IfcProduct

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:

Having a control applied: assigned using IfcRelAssignsToControl linking the IfcProduct to an IfcControl
Being assigned to a process: assigned using IfcRelAssignsToProcess linking the IfcProduct to an IfcProcess
Being assigned to a resource: assigned using IfcRelAssignsToResource linking the IfcProduct to an IfcResource

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

#	Attribute	Type	Cardinality	Description	G
6	ObjectPlacement	IfcObjectPlacement	?	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
7	Representation	IfcProductRepresentation	?	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
	ReferencedBy	IfcRelAssignsToProduct @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
	PositionedRelativeTo	IfcRelPositions @RelatedProducts	S[0:1]		X
	ReferencedInStructures	IfcRelReferencedInSpatialStructure @RelatedElements	S[0:?]		X

Formal Propositions

Rule	Description
PlacementForShapeRepresentation	If 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.

Rule

Description

PlacementForShapeRepresentation

If 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

Attribute inheritance

#	Attribute	Type	Cardinality	Description	G
IfcRoot
1	GlobalId	IfcGloballyUniqueId		Assignment of a globally unique identifier within the entire software world.	X
2	OwnerHistory	IfcOwnerHistory	?	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
3	Name	IfcLabel	?	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
4	Description	IfcText	?	Optional description, provided for exchanging informative comments.	X
IfcObjectDefinition
	HasAssignments	IfcRelAssigns @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
	Nests	IfcRelNests @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
	IsNestedBy	IfcRelNests @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
	HasContext	IfcRelDeclares @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
	IsDecomposedBy	IfcRelAggregates @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
	Decomposes	IfcRelAggregates @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
	HasAssociations	IfcRelAssociates @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
5	ObjectType	IfcLabel	?	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
	IsDeclaredBy	IfcRelDefinesByObject @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
	Declares	IfcRelDefinesByObject @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
	IsTypedBy	IfcRelDefinesByType @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
	IsDefinedBy	IfcRelDefinesByProperties @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
6	ObjectPlacement	IfcObjectPlacement	?	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
7	Representation	IfcProductRepresentation	?	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
	ReferencedBy	IfcRelAssignsToProduct @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
	PositionedRelativeTo	IfcRelPositions @RelatedProducts	S[0:1]		X
	ReferencedInStructures	IfcRelReferencedInSpatialStructure @RelatedElements	S[0:?]		X

Definitions applying to General Usage

Instance diagram

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.

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>

 </Concepts>

</ConceptRoot>

Concept inheritance

#	Concept	Template	Model View
IfcRoot
	Identity	Software Identity	General Usage
	Revision Control	Revision Control	General Usage
IfcObjectDefinition
	Classification Association	Classification Association	General Usage
IfcObject
	Object User Identity	Object User Identity	General Usage
	Object Predefined Type	Object Predefined Type	General Usage
	Object Typing	Object Typing	General Usage
	Property Sets for Objects	Property Sets for Objects	General Usage
	Property Sets with Override	Property Sets with Override	General Usage
IfcProduct
	Product Placement	Product Placement	General Usage
	Product Geometric Representation	Product Geometric Representation	General 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, IfcElement, IfcPort, IfcPositioningElement, IfcProxy, IfcSpatialElement, IfcStructuralActivity, IfcStructuralItem))

 SUBTYPE OF (IfcObject);

  ObjectPlacement : OPTIONAL IfcObjectPlacement;

  Representation : OPTIONAL IfcProductRepresentation;

 INVERSE

  ReferencedBy : SET [0:?] OF IfcRelAssignsToProduct FOR RelatingProduct;

  PositionedRelativeTo : SET [0:1] 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;

 EXPRESS-G diagram

	Produkt (allgemein)
	Product
	Produit