports each opening as an element with its own volume; adding those up would mean budgeting for the air in the windows. Those elements are discarded on read, along with everything that isn't bought or built (the project, the site, the spaces, the grid meshes).
The notice says the model has more groups than are shown.
It's a very large model and the table has hit its ceiling. Filter by level or by type and go through it in parts: what you see filtered is correct. If you have to quantify a building that size, it's worth uploading it by discipline in separate files.
What happens if I delete the model?
The file and its quantities go, and the budget line items it was feeding are left without this source. The budget isn't deleted: it just loses the link. If you upload the file again, the groups have to be wired up again.