Leverage SOLIDWORKS in 3D Printing
                     LEVERAGING SOLIDWORKS 
FOR 3D PRINTING
3D SOFTWARE & HARDWARE SOLUTIONS
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3D PRINTING IS TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM, METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING.
MUCH LIKE A LITERAL STORM, THIS NEWER TECHNOLOGY IS CAUSING SWEEPING CHANGES ACROSS MANY WIDELY 
VARIED INDUSTRIES. FROM MANUFACTURING TO MARKETING, 3D PRINTERS ARE ABSOLUTELY CHANGING THE 
GAME.
IF YOU HAVEN’T YET JUMPED ON THE 3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS BANDWAGON, YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO READ 
ON. THIS ARTICLE WILL EXPLAIN HOW THIS TRULY REVOLUTIONARY COMBINATION MAY BE JUST THE TICKET FOR 
MOVING YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD.
EVEN IF YOU’RE ALREADY HAPPILY ON THE 3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS WAGON, YOU MAY BE WONDERING JUST HOW 
TO GET THE MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT, IN ORDER TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR 3D 
PRINTER AND MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS, YOU NEED AN INDUSTRY-LEADING 3D CAD SOFTWARE SUITE TO GO ALONG 
WITH IT. QUALITY CAD SOFTWARE, LIKE 3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS, CAN TRULY CHANGE THE FUTURE OF YOUR 
PROJECTS AND YOUR BUSINESS.
SO, JUST HOW CAN YOU BEGIN TO LEVERAGE SOLIDWORKS TO MAXIMIZE THE ADVANTAGES OF YOUR 3D PRINTER? 
LET’S DIVE INTO THE DETAILS.
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SOLIDWORKS AND 3D PRINTING—A MATCH MADE IN 
(TECH) HEAVEN
BEFORE WE EXPLAIN HOW THESE TWO TECHNOLOGIES WORK BEAUTIFULLY IN TANDEM AND HOW TO GET THE 
MOST OUT OF YOUR 3D PRINTER AND SOLIDWORKS COMBO, LET’S LOOK AT THEM SEPARATELY FOR A MOMENT.
TYPES OF 3D PRINTING
WHILE THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT PRINTERS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET THESE DAYS, THERE ARE ABOUT NINE 
COMMON TECHNOLOGIES USED IN 3D PRINTING:
  BINDER JETTING (BJ)
 DIGITAL LIGHT PROCESSING (DLP)
 ELECTRON BEAM MELTING (EMB)
 FUSED DEPOSITION MODELING (FDM)
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 LAMINATED OBJECT MANUFACTURING (LOM)
 MATERIAL JETTING/WAX CASTING 
 SELECTIVE LASER MELTING (SLM)
 SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING (SLS)
 STEREOLITHOGRAPHY (SLA)
THE MOST COMMON AMONGST THESE ARE FDM, SLA, AND SLS. THE MAJORITY OF 3D PRINTERS ON THE MARKET 
WILL UTILIZE ONE OF THESE THREE TECHNOLOGIES. 
NEARLY REGARDLESS OF THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED, 3D PRINTERS ARE BEING USED TO REVOLUTIONIZE MANY 
INDUSTRIES BY CREATING UNPRECEDENTED, WIDESPREAD EFFICIENCIES AND SAVINGS.
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A BIT ABOUT SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS IS THE LEADING 3D CAD SOFTWARE SUITES IN THE WORLD, WITH OVER 6 MILLION USERS GLOBALLY. 
SOLIDWORKS IS AN INDUSTRY LEADER THAT EVOLVES QUICKLY TO EMBRACE EMERGING TECH AND ADDRESS EVER-
CHANGING BUSINESS NEEDS. 
BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE IS SO SIMPLY INTEGRATED WITH ADD-ONS AND COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMS, IT IS 
IMMENSELY DYNAMIC. THIS INNOVATION IS JUST ONE REASON THAT PEOPLE LOVE IT, AND OVER 6 MILLION 
SATISFIED CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE CAN’T BE WRONG!
3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS: PUTTING THEM TOGETHER FOR MAX RESULTS
SOLIDWORKS ASSISTS YOU WITH QUALITY 3D PRINTING IN A COUPLE OF KEY WAYS:
1. IT IS VERY VALUABLE AND EASY TO USE AND EVEN OFFERS PARAMETRIC MODELING.
2. IT SUPPORTS A VARIETY OF 3D PRINTING OPTIONS AND EVALUATION TOOLS.
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PRINT3D
PRINT3D IS THE PRIMARY SOLIDWORKS FEATURE THAT WILL ASSIST YOU WITH HIGH-QUALITY 3D PRINTING. WITHIN 
PRINT3D, YOU ARE ABLE TO PREPARE FOR EASY FILE EXPORT WITH:
 A LIBRARY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO PREVIEW YOUR 3D DESIGN (ACCOUNTING FOR PRINTER VOLUME)
 A PREVIEW FUNCTION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CONSIDER MATERIALS TO USE, ANGLES, THICKNESS AND/OR GAPS, LAYER 
HEIGHTS, SLICES, FACES REQUIRED AND SUPPORTS NEEDED
 AN AUTOMATIC CALCULATION OF THE MAXIMUM SCALE FOR YOUR DESIGN
THEN YOU’LL BE ABLE TO EASILY EXPORT TO AN STL, 3MF, OR AMF FILE FOR QUICK 3D PRINTING.
A FEW OF THE OTHER TOOLS THAT YOU WILL FIND USEFUL WHEN LEVERAGING SOLIDWORKS FOR 3D PRINTING ARE:
 EXPORT
 INCLUDES EXPORT RESOLUTION, WHICH IMPACTS YOUR FILE SIZE AND END-PRODUCT 
QUALITY
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 USE THIS FEATURE TO PREVIEW AND CHOOSE THE BEST RESOLUTION FOR YOUR MODEL, INCLUDING 
DEVIATION, ANGLE, AND MAX FACET SIZE
 GEOMETRY ANALYSIS
 THICKNESS ANALYSIS
 SECTION VIEW (INCLUDES SECTION/SLICE PROPERTIES AND THE MEASURE FUNCTION)
 INTERFERENCE DETECTION
 CLEARANCE VERIFICATION
THESE TOOLS SHOULD BE USED WELL IN ADVANCE OF TRYING TO 3D PRINT YOUR MODEL. 
AS YOU’RE DEVELOPING YOUR DESIGN, APPLY THE ABOVE TOOLS IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE EFFICIENCY OF YOUR 
DESIGN AND PRINTING PROCESS. VALIDATING YOUR MODEL DESIGN AS IT RELATES TO 3D PRINTING 
REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO ACTUALLY ATTEMPTING TO PRINT WILL DRASTICALLY CUT DOWN ON ANY ISSUES WITH 
YOUR MODEL AND PRINTER’S COMPATIBILITY. 
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DESIGNPOINT: YOUR PARTNER IN INNOVATION
ONE THING IS CLEAR: EMPLOYING 3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS TOGETHER CREATES POSITIVE IMPACTS ACROSS THE 
BOARD. FROM INCREDIBLE INNOVATION TO MASSIVE EFFICIENCY AND SAVINGS, THIS IS A COMBINATION MADE IN 
TECHNOLOGY HEAVEN. 
LEVERAGE THE 3D PRINTING SOLIDWORKS FEATURES AS YOU DESIGN YOUR 3D MODEL FOR MAXIMUM BANG FOR 
YOUR BUCK. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER!
ARE YOU READY TO LEVEL UP YOUR 3D PRINTING EFFORTS? SIMPLY UPGRADE TO SOLIDWORKS, OR JUST 
GENERALLY REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE LATEST 3D TECHNOLOGY, CONTACT US. DESIGNPOINT HELPS 
YOU TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS’S FUTURE WITH TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY.
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