Streamlining Library Organization with SOLIDWORKS and MakerBot

The challenge began when I was working in SOLIDWORKS Simulation with a colleague. He asked for his Flow Simulation manual, and I was met with a chaotic stack of reference books.

It wasn’t my office, but I couldn’t stand the disorder. I had to act, even though he’d asked me not to. After locating the correct book and applying a few organizational principles, we were on the right track.

So how do you keep track of 15 different titles?

Enter SOLIDWORKS.

With careful brainstorming and a few measurements, I virtually created a book binder. Rather than producing 15 separate part files, I leveraged linked properties and an Excel‑driven design table to generate 15 uniquely labeled configurations from a single file in minutes. Design Tables and Configurations.

Conceptualized. Now the next step: a low‑cost prototype.

That’s where MakerBot comes in. SOLIDWORKS exports STL files, the format MakerBots need to compute toolpaths. MakerBot Print is a free application that translates your STL into a layer‑by‑layer path the printer can follow.

The jump from idea to physical part in hours is transformative. For just about $3.00 of material and 12 hours of print time, my colleague now knows precisely where each book belongs.

Tags: 3D CAD, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, CAD, Configurations, MakerBot, Solidworks

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