Last week, Solid Works released the new version of its flagship product – SolidWorks 2015. Along with many other exciting features in this new release, the SolidWorks 2015 version will be introducing a brand new feature: 3D printing.
When running SolidWorks 2015 on a Windows 8.1 device, you don’t need any additional third-party software as you can directly print to the 3D printer from the Solid Works software. Upon completing your design in Solid Works, click File – Print 3D to allow you access to the 3D print dialog box. Next, select your 3D printer from the drop-down menu and view a preview of the print bed and the location of the model. It is possible to modify settings such as print resolution, volume fill percentage and the optional addition of rafts and supports, amongst others.
With SolidWorks 2015, it is now possible to directly print a 3D model to a 3D printer fast and simple. You can also export part and assembly files to Additive Manufacturing File Format (AMF), which is an open XML-based format that is designed for the description of objects for additive manufacturing processes such as 3D printing. The AMF file could contain information on the color, materials and model geometry for 3D printing.
