Pins on 3D models: documenting an IFC from your phone

Pins on 3D models: documenting an IFC from your phone

You’re standing in a plant room where the model said there’d be clearance, and there isn’t. You could photograph it, describe the location in an email, and hope the right person finds the spot — or you could open the model on your phone, orbit to exactly where you’re standing, and drop a pin in 3D right where the problem is. This post is about how that second option works, mechanically, and where its honest edges are.

This is the feature deep-dive on pins on a 3D model — how an IFC becomes something you can document on a phone, and what a 3D pin is and isn’t. (For the BIM-coordinator workflow rather than the mechanics, see how a BIM coordinator reviews a 3D model from a phone.)

Upload an IFC, get a 3D model that opens on a phone

The flow starts with an IFC file — the open exchange format your model is likely exported to. You upload it, and PinMy converts it into a lightweight 3D model that opens on a normal phone, no BIM workstation and no specialist software to install. As an IFC viewer on mobile, it’s deliberately simple: the field can orbit, zoom, and find the part of the building they’re physically standing in. Getting the geometry onto a phone is the whole unlock — because that’s where the field already is.

Drop a pin in 3D, right where you’re standing

Once the model’s open, documenting it works the way the rest of PinMy does. You tap to drop a pin on the 3D model at the point that matters — the clash, the missing clearance, the thing that doesn’t match reality. The pin sits at that location in the model, so when someone opens it later they go straight to the spot instead of decoding “near grid C, second bay.” It’s the same tap-to-pin muscle memory as working on a plan, now against geometry.

Attach photo, voice or text to the point

A 3D pin carries the same payload as any other. Add a photo of what’s actually built, a voice note — auto-transcribed across 20+ languages — or a quick text. Now the point in the model holds the design and the field’s observation of reality side by side. Documenting an IFC on site stops being “take photos and email them later” and becomes “pin reality against the model, in place.”

The strict boundary — read this part plainly

This is the part to be precise about, because the value depends on the honesty. A pin on a 3D model is anchored to a point in 3D space — not to a BIM element. PinMy does not read element IDs or properties, does not do model versioning, and does not interpret the model’s data. It is not BIM coordination, not a common data environment, and not a replacement for Revit or your authoring tools.

What it is: a dated snapshot of the model used for field documentation — a way to put the geometry in front of the field and let them pin observations onto it. Think “a first, honest step into 3D on site,” not “BIM in your pocket.” That modest claim is exactly why it’s trustworthy.

Who can open what: Free and Premium

Getting the model in front of people is deliberately low-friction. The 3D viewer works across plans, including Free, within limits — and a Free user can open an IFC or a video shared by a Premium teammate, within Free limits. So one person on a paid plan can put the model in front of the whole crew without everyone needing the top tier. The point is reach: the model is only useful if the field can actually open it.

From 3D pin to tracked task

Because a 3D pin is a normal pin, it behaves like one. @mention the right person, assign it, and it lands on the Kanban board (To-do, In Progress, Done); resolve it and it dims. So a clash you spotted on site doesn’t live and die as a screenshot — it becomes a located, owned, tracked item, the same as a flag on a plan or in a day in the life of a site supervisor.

Why a snapshot is enough for the field

It’s tempting to think the field needs the “real” coordinated model with all its data. Mostly, it doesn’t. What the person on the slab needs is to see the geometry and say where reality disagrees — and a dated snapshot they can pin onto does exactly that. The heavy, element-aware coordination stays where it belongs, in the authoring tools; the snapshot is the bridge that finally reaches the phone.

FAQ

Can I put pins on a 3D model from my phone? Yes. Upload an IFC, PinMy converts it to a lightweight 3D model that opens on a normal phone, and you tap to drop pins in 3D with photo, voice or text attached.

Are the pins linked to BIM elements? No. A pin is anchored to a point in 3D space, not to a model element. PinMy doesn’t read element IDs or properties and doesn’t version models — it’s a dated snapshot for field documentation.

Do I need a paid plan and special software? The 3D viewer works across plans including Free, within limits, with no BIM workstation to install. A Free user can also open an IFC or video shared by a Premium teammate, within Free limits.

What PinMy is NOT

PinMy is not BIM coordination, not a common data environment, and not a replacement for Revit or your authoring tools. A 3D pin marks a point in space — a dated snapshot — never a model element; it doesn’t read element data or version models. The web PDF report is useful but still maturing, and pricing lives only on the pricing page. What PinMy does is get your model onto a phone and let the field pin reality against it.

Put a pin in your model

Upload one IFC and drop a pin where reality and the model disagree.

• See how it works: pinmy.co
• Book a 15-minute demo: tidycal.com/pinmy