News

December 2016
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Vaillant Group is BIM ready

16 December 2016
The first BIM files for Vaillant, a leading manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, have been published on MEPcontent.com. Revit families and IFC files for different heating appliances can now be downloaded by German users from the BIM platform.

“The importance of high-quality design in the technical installation sector is increasing, and will be even more important in the future” says Juliane Krüger, Head of Planning Support at Vaillant Group. “Technical Installation design is getting more complex, more and more parties are involved in the design process. We want to be sure our products are visible for all stakeholders”.

Vaillant asked MEPcontent to create and publish content for multiple product groups, starting with boiler systems. Krüger: “Ultimately the goal of BIM content for Vaillant is to make the lives of our customers easier. Nowadays, our customers require content in order to design high-quality heating systems. We want to meet their needs as good as possible, that is why we decided to create BIM content for our products”.

The German manufacturer is active in more than 20 different countries and has a wide product range. Managing data is one of Vaillant’s big challenges. “Data for our products is different everywhere. We want to be sure our customers are provided with the correct local data, also for our BIM content” says Juliane Krüger. “We were looking for a supplier that could do that. MEPcontent offered us a solution for managing local BIM content on an international scale, which was exactly what we needed”.

The first Revit families and IFC files have been published on MEPcontent now, serving specifically the German market. In the coming months, more content will be published for different European countries. All of the content is compliant to the EMCS (Extended MEPcontent Standard), “Customers all over Europe rely on correct product data. Quality of the content therefore is very important to us. With the EMCS, the quality of our BIM content is guaranteed” says Juliane Krüger.

BIM files for the ecoVIT exclusiv, ecoTEC plus, ectoTEC exclusiv, ecoCRAFT exclusiv, ecoCOMPACT and auroCOMPACT can be downloaded directly from MEPcontent.com.
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How Caleffi took the BIM challenge

15 December 2016
With the increasing market demand for accurate 3D-content, BIM is a hot topic at Caleffi. The challenge for this year was: how to provide MEP engineers in whole Europe with accurate content for BIM projects? Caleffi chose MEPcontent as its platform for offering BIM content of its products.

“We were looking for a partner who knows the demands of our customers in BIM” says Walter Bertona, Manager Digital Marketing & Communication at Caleffi. “MEPcontent has, as part of Stabiplan, years of experience in the MEP industry. They know exactly what a MEP engineer needs in terms of content. The choice for MEPcontent was an easy one”.

Strategic BIM partner
Walter Bertona: “MEPcontent proves itself as a strategic partner in BIM. Quality and usability is key to our customers, the MEPcontent team delivered what it promised: outstanding content, easy to use.”

In the past months, content for multiple product groups of the Italian manufacturer has been published on MEPcontent. “The EMCS (Extended MEPcontent Standard) was decisive in our choice for MEPcontent as the go-to platform for our content” says Bertona. “We want to be sure that our customers work with 100% correct data. By making our products EMCS proof, we can guarantee this".

Marnix Leune, Business Process Manager for MEPcontent, guided the content creation process. “Because the EMCS aligns with different BIM norms and standards such as IFC, COBie, VDI 3805 and ETIM, the quality of the content is ensured” says Leune. “By adding information such as article numbers, GTIN, URL and other specific product data, engineers work with products that allow designing and calculating in BIM projects. By enriching the content with trade data, it easy to use this data later on in the design flow”.

Measure is treasure
The success of the BIM content is shown in the statistics. “Looking at the download statistics we see an increasing number of downloads every month. The content is being downloaded all over the world, even in Cambodia”, says Bertona. “We use the statistics as input for our marketing and sales activities. With statistics we can measure the success of a product introduction, but also see if some products need extra marketing efforts”. With this, MEPcontent adds direct value to the international sales and marketing strategy for Caleffi. “We are optimistic looking at the growing number of downloads of our content from the portal. BIM is high on our agenda also in 2017, so we will further extend our BIM content range in the coming year”.

About Caleffi
Manufacturer of high-quality components for heating, plumbing, air conditioning, heat metering and renewables systems, for domestic and industrial plants. The headquarters of Caleffi is in Italy, the manufacturer serves more than 70 countries from 15 sales offices.
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Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan series published on MEPcontent

12 December 2016
Engineers and modellers can now easily design heat systems using new Mitsubishi Electric content.

Revit and IFC files have been published for the entire Ecodan series. Content for this series, consisting out of booth indoor and outdoor units can be downloaded from MEPcontent.com.

About the Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan series
Both energy-saving and safe for the environment, the Mitsubishi Electric ECODAN incorporates a highly efficient heat pump system that captures “the heat in the air”, a renewable energy resource. Equipped with advanced inverter control, meticulous temperature control assures comfortable heating, and its space-saving “All-in-one” indoor unit is easy to install. These energysaving, high comfort and simple installation characteristics have drawn the ECODAN heating system into the spotlight centre stage.
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BIM in a European perspective

09 December 2016
BIM is collaborating and sharing knowledge, including on an international level. Thus, in October, the key players in the European BIM world came together during the Revit Technology Conference and Building Content Summit in Porto.

European BIM content
During the discussions it appeared that there are significant differences in BIM adoption between the European countries. A major challenge for international parties here is the creating of uniform BIM content. Throughout Europe it appears that there is both a need for good generic content as well as specific content, but that current BIM content is often not correct or up to date. The development of BIM objects provides an opportunity for manufacturers to respond early in the BIM workflow. It is clear that there is a demand for a European standard on the market. A standard that connects to the construction site.

Uniform standard
There were many positive responses to the EMCS 3.0, the Extended MEPcontent Standard. The EMCS is consistent with the demand for uniform and up-to-date content, with a vision to develop content, with which both manufacturers and engineers are able to work. Content that is maintainable, which contains the right information and is fast to design with. Leading international manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Electric and Caleffi already choose develop their content in accordance with the EMCS and publish it on MEPcontent.com.

New developments
The latest developments in BIM software were obviously also discussed. There were in-depth technology sessions on new Revit functionality, while topics such as Cloud collaboration and 3D printing were also discussed. Autodesk also published the first Revit Roadmap, which reflects the future plans that Autodesk has for the software.

More than just Revit
RTC has long been much more than just a Revit event. Hence, the organization announced that they will change the name to BILT: Buildings, Infrastructure, Lifecycle, and Technology, to indicate that it is an industry-wide event and that it is about more than specific software.

Meeting early adopters
RTC also provides leading software vendors with space to present themselves. Stabiplan was also present and there was much interest in the Stabicad productivity tools. Edwin Schalk, Business Development Director at Stabiplan: “It is important to exchange experiences with the early adopters of new technology during such events. Thanks to the leading position of Stabiplan in the field of design software and content for MEP, we are a discussion partner for everyone (both manufacturer and engineer) from the MEP industry”.
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Virtual reality: the future of BIM?

09 December 2016
Virtual Reality (VR) appeals to the imagination. Obviously, you can fantasize away about the opportunities it brings. The technology is about to break through both in entertainment and business.

Mixed reality
We are recently introduced with another variant: Mixed Reality. Microsoft launched the Hololens: goggles that aim to blend real world with virtual images, holograms. These allow you experiencing virtual reality right on your desk in your living room, in the office or outside.

But how can the world of construction and technical installation use this technology? We have recently demonstrated a number of possible applications during the SUM (Stabicad User Meeting, watch the video of the demo in Dutch). Just to see with each other where this technology can go and what applications are viable.

Understanding the model
The first application is displaying a 3D model of a plant room. The room's hologram can be put in any physical place wherever you want. For instance, on the floor or on a table. Completely in 3D and scalable in size. This provides great insight into the pipework in relation to the frame construction of the plant room and other technical components. This demonstration shows only geometry, but you can imagine this model to be more intelligent, in terms of providing, for example, product information, feedback, status and planning information. This could simply be a part of construction works meeting where the designs of various disciplines are discussed.

Smart 3D objects
The second application is placing a technical installation product as a hologram in a real room. The Hololens opens the MEPcontent browser and downloads a 3D model of a Remeha cascade setup from MEPcontent.com. This setup can, for example, be placed in a plant room. Here every centimeter counts, so coordination is of great importance. An advantage is that the Hololens supports 'hosting'. You can place the heating system against a wall or, in the case of a floor installation, on the floor. The product models on MEPcontent are exact, which means that you can see actual dimensions of the layout and that all connections are displayed exactly in the right place. This allows you to see if the setup fits in the room or check if it can be connected correctly in advance.

During the maintenance stage
Finally, this technology can also provide a solution to a technical installation product in action, such as a boiler or a pump physically present in the building. The service engineer can look at the boiler with the Hololens and immediately see real-time data on working hours, scheduled maintenance and any errors. The engineer can carry out maintenance or remove jams with the use of clear visual instructions provided by the manufacturer. In addition, the Hololens also has a camera on board. In case you need a second pair of eyes as a service engineer, pressing a button allows your colleague or manufacturer to have a look and help you get started.

Science fiction or near future? Time will tell. The first promising steps in the technology have been already taken. We are inspired and closely follow further developments. Together with the industry.

Johan Schlingmann,
Manager Product Management at Stabiplan
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3D content for the Remeha Solar Home sun boiler system available

01 December 2016
Are you looking for BIM content for sun boiler systems? Remeha extends the existing BIM library on MEPcontent.com with Revit families and 3D-dwg's for the Remeha Solar Home series.

BIM files for the Remeha Hybrid Plus, Tzerra HP, Hybrid, Calora Tower, RemaSOL en ZentaSOL are downloadable from the platform for MEP engineers today. Soon the series will be further extended with content for solar collectors.

About Remaha Solar Home
Remeha Solar Home consists of several sunlight systems. The installer can choose a suitable solution for every living situation. From terraced house to detached house for single households and large families. The collectors are available in both horizontal and vertical versions, suitable for in-roof, on-roof, flat roof and wall mounting. Combine one to five light, compact solar collectors with high quality solar water heaters in ascending classes and capacity. The highest classes are also fully equipped boilers (including mounted solar station, regulator and expansion tank) for installation convenience.
November 2016
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New Revit families for Trox valves

23 November 2016
BIM engineers can now download free Revit families for Trox AK, FK-EU, FKR-EU and FKRS-EU (fire protection) valves.

About Trox
Trox is a leading designer and manufacturer of HVAC and building services solutions. With over 50 years experience in the industry, our outstanding design expertise keeps us at the forefront of product innovation.
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Recap: SUM 2016, the BIM event for MEP engineers

22 November 2016
“We are BIM live” was the theme of the SUM 2016, the bi-annual BIM event for MEP engineers organized by Stabiplan and MEPcontent. More than 600 participants were present in the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam. Installers, advisors and manufacturers were inspired and educated by sharing BIM experiences.

Learn from each other
No-one can ignore it, BIM is reality. Developments are going fast. BIM-adoption is increasing in whole Europe. “We are all working really hard to implement BIM”, says Stabiplan managing director Gijs Willem Sloof. But how do you make sure you keep up with all the developments? How do you start with BIM? How to avoid failure? “Share your experiences, not only your successes, but also your disappointments” says Edwin Schalk, business development director for Stabiplan. “That is what today is all about, but hopefully you will leave here knowing that you can pick-up the phone and call each other. Learn from each other, and we will all move forward”.

Celebrating success
Four chain parties shared their experiences with BIM during the plenary session. “Start somewhere and you will notice that you will grow” is the advice of Michiel van Wijk, international BIM manager for Deerns Advisors. Arjan van Haperen, director projects south for Unica, a Dutch installor, emphasizes the importance of celebrating successes. "During internal meetings, we show what BIM offers us. This is how we inspire and motivate our people." Manufacturer Barcol Air is working hard to align its processes with BIM. "Last year we have enriched our content with trade information, and we want to add more selection data to our content. Engineers can use this data to place orders and make calculations," says commercial director Johan Mes. The advice of Martijn Visscher, engineer for Breman Installors: "Start with BIM. It takes money, time and frustration but it's worth it to gain a better understanding, coordination and communication."

BIM is (virtual) reality
That virtual reality is nog longer science-fiction, but actually makes the construction process more efficient, turned out during the impressive presentation of Johan Schlingmann, manager product management for Stabiplan. Equipped with a Microsoft HoloLens, Schlingmann inspected a Remeha boiler and a Duijvelaar hydro-unit. Participant saw live how technical data and maintenance figures were called out from the BIM model using the HoloLens. This is how engineers and technicians on the building place will benefit from smart information, added earlier in the BIM process.

Interested in the pictures or after-movie? Check out the Stabiplan website later.
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More than 10,000 HC Barcol-Air products BIM ready

22 November 2016
With the recently published Air-Fit 300 and Air-Fit 600 ceiling-induction units, a large part of the HC Barcol-Air product range is now available as BIM content on MEPcontent.com. The manufacturer is “BIM ready”. Good BIM content, enriched with intelligent trade information, is essential to the international manufacturer of air distribution components and adjustment control systems.

More than 10,000 products
"There is an upward trend in the demand for our content," says Lars Wiersma, Technical Director and Export Manager for Barcol-Air. "Users want content that, in terms of dimension and size, corresponds 100% with the product so that a project is completed that actually works in reality." Barcol-Air meets this need. Of the nearly 15,000 products in the range of air distribution components, almost 90% have now been converted to Revit families. Currently, this content has the most relevant data such as technical specifications, item numbers and deep links to the website. This ensures that the content is light and easy to implement in BIM projects. By adding a GTIN, it is possible to connect each specific product to databases of external parties, e.g. 2BA. This enables users to instantly view trade information such as pricing and inventory.

Smart content
Wiersma sees the bringing together of different data sources into content as the future for BIM content. "Enriching content by adding relevant data will ensure that all stakeholders in a construction project can easily retrieve data for specific products. You can click a product in the model, which immediately displays data on maintenance, spare parts and prices. This enables speed and efficiency advantages to be achieved in the entire chain, from design to delivery and maintenance."

Barcol-Air wants to make its content even smarter by adding calculation and selection data in the future. For example, virtual simulations can be carried out with the addition of data such as quantities of air, noise levels and pressure. "If we can carry out simulations in Revit with intelligent 3D content, this will provide us with both time and money. We can then focus more on innovation to continue to improve our products."

Reliable standard
Barcol-Air collaborates with Stabiplan in creating the content. "Stabicad users have had access to our products for many years through the supply product line in Stabicad. Since we had our PLSs converted to Revit Families on MEPcontent.com, we now can provide BIM content to customers around the world. MEPcontent is a user-friendly platform that contributes to our international strategy because it is available in many countries and different languages. That our content is used all over the world is also reflected in the statistics," says Wiersma.

"The EMCS (Extended MEPcontent Standard) was decisive in choosing Stabiplan as a content partner. There was no good standard in the market for BIM content to meet yet. Stabiplan made a good step with introducing the standard. We can guarantee users of the quality of our content since the EMCS meets other norms and standards. We find that this really helps in the acceptance and use of content."

About Barcol-Air B.V.
Barcol-Air has years of experience in the design, development and implementation of an optimal thermal indoor climate for creating a work environment where people enjoy their work and thus deliver maximum performance. For this purpose, Barcol-Air provides a comprehensive range of high quality air distribution components and adjustment control systems.
Since October 2015, Barcol-Air is part of SIG Air Handling Nederland.
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Join us at BIM world Munich

18 November 2016
MEPcontent will be present as a exhibitor on the 1st BIM World in Munich on 29th and 30th November 2016. The BIM World MUNICH will be THE platform in Germany and the German speaking countries for all engaged sector players. The two day conference with exhibition area will demonstrate the benefits and implementation of the digital processes, present essential software, technologies and best practices in BIM and outline the upcoming challenges for working with BIM (Building Information Modeling). Meet our BIM experts and discover the best tools for BIM in building technology: StabiCAD and MEPcontent.

Learn more about the benefits of our solutions with integrated calculation and specific manufacturer information for the MEP industry. Visit us at our booth 66 and learn more about the added value of StabiCAD and MEPcontent.com. Will we meet you there?
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Air Spiralo® successful from PIM to BIM

17 November 2016
With over 7,000 different items, Air Spiralo®, manufacturer of circular and rectangular-collapsing ventilation ducts, has quite an extensive PIM system. Converting these products into uniform and workable BIM content was a major challenge for BIM specialist Rick van Ammers. He spoke about it during the sub-session at the SUM2016.

Together with MEPcontent, Air Spiralo® has succeeded in converting the wide range of ventilation ducts and fittings into a BIM ventilation library. The manufacturer Air Spiralo® instantly converts product data from its own PIM system into correct, workable BIM content for engineers using MEPcontent web services.

Uniform and current data
“Reliable product data is essential to the success of our organisation. All business processes, from finance to production to marketing, have a role in building the product data,” says Rick van Ammers, “therefore the PIM database is the heart of our organisation.” There is a special PIM team with a dedicated PIM manager to manage the PIM database within Air Spiralo®. Through this, data management takes place in one location and in a uniform way, and there is a direct link to the production process.

With the growing market demand for reliable BIM content, it is a logical step to provide engineers with current product data directly from the Air Spiralo® PIM system. Van Ammers: “Our database is structured according to the ETIM standard and the NEN standard. Because of this uniform structure, we can synchronise our product data with other data sources such as our ERP systems, price list and website, as well as external sources such as MEPcontent”.

Web services for up-to-date content
In cooperation with the MEPcontent team, Air Spiralo® has developed a tool that automatically fills the MEPcontent PLS data fields with the appropriate data fields from the Air Spiralo® PIM system. Due to the mapping of the fields, it is possible to also instantly convert changed product data into the BIM content library. Coert de Jong, MEPcontent Product Manager, showed how the synchronisation is technically realised during the session. “With the MEPcontent web services the Air Spiralo® PIM data is automatically converted into workable BIM content for installers,” says Coert. “The content conforms to the EMCS (Extended MEPcontent Standard). We thereby offer users content that is provided with the correct parameters. These are not only technical specifications but also trade data such as GTIN and deep links to product pages on the Air Spiralo® website.”

It is correct and it fits
With the Air Spiralo® library on MEPcontent.com, it is possible to design and install ventilation systems much more efficiently. “Since the data is always up to date, the lengths and connections are reliable. This offers many benefits to users; orders can now be placed directly from the BIM model. This lets installers know that the ventilation systems they design are correct and will fit on the construction site,” says Van Ammers. “By having the PIM data in order at the start of the construction process, the margin of error at the end of the construction process on site will be smaller. Eventually this saves so much time and money,” Rick van Ammers concludes.

Air Spiralo®
Air Spiralo® has been producing metal circular and rectangular-collapsing ventilation ducts for ventilation systems in homes, healthcare facilities, offices, factories and ships for more than fifty years. Air Spiralo® is an international family business with employees and offices in the Netherlands (Schagen), England, Finland and Poland.
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Mitsubishi publishes Mr Slim and M Series Air conditioners on MEPcontent

14 November 2016
In order to serve design engineers all over the world with Mitsubishi Electric products, MEPcontent have produced BIM files for the entire Mr Slim and M Series range of Air conditioners. These ranges are published on MEPcontent and are available to download right now.

The small-to medium-sized split-type room air conditioners offers the convenience of being compact yet powerful; a combination ensuring excellent performance and easy installation. MEPcontent users can now download these products as Revit families, IFC or 3D-DWG files. The 3D content is compact and light and therefore easy to use. Equipped with intelligent connection points, article information and deeplinks, users in the entire BIM cycle take advantage of the content.

About Mitsubishi Electric Mr Slim and M Series Air conditioners
The Mr Slim line-up includes a selection of eight indoor units and a series of four outdoor units available in Power Inverter, Standard Inverter, Inverter and Zubadan. With Mr Slim it allows to easily construct a system that best matches the room air conditioning needs. The M series offers a multiple line-ups, each with various outstanding features. All the M Series models are inverter-driven with both wall mounted and floor-standing models to select from.
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Robust Remeha Gas 220 Ace now on MEPcontent

09 November 2016
Remeha introduces the GAS 220 Ace, a compact and flexible boiler for the utility. This powerful boiler is big in warmth and delivers up to 300 kW with a footprint of only half a square meter. Modelers who want to place the Gas 220 Ace in a BIM project easily download the Revit family on MEPcontent.com.

Do you want to discover the Gas Ace 220 from outside and inside? During the SUM (StabiCAD User Meeting) this boiler is presented in a unique way: participants discover the powerful performance and easy maintenance through a virtual-reality presentation.

About the Remeha Gas 220 Ace
Besides compact and powerful, the GAS 220 Ace is known for its intelligence and economical operation. In addition, the devices are fully prepared for remote communication and management. The GAS 220 Ace is the first boiler for the utility that will be provided with the new Predictive Maintenance service.
October 2016
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Updated: DYKA AIR Revit template

31 October 2016
The Family pack of DYKA AIR has been extended with new fittings and diameters up to 235 mm.
Because of this, DYKA AIR has an even wider range of application, ideal for mechanical and / or balanced ventilation. Thanks to its innovative design DYKA AIR has a very low air resistance.

About DYKA AIR: A practical plastic ventilation duct system for each property.

The setting for auto routing is predefined in the accompanying Revit template so that you can model the articles of DYKA AIR quickly and efficiently. Consult the manual for optimal use of this family-pack in Revit.
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Booster systems for DP-Pumps now available as BIM object

27 October 2016
Next to the Premium Line booster systems, the complete Utility Line for DP-Pumps is now available as BIM object on MEPcontent. With this extension, BIM engineers now have all objects and data available to easily design pressure boosting systems in MEP projects.

The boosting systems are real powerhouses: good for a capacity of up to 840 m³ / h (6 x 125 m³ / h pumps) and a head of 250 meters (PN25). “The content for the Utility Line is designed to be as light as possible without compromising on data or functionality. This allows users to quickly work with the products in a BIM project” says Ruud van Leeuwen, Manager Business Development at DP pumps. The content is available for free on MEPcontent and usable in almost all Revit / CAD software.

About DP-Pumps
DP-Pumps is market leader in the Netherlands, with over 50% market share in pressure boosting systems. The entire process of consulting, development and production takes place in a state-of-the-art plant in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. With as many as 50 technicians in fully equipped service vehicles we are ready to fix failures 24/7.
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5 new products for Caleffi on MEPcontent

25 October 2016
Do you want to effectively design heatsystems in Revit or Autocad? The assortment enriched with 3D content for manufacturer Caleffi continues to grow.



The 311, 312 and 527 Safety relief valves, 327 Ball valve and the 5521 Elbow tundish for Caleffi are now available on MEPcontent. Engineers download this content for direct use in BIM projects.
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Valves of Caleffi

18 October 2016
From now on, various new pressure independant control valves, flow rate regulators, shut-off and pre-regulation valves,
pressure regulating valves, balancing valves of Caleffi can be downloaded on MEPcontent.com. Download the series 130,
132, 140, 142, 121,126 and 145 directly.