Dassault Systèmes’ on-demand manufacturing service becomes accessible through SOLIDWORKS applications
In 2018, Dassault Systèmes, the leading company in 3D design and engineering software, launched its global online manufacturing ecosystem, the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace. Make, one of the marketplace’s three services alongside Part Supply and Engineering, is an on-demand manufacturing service introduced to connect 3D printing service providers to buyers around the world. Through the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace Make service, more than 200 worldwide providers offer services in additive manufacturing but also complementary technologies such as CNC machining, injection molding, and laser cutting. Today, companies that want to test designs for their projects but do not have any reason to invest in in-house equipment will need to work with a manufacturing service to have their parts made. Therefore bringing many providers under one roof is one of the main advantages of the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace Make service.
Dassault Systèmes introduced an instant quoting system within the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace Make service that allows buyers to compare the price from various providers at the same time. Buyers are also able to compare the price of manufacturing with different materials, technologies, and other criteria. At the beginning of 2020, the company released a new add-in for all SOLIDWORKS users to allow engineering and design teams to streamline their design process even further. Hubert Masson, User Experience Director at Dassault Systèmes told us: “Our objective with the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace Make service is to reduce the distance between virtual parts and real parts. Millions of designers and engineers use SOLIDWORKS to design great products. At some point, all these designs need to become real – either as prototypes or functional parts. It makes sense for SOLIDWORKS users not to have to leave their design environment if they need quotes or to order parts. We know this is something they expect, and this is what this add-in provides. Additionally, it connects users with qualified industrial services, helping them better collaborate to achieve better results.”
The add-in will have a wide impact on teams that use SOLIDWORKS for product development
SOLIDWORKS is one of the most popular 3D modelling applications, adapted to all conventional and newer technologies such as additive manufacturing. In fact, the latest figures estimate that there are millions of active users of SOLIDWORKS across 80 countries. Therefore, this new add-in will have a wide impact on teams that use the software for product development. One of the key benefits that engineering departments aim to achieve is managing design costs appropriately. This applies to prototyping activities, but also to series production once the design has been validated. The add-in is essentially a tool that will allow better monitoring throughout these steps.
Hubert Masson added: “There are many benefits with this integration. The biggest one is to manage design-to-cost. With instant quotes for 3D printing and CNC machining right from within SOLIDWORKS, users know the cost of the part they are currently designing. As they modify designs, the prices update automatically. Once they are happy with it, they can go ahead and place their order, still without leaving SOLIDWORKS. This is the second benefit: users stay in their design environment all the way to the order confirmation. Finally, it’s all very simple and straightforward. We are bringing a network of qualified industrial manufacturing service providers to SOLIDWORKS users’ fingertips. No need to manually export and manipulate files, just push a button in SOLIDWORKS and get your parts made.”
In terms of applications, this add-in targets all 3D printing applications from aesthetic or functional prototyping, jigs and tooling, to production parts and spare parts – basically, any part that can be modelled with SOLIDWORKS. Given that the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace Make service also covers other manufacturing processes like CNC machining, injection molding or sheet metal, such parts can also be requested from the add-in. Finally, if you are a SOLIDWORKS user, follow this link to download the add-in.
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