Company Trimble   Tekla has pretty useful tool  — Tekla BIMsight. It allows to different subcontractors to look at 3d model of structure without Tekla Structures it self. And that actually great. Also it possible to look at ifc files from other programm packages.

How to work with BIMsight model without BIMsight?

Actually BIMsight model – it’s a simple IFC file with some xml extensions, and I will show you how to extract it from original model.

It’s pretty simple actually – all what you have to do it’s just open Tekla BIMsight model as archive. Inside you will find a folder with strange, long and senseless name  (GUID of model, or a Windows user, not sure). Inside of that folder we have to go at path as on a picture bellow. There we will found out a file with the same name as folder above and extension .ifcZIP — which is actually an ifc model but packing one. So we also could open this one as archive once again. And finally get an ifc  file with name of original model. So now you could open it with any other CAD application to see, or to modify. Which is quite useful.

You also could ask – what for all others files and folder at  BIMsight model? These is a bunch of xml files which improve ifc model for Tekla BIMsight – add useful attributes, and data, but do nothing with original 3d model.