Thatopen Errors Performance

ThatOpen Performance and Memory Management

Overview

BIM models are large. A typical building model contains millions of triangles, thousands of IFC elements, and dozens of material definitions. Without proper memory management, a single model can consume gigabytes of browser memory and crash the tab. This skill covers every performance-critical pattern for ThatOpen applications: disposal chains, memory budgets, worker offloading, GPU optimization, and strategies for handling models that exceed normal limits.

Critical Rules

1. ALWAYS dispose resources when done. Every FragmentsModel, THREE.Mesh, THREE.Material, and THREE.Texture holds GPU memory. The browser garbage collector does NOT free GPU resources — you must call .dispose() explicitly.

2. ALWAYS dispose in the correct order. components.dispose() handles ordering internally (FragmentsManager last). When disposing manually, ALWAYS dispose dependents before their dependencies.

3. NEVER forget to dispose Three.js objects created outside components. Custom meshes, materials, geometries, and textures added to the scene are YOUR responsibility. components.dispose() only cleans component-managed resources.

4. ALWAYS initialize FragmentsManager with a worker URL. The worker offloads raycasting, data queries, and model loading from the main thread. Without it, large model operations freeze the UI.

5. NEVER load raw IFC repeatedly. Convert IFC to fragments once, store the binary, reload from fragments. IFC parsing is 10-100x slower than fragment loading.

Disposal Patterns

Full Application Disposal

When tearing down the entire viewer (route change, component unmount):

// This is the ONLY call needed for full cleanup.
// components.dispose() walks all registered components and disposes them.
// It disposes FragmentsManager LAST (it depends on other components).
components.dispose();

What components.dispose() does internally:

1. Sets components.enabled = false (stops the render loop)
2. Iterates all components in components.list
3. Calls .dispose() on each Disposable component
4. Disposes FragmentsManager last (ensures dependent components clean up first)
5. Fires components.onDisposed event

Per-Model Disposal

When removing a single model while the viewer stays active:

const fragments = components.get(OBC.FragmentsManager);

// Dispose a specific model by its ID
fragments.disposeModel(modelId);

What disposeModel() does:

1. Fires onBeforeDispose event with the model
2. Removes all fragments (InstancedMesh instances) from the scene
3. Disposes GPU buffers (geometry, materials) for each fragment
4. Terminates worker state for that model
5. Removes the model from fragments.list

Three.js Manual Disposal

For custom Three.js objects you create yourself:

// Geometry — ALWAYS dispose
geometry.dispose();

// Material — ALWAYS dispose, including its maps
material.dispose();
if (material.map) material.map.dispose();
if (material.normalMap) material.normalMap.dispose();
if (material.aoMap) material.aoMap.dispose();
if (material.envMap) material.envMap.dispose();

// Render target — if you create custom render targets
renderTarget.dispose();

// Remove from scene BEFORE disposing
scene.remove(mesh);
mesh.geometry.dispose();
mesh.material.dispose();

Disposal Checklist

Use this checklist when implementing cleanup logic:

• components.dispose() called on application teardown
• fragments.disposeModel(id) called for individual model removal
• Custom geometries disposed via geometry.dispose()
• Custom materials disposed via material.dispose()
• Texture maps disposed (map, normalMap, aoMap, envMap, etc.)
• Custom meshes removed from scene before disposal
• Event listeners removed (removeEventListener)
• requestAnimationFrame loops cancelled
• DOM references cleared (container elements)

Memory Leak Detection

Symptoms of Memory Leaks

DevTools Memory Profiling

1. Open Chrome DevTools > Memory tab
2. Take heap snapshot BEFORE loading a model
3. Load the model — note memory increase
4. Dispose the model
5. Force garbage collection (trash can icon)
6. Take heap snapshot AFTER disposal
7. Compare: search for "BufferGeometry", "Material", "Texture"
8. Any remaining instances = leak

Key objects to watch in heap snapshots:

• BufferGeometry — GPU geometry buffers
• InstancedBufferAttribute — per-instance transforms
• MeshLambertMaterial / MeshBasicMaterial — materials
• Texture / DataTexture — texture data
• WebGLProgram — compiled shaders

Memory Budget Guidelines

Browser memory limits:

• Chrome: ~4 GB per tab (64-bit), ~1 GB (32-bit)
• Firefox: ~4 GB per tab
• Safari: ~3 GB per tab (more aggressive about killing tabs)
• Mobile browsers: ~1-2 GB total

Worker Thread Usage

Why Workers Matter

Fragment operations that run in the worker (off main thread):

• FlatBuffers deserialization (model loading)
• Raycast intersection calculations
• Property data extraction (getData)
• Position and bounding box calculations
• GUID-to-ID mapping lookups

Without the worker, ALL of these block the main thread. For a 100K-element model, a single getData call can freeze the UI for several seconds.

Worker Initialization

const fragments = components.get(OBC.FragmentsManager);

// ALWAYS init with worker URL matching your installed fragments version
fragments.init(
  "https://unpkg.com/@thatopen/fragments@3.3.6/dist/Worker/worker.mjs"
);

ALWAYS match the worker URL to your installed @thatopen/fragments version. A version mismatch between the main thread library and worker script causes deserialization failures and silent data corruption.

Main Thread vs Worker Thread

BVH Raycasting

ThatOpen uses three-mesh-bvh for accelerated raycasting. This is auto-patched onto THREE.BufferGeometry in the Components constructor.

No manual setup needed. When you call components.get(OBC.Components) or create a new Components(), the BVH extension is automatically applied.

Performance impact: Without BVH, raycasting a 100K-triangle model tests every triangle (O(n)). With BVH, it traverses a bounding volume hierarchy (O(log n)) — typically 100-1000x faster.

NEVER remove or override the BVH patch. If you import Three.js separately, ensure the BVH patch is applied before creating geometries.

Polygon Offset (Z-Fighting Prevention)

When two surfaces overlap at the same depth (e.g., a floor slab and a floor finish), the GPU cannot determine which is in front. This causes z-fighting: flickering pixels alternating between the two surfaces.

Solution: Polygon Offset

// Apply polygon offset to materials that overlap other surfaces
material.polygonOffset = true;
material.polygonOffsetFactor = 1;
material.polygonOffsetUnits = 1;

When to use polygon offset:

• Highlight overlays on existing geometry
• Section fill materials on clipping planes
• Floor finish layers on structural slabs
• Any custom overlay material

ALWAYS apply polygon offset to highlight and overlay materials. ThatOpen's built-in highlight system handles this automatically, but custom materials you create need manual polygon offset.

Large Model Strategies

Strategy 1: IFC Class Filtering

Reduce memory by loading only the IFC classes you need:

const ifcLoader = components.get(OBC.IfcLoader);
await ifcLoader.setup();

// The default import configuration already excludes some classes
// for memory efficiency. You can further restrict it.
// Only configure the classes you actually need in your application.

Default excluded classes (not imported unless explicitly added): Some geometry-heavy classes like IFCOPENINGELEMENT and IFCSPACE are excluded by default to save memory. Check ifcLoader.settings for the current default import list.

Strategy 2: Convert Once, Load Fragments

// FIRST TIME: Convert IFC (slow, memory-intensive)
const model = await ifcLoader.load(ifcBytes, true, "Building");

// STORE: Export the FragmentsModel binary to IndexedDB or server

// SUBSEQUENT LOADS: Skip IFC entirely (10-100x faster)
// Load the pre-converted .frag binary through FragmentsManager

This is the single most impactful performance optimization. IFC parsing requires WASM, schema interpretation, and geometry tessellation. Fragment loading is just FlatBuffers deserialization — nearly instant.

Strategy 3: Model Federation

Instead of loading one massive model, split into discipline-specific models:

// Load the base architecture model first
const archModel = await loadFragments("architecture.frag");
fragments.baseCoordinationModel = archModel.modelId;
fragments.baseCoordinationMatrix = archModel.coordinationMatrix;

// Load additional disciplines on demand
const structModel = await loadFragments("structure.frag");
fragments.applyBaseCoordinateSystem(structModel, structModel.coordinationMatrix);

ALWAYS set the base coordination model from the first loaded model. Subsequent models must be aligned to this base.

Strategy 4: Selective Loading and Disposal

Load models as users navigate, dispose when they leave the area:

// User opens floor 3 → load floor 3 model
const floor3 = await loadFragments("floor3.frag");

// User navigates to floor 7 → dispose floor 3, load floor 7
fragments.disposeModel(floor3.modelId);
const floor7 = await loadFragments("floor7.frag");

Performance Optimization Checklist

Before Loading

• Worker initialized with correct version URL
• Using pre-converted fragments (not raw IFC for repeat loads)
• IFC class filtering configured to exclude unnecessary types
• Memory budget estimated for target model size

During Runtime

• No unnecessary re-renders (check renderer.update() frequency)
• Raycasting uses BVH (automatic, but verify no override)
• Polygon offset applied to overlay materials
• Heavy operations (getData, getPositions) called sparingly

On Cleanup

• components.dispose() called on teardown
• Individual models disposed when no longer needed
• Custom Three.js objects disposed manually
• Event listeners removed
• DOM references cleared

Common Performance Problems

Problem: Browser Tab Crashes

Cause: Memory exhaustion from loading too-large models.

Solution:

1. Check model element count before loading
2. Filter IFC classes to reduce geometry
3. Use model federation (split by discipline/floor)
4. Monitor performance.memory.usedJSHeapSize (Chrome only)

Problem: UI Freezes During Operations

Cause: Heavy operations running on main thread without worker.

Solution:

1. Verify worker is initialized: fragments.initialized === true
2. Use async APIs: await fragments.getData(items) (runs in worker)
3. Batch operations instead of per-element calls

Problem: Gradual Slowdown

Cause: Accumulating undisposed resources across load/unload cycles.

Solution:

1. Profile with DevTools Memory tab
2. Ensure disposeModel() is called before loading replacement
3. Check for custom Three.js objects not being disposed
4. Verify event listeners are properly removed

Problem: Z-Fighting Flickering

Cause: Overlapping surfaces at same depth without polygon offset.

Solution:

1. Apply polygonOffset = true to overlay materials
2. Use polygonOffsetFactor = 1 and polygonOffsetUnits = 1
3. ThatOpen highlights handle this automatically — check custom materials

Related Skills

• thatopen-core-fragments — Fragment system, worker init, model lifecycle
• thatopen-core-architecture — Component system, disposal via components
• thatopen-syntax-ifc-loading — IfcLoader settings, class filtering
• thatopen-errors-loading — Loading failures, WASM issues, error recovery

References

• references/methods.md — Disposal methods, memory APIs, performance-related APIs
• references/examples.md — Proper disposal, worker setup, memory monitoring patterns
• references/anti-patterns.md — Memory leaks, missing disposal, main thread blocking