New file importers and increased file size limit

Support for 16 new file formats

Speckle has supported direct IFC, OBJ, and STL file upload for a while, and now we're adding support for native file formats for AutoCAD, Rhino, SolidWorks (and more). All of this is made possible by a new headless file importer utilizing Rhino in the cloud. You can upload files up to 1GB in size.

For example, previously, you could only get an AutoCAD model into Speckle if you (or a collaborator) had AutoCAD with a connector installed. Then you'd publish the model into Speckle using the connector. Now, you don't even need an AutoCAD license; if you have a file, you can drag & drop it into Speckle, explore it in the viewer to the smallest detail, share it with anyone using a single link, or import it into Power BI or Speckle Intelligence for analysis.

Now, instead of sharing model data via Next-Gen connectors, you can simply drag and drop files to access Speckle's magic faster.

Files are (still) our reality in the AEC industry as much as Speckle's connector sharing is object-based. Now, we enable anyone—regardless of software license or expertise—to open, view, and understand models stored in files.

A new IFC engine and file size increase

The new IFC importer now supports IFC spaces with their 3D geometries, features improved data extraction workflows that extract more attributes from each element, and utilizes the Next-Gen data model in line with our connectors. As a result, all automation and intelligence workflows work seamlessly with data from IFC files.

The IFC importer maximum file size limit has been raised from 100MB to 1GB. This increase is now available to all workspace plans. It is now robust and reliable, and in the event of errors, you'll receive an accurate description of what happened, ensuring you're always accurately tracking the data that has made its way into Speckle.

We have gone through a couple of iterations with our IFC parser and landed on a version that utilizes IFC Open Shell as our trusted engine. We believe that with our current setup, we've struck the right balance of speed and accuracy.

Improved Speckle importing UX

Now, you can view a history of file imports on a per Speckle model basis, track the status of each job, and download the original file if needed.

What's next for file imports

We will roll out support for additional file types in the next few weeks. The next file import is a major one, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, tell us about your file import experiences! Provide feedback via Intercom, located in the bottom right corner of your Speckle workspace, or join the Community Forum where our Product team is happy to discuss your views and ideas.