What is Binz?

Binz is a proprietary format for CAD data. It is created with Hexagon PPM software.

The Binz format contains:

  • A geometry model with the original, parameterized geometry primitives of objects created in the Hexagon PPM software

  • A so-called feature data model with metadata: feature IDs, monikers, information on how the objects are grouped, and so on

LuciadLightspeed can decode both the geometry and the feature data, handling the two data types in a distinct way.

Conversion to OGC 3D Tiles

If you load Binz data directly in LuciadLightspeed, it is converted internally to an OGC 3D Tiles dataset, on-the-fly.

You can also convert the data to OGC 3D Tiles up front, as described in the Converting Binz data to OGC 3D Tiles tutorial.

See the OGC 3D Tiles documentation for more information about that data format.

During the conversion, the Binz data undergoes a number of changes to make it more suitable for decoding and visualization.

Optimized tile structure

OGC 3D Tiles datasets have a tile structure that is optimized for streaming. The tiling structure of the Binz data is typically not suitable for streaming because it has a large overlap.

Therefore, the data is re-organized into a new tile structure during the conversion. Due to the nature of CAD data, tiles can still overlap, though.

Generation of 3D meshes and levels-of-detail

The conversion process generates 3D meshes for the original geometries at multiple levels-of-detail by means of distinct quality settings for each level. At lower levels-of-detail, smaller objects are left out.

Metadata

The conversion process doesn’t store the metadata of the original Binz data in the OGC 3D Tiles dataset. It stores only the feature IDs in the batch table information of the OGC 3D Tiles dataset.

Using these feature IDs, you can link the metadata inside the feature data model to the OGC 3D Tiles data.

PBR material properties

The conversion uses the material properties, which are present in each Binz dataset, to calculate Physically Based Rendering (PBR) material properties: the diffuse, specular and finish properties in the Binz dataset are converted to metallic and roughness PBR properties.

Feature data model: make the feature data available

The Binz decoder can also decode the Binz data to a feature data model. This model contains the metadata of the Binz objects. The elements in this feature model have a FeatureID property, which corresponds to the objects in the OGC 3D Tiles dataset.

A client application must load the feature data separately from the geometry data. To allow the client application to load the feature data, you must expose the data. You have several options to do so:

  • Convert the feature model to GeoJSON, with each GeoJSON feature containing the metadata of the original Binz data. For more information, see the Converting Binz data to GeoJSON tutorial.

  • Serve the feature model as a WFS service in LuciadFusion. For more details, see the LuciadFusion Serving BIM data article.

Performance impact of the conversion

The internal conversion of Binz data affects LuciadLightspeed performance:

  • Because all geometric information of the Binz data is interpreted before the OGC 3D Tiles structure is created, it can take a long time for a dataset to load.

  • All geometric information of the Binz data and the resulting OGC 3D Tiles structure must be kept in memory, resulting in a large memory footprint.

  • The 3D mesh of each tile is calculated on-the-fly, resulting in a high CPU load.

As a consequence, it is typically not practical to visualize the Binz data model directly on a Lightspeed map.

Therefore, the recommended way of handling Binz data in LuciadLightspeed is converting the data in the OGC 3D Tiles format up front, and visualizing the OGC 3D Tiles data on a Lightspeed map, as explained in the Converting Binz data to OGC 3D Tiles tutorial.