Adding site objects to a 3D model

You can add site objects, such as cranes, portacabins, security fences, scaffolding, parked cars, etc, to 3D models to give a better visual representation of how a site will appear at various stages of a project. Site objects exist as individual 3D models; you add them to a 3D model by creating an IFC group model and adding the site object to the IFC group model. You can add site objects to IFC group models that contain multiple individual IFC models, or to IFC group models that contain only one IFC model.

If you have added site objects to a 3D model, you can associate these with tasks in the same way as you associate 3D objects to tasks - using IFC product searches and IFC product selections. This allows you to associate site objects with tasks that correspond to the delivery, use and/or removal of the site objects.

If you have added site objects to a 3D model and associated these with tasks in the project, the site objects are included in the timeline simulation.

You cannot split or merge site objects.

To add a site object to a 3D model:

If the 3D model is not already part of an IFC group model, create an IFC group model and add the 3D model to it.
Display the IFC group model in the IFC Model pane.
On the 4D tab, in the Model group, click Model Properties. The IFC Group Model Properties dialog appears.
Click the Site Objects tab. The grid on this tab displays details of any site objects that have already been added to the IFC group model.

If a large number of site objects have been added, you can locate the site object you want by typing in the Filter field. For example, if you enter P into the field, the grid will display only those site objects that start with the letter P.
Click Add. A new row appears in the grid.
Double-click New... in the IFC Site Object column and select Select New from the dropdown that appears. The Select IFC dialog appears.
Browse for the 3D model that represents the site object that you want to add to the IFC group model, then select it and click OK. Asta Powerproject 4D checks that the selected 3D model is in a valid format and if it is, displays it in the IFC Model pane, adds a new row relating to it to the Site Objects tab of the IFC Group Model Properties dialog, and closes the Select IFC dialog.
Enter a name and description for the site object in the Name and Description columns if required. You may find it useful to use these columns to record when the site object is required, or what it is required for.

The name that you enter in the Name column is used to identify the site object if you animate it to reflect its movements on site, so if you intend to animate a site object, ensure that you enter a name for it in this column.
Specify a colour in which the display the site object in the Colour field. Site objects are not necessarily displayed in the colour that you select here; they may also be coloured according to code library or IFC entity and type.
Use the Location field to specify the location of the site object in the 3D model. Specifying a location here does not move the site object in the IFC Model pane; it merely indicates whereabouts in the 3D model the site object is located. For example, you may want to specify that it is located on the first floor, or in the basement. If you specify a location for each site object, you can then use the IFC Categories pane to display or hide site objects, based on the location category.
Click Set Position to display the Site Object Positioning dialog, which you can use to position and resize the selected site object.
Click Movements to display the Site Object Actions dialog, which you can use to animate the selected site object to reflect its movements on site.
Click IFC Properties to display the IFC Object Properties dialog, which you can use to maintain the properties of the selected site object.
Follow steps 5 to 12 to add more site objects to the IFC group model if required. If you have already added a particular site object to a 3D model, you can add additional copies of that site object easily by selecting the site object rather than Select New in step 6 above. This can be useful when adding site objects such as scaffolding, fences or trees, which you may want to add to a 3D model more than once.
Click Close when you have added all required site objects to the IFC group model.

Site objects and Library Explorer

When you add a site object to a 3D model, a new entry is added to the IFC Site Object library in Library Explorer. You can view all available site objects in Library Explorer and maintain their details; you can also copy site objects from one project and paste them into another by copying and pasting IFC Site Object library objects. If you want to delete a site object from a project, first remove it from the IFC group model then delete its IFC Site Object library object from Library Explorer.