IfcProduct

Natural language names
Produkt (allgemein)
Product
Produit
Semantic definitions at the entity
Entity definition

The IfcProduct is an abstract representation of any object that relates to a geometric or spatial context. An IfcProduct occurs at a specific location in space if it has a geometric representation assigned. It can be placed relatively to other products, but ultimately relative to the project coordinate system. The ObjectPlacement attribute establishes the coordinate system in which all points and directions used by the geometric representation items under Representation are founded. The Representation is provided by an IfcProductDefinitionShape being either a geometric shape representation, or a topology representation (with or without underlying geometry of the topological items).

Products include manufactured, supplied or created objects (referred to as elements) for incorporation into an AEC/FM project. This also includes objects that are created indirectly by other products, as spaces are defined by bounding elements. Products can be designated for permanent use or temporary use, an example for the latter is formwork. Products are defined by their properties and representations.

In addition to physical products (covered by the subtype IfcElement) and spatial items (covered by the subtype IfcSpatialElement) the IfcProduct also includes non-physical items, that relate to a geometric or spatial contexts, such as grid, port, annotation, structural actions, etc.

Any instance of IfcProduct defines a particular occurrence of a product, the common type information, that relates to many similar (or identical) occurrences of IfcProduct, is handled by the IfcTypeProduct (and its subtypes), assigned to one or many occurrences of IfcProduct by using the objectified relationship IfcRelDefinesByType. The IfcTypeProduct may provide, in addition to common properties, also a common geometric representation for all occurrences.

NOTE  See IfcTypeProduct for how to use a common geometric representation and IfcRelDefinesByType for using and overriding common properties.

On a generic level products can be assigned to processes, controls, resources, project by using the relationship objects that refer to the corresponding object:

EXAMPLE  An example of the control relationship is the assignment of a performance history to a distribution element. An example of process assignment relationship is the assignment of products like wall, slab, column to a contruction task for construction planning. And an example of resource assignment relationship is the assignment of products to a construction resource that consumes the product.

HISTORY  New entity in IFC1.0

Attribute definitions
#AttributeTypeCardinalityDescription G
6ObjectPlacementIfcObjectPlacement? Placement of the product in space, the placement can either be absolute (relative to the world coordinate system), relative (relative to the object placement of another product), or constraint (e.g. relative to grid axes). It is determined by the various subtypes of IfcObjectPlacement, which includes the axis placement information to determine the transformation for the object coordinate system. X
7RepresentationIfcProductRepresentation? Reference to the representations of the product, being either a representation (IfcProductRepresentation) or as a special case a shape representations (IfcProductDefinitionShape). The product definition shape provides for multiple geometric representations of the shape property of the object within the same object coordinate system, defined by the object placement. X
ReferencedByIfcRelAssignsToProduct
@RelatingProduct
S[0:?]Reference to the IfcRelAssignsToProduct relationship, by which other products, processes, controls, resources or actors (as subtypes of IfcObjectDefinition) can be related to this product. X
PositionedRelativeToIfcRelPositions
@RelatedProducts
S[0:?]X
ReferencedInStructuresIfcRelReferencedInSpatialStructure
@RelatedElements
S[0:?]X
Formal Propositions
RuleDescription
PlacementForShapeRepresentationIf a Representation is given being an IfcProductDefinitionShape, then also an ObjectPlacement has to be given. The ObjectPlacement defines the object coordinate system in which the geometric representation items of the IfcProductDefinitionShape are founded.
NOTE  If the Representation of several subtypes of IfcProduct have the same coordinate system it is permitted to share an instance of IfcObjectPlacement.
Inherited definitions from supertypes
Entity inheritance IfcAnnotation IfcComplementaryData IfcElement IfcLinearElement IfcPort IfcPositioningElement IfcSpatialElement IfcStructuralActivity IfcStructuralItem IfcObject IfcObjectDefinition IfcRoot
Attribute inheritance
#AttributeTypeCardinalityDescriptionG
IfcRoot
1GlobalIdIfcGloballyUniqueId Assignment of a globally unique identifier within the entire software world. X
2OwnerHistoryIfcOwnerHistory? Assignment of the information about the current ownership of that object, including owning actor, application, local identification and information captured about the recent changes of the object,
NOTE  only the last modification in stored - either as addition, deletion or modification.
IFC4 CHANGE  The attribute has been changed to be OPTIONAL.
X
3NameIfcLabel? Optional name for use by the participating software systems or users. For some subtypes of IfcRoot the insertion of the Name attribute may be required. This would be enforced by a where rule. X
4DescriptionIfcText? Optional description, provided for exchanging informative comments. X
IfcObjectDefinition
HasAssignmentsIfcRelAssigns
@RelatedObjects
S[0:?]Reference to the relationship objects, that assign (by an association relationship) other subtypes of IfcObject to this object instance. Examples are the association to products, processes, controls, resources or groups. X
NestsIfcRelNests
@RelatedObjects
S[0:1]References to the decomposition relationship being a nesting. It determines that this object definition is a part within an ordered whole/part decomposition relationship. An object occurrence or type can only be part of a single decomposition (to allow hierarchical strutures only).
IFC4 CHANGE  The inverse attribute datatype has been added and separated from Decomposes defined at IfcObjectDefinition.
X
IsNestedByIfcRelNests
@RelatingObject
S[0:?]References to the decomposition relationship being a nesting. It determines that this object definition is the whole within an ordered whole/part decomposition relationship. An object or object type can be nested by several other objects (occurrences or types).
IFC4 CHANGE  The inverse attribute datatype has been added and separated from IsDecomposedBy defined at IfcObjectDefinition.
X
HasContextIfcRelDeclares
@RelatedDefinitions
S[0:1]References to the context providing context information such as project unit or representation context. It should only be asserted for the uppermost non-spatial object.
IFC4 CHANGE  The inverse attribute datatype has been added.
X
IsDecomposedByIfcRelAggregates
@RelatingObject
S[0:?]References to the decomposition relationship being an aggregation. It determines that this object definition is whole within an unordered whole/part decomposition relationship. An object definitions can be aggregated by several other objects (occurrences or parts).
IFC4 CHANGE  The inverse attribute datatype has been changed from the supertype IfcRelDecomposes to subtype IfcRelAggregates.
X
DecomposesIfcRelAggregates
@RelatedObjects
S[0:1]References to the decomposition relationship being an aggregation. It determines that this object definition is a part within an unordered whole/part decomposition relationship. An object definitions can only be part of a single decomposition (to allow hierarchical strutures only).
IFC4 CHANGE  The inverse attribute datatype has been changed from the supertype IfcRelDecomposes to subtype IfcRelAggregates.
X
HasAssociationsIfcRelAssociates
@RelatedObjects
S[0:?]Reference to the relationship objects, that associates external references or other resource definitions to the object.. Examples are the association to library, documentation or classification. X
IfcObject
5ObjectTypeIfcLabel? The type denotes a particular type that indicates the object further. The use has to be established at the level of instantiable subtypes. In particular it holds the user defined type, if the enumeration of the attribute PredefinedType is set to USERDEFINED. X
IsDeclaredByIfcRelDefinesByObject
@RelatedObjects
S[0:1]Link to the relationship object pointing to the declaring object that provides the object definitions for this object occurrence. The declaring object has to be part of an object type decomposition. The associated IfcObject, or its subtypes, contains the specific information (as part of a type, or style, definition), that is common to all reflected instances of the declaring IfcObject, or its subtypes.
IFC4 CHANGE  New inverse relationship, change made with upward compatibility for file based exchange.
X
DeclaresIfcRelDefinesByObject
@RelatingObject
S[0:?]Link to the relationship object pointing to the reflected object(s) that receives the object definitions. The reflected object has to be part of an object occurrence decomposition. The associated IfcObject, or its subtypes, provides the specific information (as part of a type, or style, definition), that is common to all reflected instances of the declaring IfcObject, or its subtypes.
IFC4 CHANGE  New inverse relationship, change made with upward compatibility for file based exchange.
X
IsTypedByIfcRelDefinesByType
@RelatedObjects
S[0:1]Set of relationships to the object type that provides the type definitions for this object occurrence. The then associated IfcTypeObject, or its subtypes, contains the specific information (or type, or style), that is common to all instances of IfcObject, or its subtypes, referring to the same type.
IFC4 CHANGE  New inverse relationship, the link to IfcRelDefinesByType had previously be included in the inverse relationship IfcRelDefines. Change made with upward compatibility for file based exchange.
X
IsDefinedByIfcRelDefinesByProperties
@RelatedObjects
S[0:?]Set of relationships to property set definitions attached to this object. Those statically or dynamically defined properties contain alphanumeric information content that further defines the object.
IFC4 CHANGE  The data type has been changed from IfcRelDefines to IfcRelDefinesByProperties with upward compatibility for file based exchange.
X
IfcProduct
6ObjectPlacementIfcObjectPlacement? Placement of the product in space, the placement can either be absolute (relative to the world coordinate system), relative (relative to the object placement of another product), or constraint (e.g. relative to grid axes). It is determined by the various subtypes of IfcObjectPlacement, which includes the axis placement information to determine the transformation for the object coordinate system. X
7RepresentationIfcProductRepresentation? Reference to the representations of the product, being either a representation (IfcProductRepresentation) or as a special case a shape representations (IfcProductDefinitionShape). The product definition shape provides for multiple geometric representations of the shape property of the object within the same object coordinate system, defined by the object placement. X
ReferencedByIfcRelAssignsToProduct
@RelatingProduct
S[0:?]Reference to the IfcRelAssignsToProduct relationship, by which other products, processes, controls, resources or actors (as subtypes of IfcObjectDefinition) can be related to this product. X
PositionedRelativeToIfcRelPositions
@RelatedProducts
S[0:?]X
ReferencedInStructuresIfcRelReferencedInSpatialStructure
@RelatedElements
S[0:?]X
Definitions applying to General Usage

 Instance diagram


IfcProduct
Concept usage

Product Placement

The Product Placement concept applies to this entity.

The Product Placement establishes the object coordinate system and is required, if a geometric shape representation is provided for this product.



Product Geometric Representation

The Product Geometric Representation concept applies to this entity.

The geometric representation of any IfcProduct is provided by the IfcProductDefinitionShape allowing multiple geometric representations. It uses the Product Placement concept utilizing IfcLocalPlacement to establish an object coordinate system, within all geometric representations are founded.

NOTE  A detailed specification of how to apply the local placement and which shape representaions are applicable is provided at the level of subtypes of IfcProduct and is further determined by the model view definition and implementer agreements.



Relative Position

The Product Relative Positioning concept template applies to this entity as shown in Table 7.

PositioningElement
IfcPositioningElement

Table 7 — IfcProduct Product Relative Positioning

If the IfcProduct Product Placement is placed relative to an IfcPositioningElement this relationship covers the information on which IfcPositioningElement positions the IfcProduct.



Product Span Positioning

The Product Span Positioning concept template applies to this entity as shown in Table 8.

StartPositionedRelativeToEndPositionedRelativeTo

Table 8 — IfcProduct Product Span Positioning



Product Geometry Colour

The Product Geometry Colour concept template applies to this entity as shown in Table 9.

Table 9 — IfcProduct Product Geometry Colour



Product Geometry Layer

The Product Geometry Layer concept template applies to this entity as shown in Table 10.

Table 10 — IfcProduct Product Geometry Layer



Product Relative Placement

The Product Relative Placement concept template applies to this entity as shown in Table 11.

HasPlacementRelativeToElement

Table 11 — IfcProduct Product Relative Placement



mvdXML Specification
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ConceptRoot xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" uuid="00213a94-97f4-42c1-b841-0859547e58de" name="IfcProduct" applicableRootEntity="IfcProduct">
 <Applicability>
  <Template ref="c05ec892-7ee3-4be3-a779-d9e51cbaa80d" />
  <TemplateRules operator="and">
  </TemplateRules>
 </Applicability>
 <Concepts>
  <Concept uuid="b21ef8c6-394a-476c-a700-1e6558158893" name="Product Placement">
   <Template ref="ad2770c2-914e-4ab2-9d39-bc0dff3f7b24" />
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="297857a0-8351-434d-9a08-96e1ae5e9259" name="Product Geometric Representation">
   <Template ref="13f96914-1ad4-41d4-ba99-411a9ecbf567" />
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="8e918ac9-7aee-483e-9ecb-7f31812f382b" name="Relative Position">
   <Template ref="6dc82845-b142-4624-a9a5-37d1e4995761" />
   <TemplateRules operator="and">
    <TemplateRule Parameters="PositioningElement[Type]=&apos;IfcPositioningElement&apos;" />
   </TemplateRules>
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="ebb8ad75-3c58-4ec9-b4de-5fb07386028a" name="Product Span Positioning">
   <Template ref="1cdcaa9f-85d5-42cf-9aaf-0fd663b14ee8" />
   <TemplateRules operator="and">
    <TemplateRule />
   </TemplateRules>
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="9a412db9-61af-427c-8f59-c17901d9d37e" name="Product Geometry Colour">
   <Template ref="3e7889b7-2251-4e81-9f43-64c8259dbb72" />
   <TemplateRules operator="and">
    <TemplateRule />
   </TemplateRules>
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="2d92822d-5975-47f3-b088-189634da1314" name="Product Geometry Layer">
   <Template ref="088a99f6-ea17-47d4-b596-513211efc13d" />
   <TemplateRules operator="and">
    <TemplateRule />
   </TemplateRules>
  </Concept>
  <Concept uuid="da293ffd-2422-4d95-a727-af95bf396859" name="Product Relative Placement">
   <Template ref="f4d0f2e4-f2b0-48f8-97fa-ce7b1d25a8c9" />
   <TemplateRules operator="and">
    <TemplateRule />
   </TemplateRules>
  </Concept>
 </Concepts>
</ConceptRoot>
Concept inheritance

#ConceptTemplateModel View
IfcRoot
IdentitySoftware IdentityGeneral Usage
Revision ControlRevision ControlGeneral Usage
IfcObjectDefinition
Classification AssociationClassification AssociationGeneral Usage
Assignment to ProductAssignment to ProductGeneral Usage
IfcObject
Object User IdentityObject User IdentityGeneral Usage
Object Predefined TypeObject Predefined TypeGeneral Usage
Object TypingObject TypingGeneral Usage
Property Sets for ObjectsProperty Sets for ObjectsGeneral Usage
Property Sets with OverrideProperty Sets with OverrideGeneral Usage
IfcProduct
Product PlacementProduct PlacementGeneral Usage
Product Geometric RepresentationProduct Geometric RepresentationGeneral Usage
Relative PositionProduct Relative PositioningGeneral Usage
Product Span PositioningProduct Span PositioningGeneral Usage
Product Geometry ColourProduct Geometry ColourGeneral Usage
Product Geometry LayerProduct Geometry LayerGeneral Usage
Product Relative PlacementProduct Relative PlacementGeneral Usage
Formal representations
XML Specification
 <xs:element name="IfcProduct" type="ifc:IfcProduct" abstract="true" substitutionGroup="ifc:IfcObject" nillable="true"/>
 <xs:complexType name="IfcProduct" abstract="true">
  <xs:complexContent>
   <xs:extension base="ifc:IfcObject">
    <xs:sequence>
     <xs:element name="ObjectPlacement" type="ifc:IfcObjectPlacement" nillable="true" minOccurs="0"/>
     <xs:element name="Representation" type="ifc:IfcProductRepresentation" nillable="true" minOccurs="0"/>
    </xs:sequence>
   </xs:extension>
  </xs:complexContent>
 </xs:complexType>
EXPRESS Specification
ENTITY IfcProduct
 ABSTRACT SUPERTYPE OF(ONEOF(IfcAnnotation, IfcComplementaryData, IfcElement, IfcLinearElement, IfcPort, IfcPositioningElement, IfcSpatialElement, IfcStructuralActivity, IfcStructuralItem))
 SUBTYPE OF (IfcObject);
  ObjectPlacement : OPTIONAL IfcObjectPlacement;
  Representation : OPTIONAL IfcProductRepresentation;
 INVERSE
  ReferencedBy : SET [0:?] OF IfcRelAssignsToProduct FOR RelatingProduct;
  PositionedRelativeTo : SET [0:?] OF IfcRelPositions FOR RelatedProducts;
  ReferencedInStructures : SET [0:?] OF IfcRelReferencedInSpatialStructure FOR RelatedElements;
 WHERE
  PlacementForShapeRepresentation : (EXISTS(Representation) AND EXISTS(ObjectPlacement))
OR (EXISTS(Representation) AND
    (SIZEOF(QUERY(temp <* Representation.Representations | 'IFCREPRESENTATIONRESOURCE.IfcShapeRepresentation' IN TYPEOF(temp))) = 0))
OR (NOT(EXISTS(Representation)));
END_ENTITY;

Link to EXPRESS-G diagram EXPRESS-G diagram

References  References: IfcProductSelect IfcRelContainedInSpatialStructure IfcRelPositions IfcSpatialReferenceSelect IfcObjectPlacement IfcProductDefinitionShape

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