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How to convert IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) to 3D Studio (.3ds)?

PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

IFC

The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is a CAD data exchange object-based file format with a data model developed by buildingSMART to facilitate interoperability in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, and is a commonly used collaboration format in Building information modeling (BIM) based projects.

IFC files can be written out by such industry standard programs as: ArchiCAD, Allplan, Autodesk's AutoCAD and Revit, Microstation, Tekla Structures, SmartPlant3D and Vectorworks.

Please note: you would always want to use the DWF-3D file format and the Okino DWF-3D file importer to import 3D model data from Autodesk's AutoCAD, Navisworks and Revit, as well as AVEVA's PDMS software.

It is may be safe to say that few 3D graphics users properly understand IFC or why/how it should be used, when it should be used or how it is to be used. In simplistic terms, IFC is NOT a universal data interchange file format like COLLADA, FBX, 3ds, OBJ, DXF, DWG, etc. Rather, IFC is more of an "abstraction" for an architectural model so that BIM companies can exchange IFC files for design iterations without any loss in overall geometric quality. Hence, the basis of IFC is to make an abstract building with stories, floors, doors, columns, windows, etc. From these hang "abstractions" such as 2D plan views and 3D renderable geometric data.

While IFC can be considered a standardized file format by BuildingSmart, not all 3D programs or 3D viewers will "interpret" an IFC file in the same manner due to the abstract nature of the file format and also by the generally loose manner in which a model can be defined and with different contexts and representations.

3D Studio

The .3ds file format was the native file format of the old Autodesk '3D Studio R1-R4' software, which was popular up to about 1996 before its successor (3ds Max) replaced it. The file format is a dated, 16-bit, obsolete format. It is limited to triangle geometry, 65536 polygons per mesh, no vertex normals for accurate smoothing, 8.3 DOS filename naming and a maximum of 10 characters for object names.

Please do not confuse the .3ds format with the 3ds Max .max format. You will find throughout the 3D industry that some companies refer to .3ds as the "3ds Max file format" but this is not true. The native file format of 3ds Max is the .max format, whereas .3ds is just a legacy import/export file format ported over to 3ds Max by Tom Hudson during the transition from 3D Studio R4 back in the early 1990s. DO NOT use the .3ds file format to convert to/from 3ds Max but rather use Okino's dedicated PolyTrans-for-3dsMax plug-in system for 3ds Max.

IFC import converter's overview

3D Studio export converter's overview