We released CAD file importing in Preform 3.43 in beta. Would love to hear if you have any feedback for us. Please comment below how we can do better and what other formats you would like to see.
We’ve only used this feature on 1 print so far…imported file direct from Solidworks (we were using Inventor, but are in the process of switching over to Solidworks), did not encounter any issues with the direct import/opening of solidworks file
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Absolutely love it, thank you for implementing it 
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I’ve just downloaded and tried the new version.
Running Solidworks 2020.
I’m getting ~ 1/3 of the files refusing to open, with an error “Model contains no geometry.”
of the files which DO open, ~ 1/2 of them show odd errors (for example, an extruded part which SHOULD be hollow, but is actually shown as a solid extrusion)…
So, only about 1/3-12 of the files are usable.
That said, it’s a nice idea to NOT have to maintain additional .stl files for production products as well. I’m sure you’ll get it working better!
Hi @Davidwedge
Thanks for trying out the feature and sharing your feedback! I’m sorry you’re having trouble importing these files.
Could you please DM me any of the files that don’t open or are failing with import errors?
We’re still stabilizing this feature and any feedback would be helpful.
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Often get ‘repair file’ message. On some occasions, repairing the model results in holes being filled. That said, I have not had any models fail to import. (SolidWorks)
For those who are having difficulty with CAD files, make sure you have a single body or at least, no ‘orphaned’ surfaces. I think that may cause the translator some issues.
Can’t share these files… proprietary property, NDAs, and all…
sorry.
Generally, works well, but fillets seem to have some problems when I am bringing them in from solidworks, and the repair sometimes makes them into chamfers
Used it once—SolidWorks file opened without a hitch
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We’ve used this feature a few times to try it out and we’ve gone back to exporting fine .STL and/or .3MF files from SolidWorks instead before importing into Preform. Why?
Preform .STEP file import:
vs.
.3MF file import with SolidWorks’ facet generation cranked:
As you can see, Preform’s CAD import will generate the facets for you, but likely at a predetermined resolution that balances software performance on variable hardware platforms. This, we can understand from a software development complexity vs. human factors/UX point of view.
However, there are prints where the coarser facet resolution has actually mattered (e.g.: o-ring seal seats on small diameters) and forced us to re-export with extreme detail in the CAD software anyways.
We’d like to see the feature have a slider or configurable option for import resolution so its at the user’s risk/discretion to put the compute burden on their machine to generate as many facets as they want via Preform.
Bambu Studio/OrcaSlicer’s .STEP file import dialog being an inspiration for this kind of fine tuning addition to this potentially great feature in Preform.
Not to beat the horse to organic pulp too much, but an optimized native CAD file import really would improve engineering workflows with these machines as it would reduce reliance on different engineers generating their print files correctly and/or the need to version control those somewhat large and clunky files separately from the native CAD.
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its frustrating to see Bambu Labs make a more user friendly and advanced slicer than Formlabs.
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Thanks for bringing this up! I’ve actually encountered similar limitations myself and agree that there’s room for improvement here. I’ve submitted an internal ticket to revisit how we handle STEP file import resolutions and investigate ways to enhance this feature, taking your feedback into account. Please feel free to add thoughts here as they come up. Appreciate you taking the time to share your input!
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So far all the Catia V5 file we tried worked flawlessly.
Some parts asked for repair so we tried the file with and without it and both file printed good.
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