bimstore bible v14 now available to download

Find out what changes have been incorporated into the latest release

We’re sure by now you know all about the bimstore bible but just in case you don’t, let us tell you a little bit more about it.

Here at bimstore we truly believe that each and every piece of content should be created to the same exacting standards, which is why, way back when, we created the bimstore bible. At the time, when we released the very first incarnation of this document, we were the only content creator and distributor to openly publish guidelines for BIM content.

The bimstore bible is a 54 page document which defines the guidelines and standards that we follow when creating models for our manufacturers’ BIM objects. This bible gives our content creators all the information they need in order to meet, and in many cases, exceed, current UK standards on content creation and ensures that all BIM components are created to the highest possible quality.

Our bimstore bible is ever-evolving, moving swiftly with the times and industry as it changes. Today we have just released v14 which incorporates several significant changes as follows:

Fabrication to BIM - We have added some clarity and guidance regarding creation of BIM content from fabrication platforms such as Adsk Inventor, and SolidWorks etc. (section 3.2).

NBS Create advanced support - Although we have built in NBS create parameters that allow BIM content by to be utilised by NBS create for a number of years, we have now added a few of the optional parameters that improve comparability and functionality.

IFC data requirements clarified - Although we have always made reference that all content should contain the relevant parameters in accordance with the IFC TC1 schema, we noticed people struggled to understand this rather techy 3rd party document so have now clarified (with examples) in the bible the mandatory IFC parameters required to comply. The most important for comparability been:

IfcExportAs (mandatory) IfcExportType (mandatory) NominalLength NominalHeight NominalDepth

Some COBie date requirements that we previously categorised as optional are now mandatory. We made this change to align our object data with the min expected data from industry.

Object & Parameter naming – BS8541:1-2012 states that object naming can use either CamelCase or a "-" as a deliminator. We previously went with "-", however we now mandate CamelCase for object naming, replacing the _ deliminator previously adopted going forward. This is to follow industry preference towards CamelCase. Although we have always used camel case for COBie and industry parameters, we are now mandating this for all custom/manufacturer specific parameter naming also.

User guides now officially mandatory - Although we always asked for user guide to accompany all our objects we host, this was never mentioned as a requirement in our bible, this has now been added as a requirement for hosting (section 14.4).

In addition, we have also made some more minor changes to the bible including;

• Clarification and advice around object file size to explain issues and show how to ensure the object is modelled efficiently
• References to our international sites (section 12)
• Information regarding custom hosting using the existing bimstore API (section 14.2)
• Information about project Frog (section 14.3)
• Updated the wording in the PDT section to suit new industry terminology
• Updated images and screenshots throughout

As has always been the case, our bimstore bible is available to download freely on our website at any time. You can download v14 now by clicking here. If you have any feedback at all, feel free to drop us a tweet or leave a comment below!

About bimstore: bimstore is the UK’s original BIM object library. Developed by specifiers for specifiers, we create and host high quality manufacturer specific BIM content, making it easy to browse and download the world’s best collection of BIM components. If you need any help with BIM content creation then get in touch with the bimstore team today.