InterferenceInvestigator is an Autodesk Revit add-in from underbim, a Portugal-based BIM consultancy with experience in BIM, Revit training, consulting, and software development since 2001. It is one of eight add-ins in ub.Suite Edition 1, released in late October 2026, and can be purchased individually or as part of the suite. underbim summarizes its purpose as “See the clash. Understand the pair.” The add-in focuses on the work after interference detection: moving from an interference result to the exact host and linked elements involved, locating them in the Revit model, recovering enough surrounding context to understand the problem, tracking a review state for each occurrence, and turning the investigation into an actionable result. Reviewed results can become a native Revit schedule, a .ubr result package, or input to ModelData.
This summary is based primarily on the text of the official InterferenceInvestigator product page, supplemented by the ModelData and FilterToSchedule product pages, underbim’s website and suite announcement, and Autodesk documentation on the native Interference Check. The product page is marketing material: several feature areas are described in detail, while others are only named. No user guide, independent review, or hands-on testing was available, so the remaining gaps are listed as open questions rather than filled with assumptions.
Core Concept: A Clash Becomes Useful When You Can Investigate It
underbim states that InterferenceInvestigator is “built for the work after detection”: identifying the pair, reaching the actual elements, understanding their model context, and deciding what needs to happen next. The product page frames this as four stages:
- Result: a structured interference set.
- Pair: host and linked participants with their identities.
- Context: select, isolate, and Focus 5%.
- Continue: schedule, .ubr, or ModelData.
The page’s coordination-workflow graphic illustrates a pair consisting of a host structural beam and a linked service element, labeled “Status · Open,” following a path of pair → model → context.
Six-Step Workflow
underbim describes the workflow as moving “from result to model action,” keeping the interference result structured throughout the investigative work inside Revit:
- Result: start from a structured set of interference occurrences rather than an unconnected list.
- Pair: work with the two explicit participants of each occurrence, including host and linked elements.
- Locate: select and reach the actual model elements instead of stopping at their identifiers.
- Context: isolate the pair or retain only the context needed to understand the interference.
- Review: filter, navigate, and update the state of occurrences as the investigation progresses.
- Continue: create a schedule, produce a .ubr, or continue directly in ModelData.
Feature Explorer: Investigate the Occurrence, Keep the Result
The investigation stays connected to the structured interference result: pair identity, model location, visual context, review state, and outputs. The page names eight feature areas: Results, Pairs, Linked Elements, Select & Isolate, Focus 5%, Context, Status & Filters, and Outputs.
Results: Keep the Interference Set Structured
- Occurrence: each interference remains an explicit occurrence, one pair at a time, rather than an anonymous row.
- Identity: the host and linked participant identities remain attached to the same structured result.
- Subset: the visible, filtered subset can drive investigation and outputs without redefining the source result, preserving provenance.
Pairs and Linked Elements: Two Participants, One Explicit Pair
Both sides of each occurrence remain explicit. A linked participant is not reduced to a vague reference to the RVT Link; the investigation can reach and highlight the actual element inside the link while preserving its relationship to the host element.
- Host element (Participant A): select the native element in the active Revit document while keeping it tied to the occurrence.
- Linked element (Participant B): resolve and highlight the actual element within the linked document context rather than stopping at the RVT Link container.
Select, Isolate, Focus 5%, and Context
- Select: synchronize the result with the pair in Revit, moving directly to the model elements.
- Isolate: strip the view down when surrounding geometry is no longer useful.
- Focus 5%: retain a small spatial envelope around the pair so its location and adjacency remain understandable without the noise of the full model. The name suggests a 5% margin; whether it can be adjusted is not stated.
- Context: named as a separate feature area, described as retaining only the context needed to understand the interference.
Status, Filters, and Outputs
Each occurrence carries a review state of Open, Reviewed, Resolved, or Ignore, which remains attached while the result set is navigated and filtered. Filtering creates a visible subset that can drive investigation and outputs without changing the source result. The Outputs feature area covers schedule creation, .ubr results, and the ModelData handoff described below. The page does not state whether states persist after the project is closed, whether comments or assignees can be added, or how states carry over when interferences are checked again.
Comparison with Revit’s Native Interference Check
Revit’s native Interference Check (Collaborate tab › Interference Check › Run Interference Check) compares two category sets and lists detected clashes in an Interference Report dialog. Selecting an item in the report highlights it in the model. The report is a review dialog rather than a structured, trackable dataset: it does not store a review state per clash or produce schedule data.
InterferenceInvestigator adds what the native report lacks: persistent occurrence identity, direct resolution of linked elements, controlled-context views, per-occurrence review states, filtering, and outputs to schedules, .ubr files, and ModelData. Because underbim describes InterferenceInvestigator as built for the work after detection, it should be understood mainly as an investigation and review layer rather than a replacement detection engine. The product page does not state whether InterferenceInvestigator performs its own detection, starts from Revit’s Interference Check, or imports results from another tool.
Connected Workflows and Outputs
underbim describes this as “investigate spatially, continue structurally.” A reviewed result can become a persistent project artifact or move forward without rebuilding the investigation context:
- Create Schedule: materialize the investigated subset as a native, persistent project schedule when an in-model result is useful.
- Create .ubr: package the interference result with both participants and the context needed for downstream underbim workflows.
- Open in ModelData: hand the created schedule and its document identity to ModelData for structured analysis. InterferenceInvestigator closes only after ModelData accepts the handoff. ModelData can then add fields, logical filters, grouping, calculations, investigation tools, reusable .ubsd definitions, and CSV/XLSX export.
- Occurrence—Explicit interference pair: Keeps both participants attached to the same identifiable occurrence throughout investigation.
- Review state—Open · Reviewed · Resolved · Ignore: Keeps the coordination state attached to the occurrence during navigation and filtering.
- Revit schedule—Native project result: Materializes the current investigated subset as a persistent schedule in the Revit project.
- .UBR—Definition + context + result: Carries the structured result, participant identities, and relevant context in the common ub.Suite result format.
Compatibility and Licensing
- Investigation scope: host-model and linked elements.
- Core model: pair → model → context, keeping each occurrence and its two participants connected throughout investigation.
- Outputs: native Revit schedule, .ubr result package, or handoff to ModelData.
- License model: perpetual by Edition. Edition updates are included; major Edition upgrades are optional.
- Checkout: secure checkout via Freemius.
- Updates and documentation: underbim publishes signed releases and update manifests on GitHub, and the product page links to setup and documentation resources.
Workflow Value for BIM Coordinators
The following are interpretations of the published capabilities, not verified performance claims:
- Faster linked-model review: resolving the actual element inside an RVT Link removes a common friction point in host-versus-link coordination.
- Readable clash views: Isolate and Focus 5% may reduce the manual section-box and visibility work otherwise needed to understand a clash in congested areas.
- Trackable review: Open, Reviewed, Resolved, and Ignore states turn a one-time report into a working coordination list that can be filtered by progress.
- Documented outcomes: schedules and .ubr results provide in-model or portable records of what was found and reviewed.
- Deeper analysis: the ModelData handoff supports grouping, counting, and reporting clashes by category, level, system, or other data.
- Caution: InterferenceInvestigator appears to complement, not replace, dedicated coordination platforms such as Navisworks or cloud issue tracking, especially for multi-discipline, multi-party workflows. Its fit depends on whether coordination reviews take place inside Revit.
Remaining Open Questions
- Source of the result: the page describes work “after detection” and starting from a structured set of occurrences, but does not state where that set comes from. Does InterferenceInvestigator run its own detection, use Revit’s Interference Check, or import an exported interference report or another clash result?
- Detection settings: if InterferenceInvestigator performs detection, are categories, tolerances, clearance checks, and rules for ignoring expected intersections configurable?
- Link-to-link pairs: the page describes host-plus-linked pairs; are pairs involving two linked models, or two host elements, supported?
- Context options: is the Focus margin fixed at 5% or adjustable, and what does the separate Context feature area include, such as section boxes or 3D views?
- Review state persistence: are Open, Reviewed, Resolved, and Ignore states stored in the project, in a .ubr file, or only during a session? Can comments or assignees be added?
- Re-runs: after the model changes, can a new result be compared with an earlier one so that states carry over and resolved clashes are recognized?
- Schedule behavior: how does the schedule represent linked elements, does it refresh deliberately like FilterToSchedule snapshots, and are any parameters added to elements?
- Exchange: are BCF, Navisworks, or other external clash formats supported?
- Performance: how does it handle large models and large occurrence counts?
Suggested Trial Evaluation
- Use a copy of a representative coordinated project, including at least one linked model.
- Establish how a structured result is created or loaded, and compare its occurrences with Revit’s native Interference Check for the same category pairs.
- For host-plus-linked pairs, confirm that the linked participant is resolved and highlighted as the actual element, not just the link instance.
- Use Select, Isolate, and Focus 5% on clashes in congested areas, and confirm that the working view is restored afterward.
- Set occurrences to Reviewed, Resolved, and Ignore, filter by status, then close and reopen the project to see whether states persist.
- Change the model to resolve some clashes, then repeat the process to see how earlier results and states are handled.
- Create a schedule from a filtered subset and review how host and linked participants appear.
- Create a .ubr and, if ModelData is being evaluated, open the result in ModelData to confirm what transfers.
- Check any parameters, schedules, views, or other content added to the project against office standards.
Overall Assessment
InterferenceInvestigator is a focused add-in that concentrates on the work after interference detection. Its key distinctions are explicit occurrence pairs with persistent participant identity; direct resolution of the actual element inside a RVT Link; Select, Isolate, and Focus 5% tools for viewing a clash in useful context; and Open, Reviewed, Resolved, and Ignore states attached to each occurrence. Reviewed results can continue as native schedules, .ubr packages, or ModelData analysis. It suits BIM coordinators who review host-versus-linked clashes inside Revit and want those reviews to produce a structured, trackable record. The page does not explain where the initial interference result comes from, how review states persist across re-runs, or whether external formats such as BCF are supported. These are the critical points to confirm during the 30-day trial.
Sources
- underbim — InterferenceInvestigator product page. Primary source for concept, workflow, features, pair and linked-element investigation, review states, outputs, compatibility, licensing, and pricing.
- underbim — ModelData product page. Source for ModelData capabilities after handoff, the Windows platform statement, and ModelData pricing.
- underbim — FilterToSchedule product page. Source for comparison pricing and snapshot behavior.
- underbim — home page. Lists InterferenceInvestigator within ub.Suite Edition 1.
- underbim — ub.Suite 1 LinkedIn announcement. Suite context and release timing.
- underbim — official releases repository (GitHub). Signed releases and update manifests.
- underbim — About page. Company background since 2001.
- Autodesk Support — How to run an interference check between elements in Revit. Native Interference Check workflow.
Advertisement
No comments:
Post a Comment