IFC alignments let you view the centerline geometry of infrastructure elements such as roads, railways, and highways in Solibri Desktop. When you open an IFC model that contains alignment data, Solibri imports the alignment hierarchy and displays the centerline as 3D line geometry in the 3D view.
Note
IFC alignment support is available from Solibri 26.6 in all Solibri Desktop products.
An IFC alignment describes the reference path of a linear infrastructure asset. In Solibri, alignments are imported from IFC4 and IFC4x3 models and shown as line geometry in the 3D view.
Alignments are useful when you need to:
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Inspect the designed centerline of a road, rail, or similar asset
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Review horizontal and vertical alignment data together with the surrounding model
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Select alignment entities and read their properties in the Info view
Alignments do not include solid building geometry. Solibri visualizes them as lines derived from the alignment segments in the IFC file.
Depending on how the IFC file was authored, an alignment can include:
Table 2.
|
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Alignment |
Main alignment entity and entry point in the Model Tree |
|
Alignment Horizontal |
Horizontal path and segment data |
|
Alignment Vertical |
Vertical profile data |
|
Alignment Segment |
Individual horizontal or vertical segments |
|
Alignment Cant |
Cant (superelevation) data, when included in the file |
In the Model Tree, alignments appear under their containing model. Expand an Alignment entry to see nested Alignment Horizontal and Alignment Vertical entities. Alignment Segment entries appear under the horizontal or vertical layout they belong to. Alignment Cant entries appear only if the source IFC file includes cant data.
The 3D centerline is built from horizontal segments (and their heights from vertical segments). Cant data can be inspected in the Info view, but it does not change the displayed centerline.
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Solibri Desktop 26.6 or later
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An IFC model that contains `IfcAlignment` data (IFC4 or IFC4x3)
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Alignment geometry authored as nested alignment segments or as alignment representation data supported by the importer
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Open an IFC model that contains alignment data
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In the Model Tree, locate Alignment entries for the model
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Expand an Alignment to see Alignment Horizontal, Alignment Vertical, and nested Alignment Segment entries. Alignment Cant appears only if the file contains cant data
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Select an alignment or segment in the Model Tree
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Review its properties in the Info view
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The alignment centerline displays in the 3D view
To focus on a selected alignment, right-click it in the Model Tree and choose Zoom to Component, or use the equivalent command from the 3D view toolbar
When you select an alignment entity, the Info view shows its IFC properties. Depending on the entity type, you can review:
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Identification — Name, type, and related metadata
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Location — Position and spatial context
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Relations — Links to related IFC entities
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BIM Data and Other Properties — Authoring properties from the source file
Use the Model Tree when you need to inspect a specific segment without selecting thin line geometry in the 3D view.
Tip
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Select alignments in the Model Tree if they are difficult to pick in the 3D view.
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Use Zoom to Component to focus on the selected alignment.
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Expand Alignment Segment entries under Alignment Horizontal or Alignment Vertical to inspect individual segments.
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If cant data is present, select Alignment Cant entities to review superelevation properties in the Info view. Cant data does not affect the displayed centerline.
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For general IFC version and schema support, see IFC Standards Supported by Solibri.