BIM Expert is BuildSoft’s plug-in-based software for exchanging structural models between packages such as Tekla Structures, Tekla Structural Designer, Idea StatiCa, SAP2000, ETABS, and BuildSoft’s own Diamonds and PowerConnect. It runs as a background Windows service, keeps a shared “translator” model so every plug-in speaks the same language, and supports round-trips back to older software versions. Here’s what that gets you in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BIM Expert is a plug-in-based software for structural BIM interoperability. Each plugin represents a different software package (“language’) and BIM Expert functions as the translator. BIM Expert currently supports model exchange through plug-ins from and to Tekla Structures, Tekla Structural Designer, Idea StatiCa (Connection & others), SAP2000 and Etabs, CXL format, and of course, our very own Diamonds<\/a> and PowerConnect<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When adding a new plug-in, the well-designed BIM Expert plug-in system opens a world of communication possibilities. Each time you add a plug-in to the current ones, you double the number of sharing possibilities. If you have \u201cn\u201d plug-ins, you will have 2x \u201cn\u201d possible exchange paths. This is what makes the BIM Expert solution so unique in its kind and its possibilities. Interoperability and making roundtrips have never been easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With BIM Expert, you get convenience at the tip of your fingers. Since it\u2019s a Windows service, it means the software is running in the background, and you don\u2019t have to worry about it. It\u2019s always at your disposal when you need to do model exchanges on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there are problems and the service stops running, once it resumes, it will continue from where it left off due to its excellent synchronization capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When working with building information modeling (BIM), it\u2019s essential to have software that ties everything together, such as BIM Expert. Any model you create in Diamonds or Tekla Structures, for example, can then be sent to BIM Expert via the correspondent plug-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working with building information modeling software is vital to streamline communication in your structural engineering project and avoid technical \u201chiccups\u201d or bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The advantages of using BIM software go beyond convenience and streamlined communication. BIM Expert manages a shared database and uses a “common language” for all plugins through a unified data model (Unified BuildSoft Model) to ensure interoperability between the software packages it works with. In this way, there is a single “language” for all plugins involved in the model exchange process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every BIM Expert plug-in supports multiple and earlier versions of the end product. For example, the Tekla Structures plug-in supports exchanging files back to version 20.1! You can now easily send them to BIM Expert. That means, thanks to BIM Expert, you can exchange models from Tekla Structures 2021 to version 20.1. As this version also has its own mapping files, cross-sections, and materials, they are neatly converted so that you can work further in Tekla Structures 20.1. There is similar support for SAP 2000 (v20 \u2013 v23) and Idea StatiCa (v9 \u2013 v21) for improved interoperability with other commonly used structural analysis software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. BIM software is always on standby<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Plug-ins streamline communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Shared library and language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Backwards version support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n