Should You Use SOLIDWORKS For 3D Printing?

In industrial sectors and product design, SOLIDWORKS is a CAD solution many rely on. The software has been around since the mid 90s and the latest figures estimate that there are around 9.3 million active users across 80 countries. It is based on parametric modeling and is primarily used to create 3D models and assemblies. SOLIDWORKS has also been adopted in the world of additive manufacturing, as it enables engineers to save their models in an STL format; the format needed for a 3D model to be processed by 3D printing software.

SOLIDWORKS was developed back in 1993 when John Hirschtick, a member of the MIT Blackjack Team, recruited a team of engineers to create the first accessible and affordable 3D modeling solution. At the time, AutoCAD, which had been released in 1989, was limited to the creation and editing of 2D geometry. Therefore, SOLIDWORKS was the first software to bring an accessible 3D modeling solution to the market. For many engineers, 3D modeling truly changed the way they could bring creations to life.

One of the first versions of the software

Soon enough the software became extremely popular and Dassault Systèmes decided to acquire it in 1997 for $320 million in stock. At the time, Dassault Systèmes was known for its CATIA solution, a product lifecycle management suite, which combines design, engineering, and manufacturing features used for automotive, aerospace and aeronautics. Essentially, SOLIDWORKS is a lighter version of CATIA.