The example in Figure 438 declares two parametric beam types, one with an I-Shape profile and the other with a T-Shape profile. Each type has nine occurrences, using various cardinal points to align the profiles.

Figure 438 — Beam occurrences

The beam 'A-9' in Figure 439 is an occurrence of the 'IPE220' type having an I-Shape profile, placed along an axis using the upper-right cardinal point.

The cardinal point of the beam 'A-9' is set to the upper-right, indicating that the 'Body' representation should be generated with the upper-right of the profile aligned along the curve of the 'Axis representation.

Figure 439 — Beam profile and cardinal point usage

The 'IPE220' beam type in Figure 440 is represented by IfcBeamType. As a parametric definition, this beam type does not have any geometric representation, rather it has a material profile set association indicating a cross-section which may be applied to paths defined at occurrences.

Figure 440 — Beam type graph

Each beam occurrence as in Figure 441 is represented by IfcBeamStandardCase. The IfcMaterialProfileSetUsage entity indicates the alignment of the material profile set according to cardinal point. The IfcMaterialProfileSet indicates a single material profile. The IfcMaterialProfile indicates an I-Shape cross-section of steel. The IfcIShapeProfileDef indicates shape parameters of the I-Shape profile. The IfcMaterial indicates the steel material, which could be further elaborated with structural properties, surface styles, and fill area styles.

Figure 441 — Beam occurrence graph