Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, has a robotics design contest—called the “mother of all robot contests”—in which each student has to build a functional robot in a 15-week semester 

course. MIT chose SolidWorks 3D CAD software as the primary tool, and shortened CAD learning to just six sessions, establishing milestones for robot development. Closer home, Ambar Bandi, a student at the 

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, had to develop photorealistic renderings of alloy wheels. Bandi, now an industrial designer, used SolidWorks CAD software and shortened the design cycle by 70%, decreased development costs by 50% and reduced design errors by 40%.

Koenigsegg Automotive, the Swedish company that makes some of the most extreme super cars, uses SolidWorks CAD software to design the Koenigsegg CCX, the fastest street-legal car in the world.

Ford, the automotive giant, uses Sigmund by Varatech, a SolidWorks certified gold partner, for tolerance analysis of its cars.

These are just a few of the thousands of examples of how 3D software tools created by SolidWorks—the Massachusetts-based company now owned by the French Dassault Systèmes—are helping customers create, simulate, publish and manage data.

“Today, more than 3.2 million product designers and engineers worldwide, representing 240,010 organisations, use SolidWorks to bring their designs to life—from the coolest gadgets to innovations that deliver a better tomorrow,” says Suchit Jain, vice-president, strategy and community, SolidWorks.According to a report by the market intelligence solutions firm 6Wresearch, India’s 3D-printer prototyping and materials market is projected to reach over $62 million by 2022.

To tap the opportunity, the global 3D experience major Dassault Systèmes will invest towards skilling young minds and nurture domestic start-ups via its incubator programme. “We will invest in India’s 3D 

ecosystem by opening more training centres and bringing the young start-up community under our wings,” says Jain.

“It is the young start-up community that is helping the Indian 3D printing marketgrow, serving sectors such as automotive, electronics, healthcare, aerospace and defence,” says Kishore Boyalakuntla, senior director, product portfolio management, and brand user experience leader, SolidWorks.

Last year, the company had launched the SolidWorks for Entrepreneurs programme in India to help budding entrepreneurs and incubators have easy access to the complete 3D solution, enabling them to innovate quickly. “A few companies have joined us, but this year we are hopeful the programme will become big,” says PM Ravikumar, director, sales, Dassault Systèmes, SolidWorks.

More than 850 engineering institutions in India use SolidWorks software, including the IITs, private and government engineering colleges, and polytechnics. The software they use is solid modelling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE). “Some universities even have a SolidWorks incubator programme,” adds Boyalakuntla.

In fact, today, India is one of the fastest growing markets for SolidWorks and the company has grown at 21% CAGR over a period of three years. It is assisted by parent company Dassault Systèmes’s full-fledged R&D centre in Pune, employing over 2,000 people.

The company reaches out to customers through its value-added resellers (VAR). “Today, we have 32 VARs who focus on the commercial segment and eight VARs who focus on the academic segment,” adds Ravikumar.

According to experts, India will see 3D-printing technology enter the industrial manufacturing hubs and research labs where its true potential lies. “A decade ago, emerging markets like India and China lagged in terms of 3D technology adoption. Today, things are different, and players like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories—the country’s second largest aerospace firm after HAL—are competing with global giants like Boeing and Airbus,” says Sumanth Kumar, V-P, Simulia, Dassault Systèmes.