Software that makes it easier to get your CAD design 3D printed has been on the want list of engineers for some time. One issue is that 3D printing tends to be characterized by a significant amount of “model fixing” time.

Stratasys Ltd. unveiled a software strategy designed to make 3D printing significantly easier, more intuitive and highly accessible. The approach is powered by an open architecture “design-to-3D print” workflow application, GrabCAD Print – residing on the popular GrabCAD SaaS platform and supported by a community of more than 3 million designers, engineers and students.

The GrabCAD Print has an easy-to-use and intuitive print preparation environment that removes typical complexities from the design-to-3D print process.

GrabCAD Print reduces errors by eliminating requirements to translate and repair computer-aided design (CAD) files. Product designers, engineers, and 3D printer operators can now send native CAD files to a Stratasys 3D Printer or service bureau directly from their familiar CAD environments. The application also accelerates data-driven decision-making.

“When we acquired GrabCAD two years ago, our vision was to provide a digital manufacturing backbone to support adoption of 3D printing technologies,” said Josh Claman, Chief Business Officer, Stratasys.

GrabCAD Print is an application built on the GrabCAD platform – empowering users with a single, open, cloud-based environment for job preparation, scheduling and monitoring. Accelerating integration of additive manufacturing on the shop floor, GrabCAD Print also generates real-time business intelligence which can be prepared in actionable reports for Stratasys 3D Printers on the user’s GrabCAD Print network.

GrabCAD Print works with a variety of Stratasys FDM and PolyJet 3D Printers and can natively read several popular CAD formats from PTC Creo, Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS, Siemens PLM Software’s NX software, CATIA and Autodesk Inventor. The application also facilitates data sharing related to job scheduling, print queue status, material usage and historical usage. All information is readily available through standard Web browsers, mobile applications or locally installed clients while securely managed through the GrabCAD Platform.

Committed to architecting an open and partner-friendly solution, Stratasys is making full use of a powerful 3D design ecosystem – creating additional value-added applications based on the GrabCAD Platform. Industry leading CAD solution providers such as PTC, Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS, and Siemens PLM Software will be collaborating with Stratasys to further simplify key functions in CAD-to-3D print workflow. Users of these offerings will be able to access Stratasys 3D printing solutions, analyze designs for 3D printability, and prepare and print jobs from their native CAD environment.

“When keeping up with fast paced development, frequently things will change in the last minute. In the past when a build had to be switched to a different 3D printer I’d have to do a clean restart – redo all of that file preparation work. With GrabCAD Print it’s easy to switch between 3D printers within a single app. That’s a huge step forward in improving the workflow,” said Jimmy Callaway, Design Engineer, Joe Gibbs Racing.

The GrabCAD Print application is planned for public beta in North America this summer with additional releases planned throughout the year alongside new language and regional support.