“Prevention is better than cure.”
We’ve all heard the saying. And it’s the prevention principle that drives a successful BIM coordination process - resolving clashes and constructability issues pre-construction.
Granted, Navisworks is probably the most widely used clash detection tool on the market. But did you know that it’s not the only option? Back in 2018 at BILT NA, I gave the presentation “Navisworks: Not the Only Name in the Clash Detection Game.”
To access this session and other great resources from the DBEI Community, you can create a membership here.
This blog is an updated run-down of some alternative clash detection and model checking platforms. From big names like Solibri and Trimble to up-and-coming platforms like us.BIMClash and BIM Spot, we put them to the test to let you know what’s out there.
Watch the video summary below 👇 and read on to discover 11 clash detection and model checking platforms:
Find out how to make clash detection more efficient here.
Solibri Model Checker
Going beyond simple clash detection, model checking software like Solibri contains powerful tools for compliance control, code checking, and design review. Solibri’s model checking rules take into account your model’s object information, as well as basic geometrical features.
This more nuanced approach allows for some distinct advantages over traditional clash detection, such as eliminating false-positive clashes, automatic clash grouping, quantity takeoffs, and clearance and data checking for maintenance, operations and more.
Trimble connect
Tekla BIMSight has evolved to become Trimble Connect, a collaboration and model management tool that includes clash detection features. If your team is using Tekla software then this could be a great option for you. However, if you want to import different file types then you might find it limited.
Fuzor
Fuzor is a VDC-focused platform that offers 5 main versions of its software, giving users lots of choice. Their clash management tool lets you check for interferences and proximity tolerances, as well as creating clash reports. Fuzor is compatible with a range of file formats, so this is a great option for people who want to do clash detection with software outside the Autodesk sphere, but who still need the capacity to read Autodesk files.
MagiCAD Add-in
You know what’s even better than clash detection? Clash avoidance!
MagiCAD is a leading MEP design add-in for Revit and AutoCAD which offers a range of modeling functions including clash detection inside Revit. Bonus points for allowing clashes and other issues to be exported via BCF, which makes them compatible with issue-tracking platforms like BIM Track!
ClashMEP Add-in
ClashMEP, one of the products from Building System Planning, Inc. is another Revit Add-in for stopping clashes before they happen. What’s great is it gives you immediate clash feedback while you’re modeling, and saves you having to export models to another platform to perform clash detection. As the name suggests, this is going to be particularly useful for people doing particularly complex design - electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems, for example.
Verity by ClearEdge3D
Verity is a model verification platform that automates the as-built verification process. Verity compares point clouds against design & fabrication models, allowing you to check installation status and accuracy. Verity will run a quality check of the whole model, find any areas which are problematic or out of tolerance, and generate reports of this variance data along with screenshots, annotations, heat maps, and much more. You can also publish this variance data as issues using the BIM Track - Verity integration.
Cintoo Cloud
Cintoo Cloud is a cloud-based platform for laser scan to BIM comparison. You can upload and download laser scans, organize scan data into different work zones, and then export a single scan, crop, work zone, or whole data set as a point cloud or unified mesh. Cintoo Cloud’s high resolution unified mesh format allows hefty point cloud data to be manipulated and shared more easily. This format is also ideal for desktop modeling and clash detection, since it retains the original point cloud’s 3D coordinate system. Cintoo Cloud allows you to create and publish issues to your preferred BIM coordination platform, including an integration with BIM Track.
BIM Vision
BIM Vision is a free IFC viewer with à la carte plugin modules. They have a range of clash detection bundles available, from basic, to advanced, to BIM expert. They offer a very flexible subscription model for the online version which gives you access to all their plugins by the month, 3 months, 6 months or a year. Being entirely based on the IFC format, it is file agnostic (yay OpenBIM!) with an available SDK (software development kit) meaning developers can create their own custom add-ins for the platform.
usBIM.clash
usBIM.clash is an Italian collaboration platform from ACCA Software. It has features for detecting hard clashes and also interference clashes between different IFC models. You can define simple ruleset parameters (type of comparison, type of collision, tolerance values) to get the degree of precision needed, and they also have a code checking module coming soon.
Bonus points for offering a free trial for a month!
Ones to watch
Bimspot
Bimspot is an up-and-coming building information platform that has a free IFC checker that provides very rudimentary model checking, as well as paid clash detection features. The free model checks measure the geometrical accuracy of your models, so it is limited to hard clashes. With the paid version, you unlock automated clash detection as well as the ability to customize your quality checks to be tailored to your project. When you run clash detection, bimspot will give you a pdf report, xls report, bcf report, and an SMC file which you can open in Solibri’s free model viewer.
It’s definitely new, but you can try it for free so why not?
Verifi3D by Xinaps
Verifi3D is a cloud-based model checking software that simplifies the data validation process. Being cloud-based means it can be synced with your existing CDE, saving you time importing and exporting files manually. It works like a spell checker for BIM models, allowing users to classify their BIM data, visualize it in the Verifi3D Viewer, run clash detection and validation using customizable rules and rulesets, and export and assign issue reports in different formats in real-time.
Well, that’s all, folks! 👋
We hope you found this helpful. 👍 Keep the conversation going with any other great platforms you’re using to improve your clash detection workflow, we’d love to hear from you.