As for optimisation in printing orientation and such:
In SpaceClaim, I usually save all the individual parts as separate files and put them together as "includes" in the assembly. When I open up the component, I rotate it the way I want it to be in the printer. This makes it easy to see overhangs and places where I need to put chamfers and printing optimisations.
There are professional tools for printing optimisation, too. SpaceClaim offers an STL 3D printing module (very pricey though) that has a "shrinkwrap" function for polygon reduction and fixing surface errors. I tested it with the evaluation license, but decided I don't need that (in addition to, I can't pay for it anyways) because I just design my parts without errors