need your advice taking a course 7

[p2000]

Hello Everyone,

I am working with solidWorks 2007/2008 for sometime now ( about a month)and my company decided to let me take a course but i can't determine my level as probably someone more experienced should tell me my level,
I can create lots of parts following the tutorials and books and i can also use assemblies so i believe i can go for an advanced course but i need your experience to go for the right one.

What do you think the most suitable course that may give me more than what I can get from tutorials and regular books.

here are the courses offered to me:
Advanced A-Part modeling
Advanced_assembly_modeling
Sheet metal & weldments
SolidWorks Essentials 2007
SolidWorks drawing 2007
SolidWorks Routing 2007



they didnt offer a cosmos course but i might ask about it ( i already used cosmos works but maybe i will need more.

Do you agree with me that Advanced Assembly modeling might be the most advanced and useful one ? i don't know about routing so any advice will be appreciated


Thanks in advance.
Philippe

 

[ctopher]

It is really up to you and your company. I don't know what experience/education you have and what products your company makes. I suggest learn the basic concepts first, then Advanced parts and assemblies, then get into drawings...if you do drawings. The essentials class will be a plus. If you do extensive wiring/cables/piping, Routing will be very useful.
I also strongly suggest Writing/Grammar.
Good luck.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)

 

[p2000]

Thanks for your reply, maybe i wasn't clear enough but i need to know if essential course is so basic and shell i go directly to the advanced one ( for example if you can make a drawing in AutoCAD, so it will be a waste of time to go for level one as they will teach you how to draw a line, ...)

Anyway it seems that i have to try it myself.
Thanks anyway

 

[JMirisola]

As a former instructor, I'd say you should take the beginner course. While some of it may seem rudimentary to you, you should learn good modeling techniques. One of the most frequent errors beginners make is where/how to start a model. From there, the errors can cascade resulting in more features than necessary to create a part. I'd all but guarantee there will be a few "doh!" moments during the course. Also, many training centers will require you to have taken the essentials course prior to any advanced course, especially where you're a new user.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

Dell M90, Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 3500M

 

[p2000]

Thank you JMirisola for the advice.
At least, It is honest and constructive not ironic as the first reply.

Thanks again

 

[p2000]

JMirisola, is there anyway (a website) or a software (Add-in) to let me determine my level ? like online test ?

Thanks

 

[dogarila]

Here is a SW sample exam for CSWA. It may give you an idea where you are right now. You should be able to complete all the models accurately in less than three hours before thinking to go to an advanced course.

https://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/Training/documents/CSWASampleExam2007.pdf

 

[uGlay]

After only 1 month of using SW I doubt you are nowhere near advanced assemblies. I say you do the essentials course.

SW2008 Office Pro SP3.1
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
2.2GHz, 2.00GB RAM
QuadroFX 3700
SpacePilot/SpaceNavigator

 

[ctopher]

ironic??

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)

 

[JMirisola]

myigetit.com has tests to let you know where you are competency-wise. I'm not sure of the costs, but it shouldn't be too much.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

Dell M90, Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 3500M

 

[MadMango]

Do you have any other parametric software experience? If not, and only having around a month of use, I would strongly recommend that you take the Essentials course. Better to correct any bad habits you might have picked up now rather than later. Once you have a firm grasp of the software (6 months of use perhaps) I would consider taking one of the Advanced courses.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[DiegoLGraves]

People quickly get proud of what they can create in SW. The basic functions are easy to learn and you can create something quite impressive with a little study and trial and error. If you can model what you need, it's easy to assume you've both learned the program and are using best practices.

Many of our customers also use SW, and we often use their models to manufacture parts for them. It's usually easy to see how much experience the designer or engineer has with both the program and with manufacturing processes. We often need to tweak the customer models to make their parts, and it's in the editing that you see how well the part is modeled (I'm being kind.) I've learned a great deal editing others models and having my models and assemblies edited by others, and I've spent considerable time working with these designers helping them build robust models. Even some with the CSWP certification have no clue at times what havoc they are unleashing on their vendors.

Sorry for the rant. We can all learn better practices.

I'd suggest taking the essentials course, then something related to the area you normally work in.

Good luck with learning this great program. Taking the time to find the best ways to model parts and construct assemblies will pay off for you and especially for those who will work with your creations.

Diego (in the SW soup since 99)

 

[charland]

After using SolidWorks for more than 1.5 yrs I took the essentials course. There were quite a few things that I already knew but I also learned about some bad habits that I had. Some of these bad habits were the root of little "glitch" mistakes that didn't make sense to me.

My recommendation: get a good foundation of the basics and build from there.

 

[Theophilus]

I wouldn't know about the Essentials course, since I'm self-taught--but I did get a shot over ten years ago at going to the Advanced course. I found that helpful, in that several things I learned by reading the Help files were clarified and enhanced in that class (things like lofts with guide curves, sweeps with control curves, etc.)--mostly the types of features that get you more variety of shape in models.

Much of the "best practices" sorts of things I learned via experience of lots of modeling.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

What did you dream? It's all right--we told you what to dream.
--Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine