SOLIDWORKS World 2017 Kicks Off

Along with another big kickoff yesterday, here in LA one of the year’s biggest events in 3D software kicked off as SOLIDWORKS World 2017 hit the ground running. Last night, the agenda included an energetic start as event-goers were treated to a tailgate party out in the Los Angeles Convention Center lobby followed by a welcome event on the floor of the SWW17 Partner Pavilion.

Filled with generous amounts of food, drink, exhibitors and attendees, the Partner Pavilion had an energy all its own last night — and not only because you couldn’t walk down a row of booths without encountering enthused football fans cheering on the big game. Because the Puppy Bowl wasn’t on any of the screens, I focused my attention on walking through the booths to see what there was to see, and enjoyed the opportunity to introduce a journalist colleague to a couple of 3D printers he hadn’t yet had the chance to see in person.

The machines from HP, Carbon and MarkForged were the first stops of the show, and I loved getting the chance to see them through new eyes as the teams outlined the specs and capabilities of each. It was especially heartening for me to see the marks of use on the HP Multi Jet Fusion unit, which was considerably less pristine than the last one I saw on a show floor. While the team noted that this particular unit won’t be in operation at this show, as it’s had a busy run lately in touring events, it’s clear that it’s seen a good level of use. At Carbon’s booth, the M1 is almost unobtrusive with its small footprint and standing near the back of the booth; examples of the various materials take center stage as they line the front of the area to show what CLIP technology can work with and create. The team at MarkForged is, as ever, highlighting the strength capabilities of its expanding line of 3D printers, and even last night had two machines running, including the newly introduced Metal X.

While the exhibit floor here isn’t huge, for a software-focused show clocking upward of 5,000 attendees and offering a broad array of training opportunities in targeted sessions, it is impressive — especially, from the perspective of a 3D printing-focused mindset, in the number of 3D printers present. I’m heading soon to talk with Rize, Stratasys, Nano Dimension and more to see their 3D printers, as well as to MatterHackers and SolidProfessor, among others, to talk training and other operations focuses, once the Partner Pavilion opens for today.

This morning I enjoyed the rockstar opening to official scheduled sessions as the General Session included rockstars, magicians and executives alike to showcase not only what has been accomplished so far thanks to 3D software capabilities, but also to look ahead to “the new, the next, the never before.”

SOLIDWORKS CEO Gian Paolo Bassi noted today of last night’s Patriots win:

“A lot of us here are from New England. I think this was a good omen, and a great kickoff.”

Starting the showcase of what’s made possible with SOLIDWORKS was magician Justin Flom as well as Illusion Projects Inc. CEO Tim Clothier to talk magic made real.

“Would you trust your life to something made in SOLIDWORKS?” Clothier asked Bassi, after showing off the digital creation process of a contraption we were ensured required careful engineering and very tight tolerances.

Bassi agreed, putting his head into a locked set of stocks:

Stay tuned for more details from today’s General Session, as there is much more to share from Dassault Systémes employees, speakers and customer experiences. I’m here all week to see how software is bringing the future to us today, especially as it brings 3D printing into more applications with incredible real world applications.

As Bernard Charlés, Vice Chairman and CEO of Dassault Systémes, noted, “There is more to come, especially with 3D printing.”

Stay tuned to 3DPrint.com, as well as our Facebook and Twitter, as I share right from LA for the next three days, and of course check out the #SWW17 tag on social media.

[All images taken by Sarah Goehrke for 3DPrint.com]