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Archive for the ‘Certification’ Category

On a terribly off-topic note, today was the first day of school on this side of California. My little one is finally a kindergartener, which leaves some free time for me to go back to school and take at least one or two classes this fall.  So, I didn’t win the lotto, haven’t got that super-duper job I’ve been wishing for, and even some project I was very excited about ended up being a bit of a disappointment, but still, somehow  things are looking brighter and I’m feeling positive.  Even my dog, which had been pronounced hopeless beyond recovery by three different specialists that practically gave us a choice to undergo expensive surgeries and procedures or just put him down, is now completely recovered, eating, drinking, playing, and well, just back to his old happy self… and without any surgeries! Could it be the power of prayer? Or call it positive thinking? Who knows!

I’ve received a great amount of emails asking all kinds of questions about SolidWorks. I’ve answered some, as I find the time, but there’s just way too many. I recommend to those of you who need an answer right away that you check out the SolidWorks forums. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of experienced users that visit those forums every day and I’m sure they can answer almost any question you may have faster than I can go through all my email. Still, it’s always a pleasure to be able to help!

For those of you with the questions about how to prepare for the CSWP, let me tell you that there isn’t an official guide for this test, like the one that exists for the CSWA. There’s not one book you can buy or class or video that will completely prepare you for it. I mean, there are, you can find them with Solid Professor, Igetit, and others. You can also buy the SolidWorks Bible, Tickoo’s book “SolidWorks for Designers”, a few of the many books written by Dave and Marie Planchard or splurge on some lessons from your VAR, and it’s good training and it will increase your general knowledge of SolidWorks,  but the best you can do is work with SolidWorks. Practice your skills all the time, create as many models as you can, learn from your mistakes, investigate what the features do and ask around, read the blogs, interact with other users at work or school, post your questions at the online forums, or take them with you to your next  SolidWorks User Group meeting. If you need something to model, grab an old book on Technical Drawing and model the parts and assemblies that come inside, and then modify them.  Look for new ways to achieve the same results. And, most importantly, have fun.

Fun?  Is this woman crazy? Well, yes, there’s that… But that doesn’t affect the fact that I really mean having fun. OK, it’s true, fun is not precisely what we typically associate with a test, but it’s important to at least enjoy the learning process.  Don’t worry so much about the test, worry about becoming proficient with SolidWorks and take your time to explore to your heart’s content.  I learned this the hard way. Before taking the CSWP test, I was so worried about the score I would get that it’s all I could think about. I wasn’t having much fun.  Now I’ve decided that any other test I take from now on I’ll try not to worry so much about, just prepare the best I can and have hope.

And now I’m just rambling. Next post will much more interesting, I promise.

 

 

While at Concord, MA, I had the pleasure of chatting for a while with Certification Specialist Mike Pucket, who is also a friend of mine.  This wasn’t planned to be an interview or anything remotely similar, by the way, just a friendly chat over lunch. However,  I must admit I didn’t miss the chance to ask him a few questions about the certification process, since it’s a common concern among those that read my blog, and that’s how I learned that the SolidWorks certification process, the CSWP-CORE test to be more precise, is about to go through a major transformation that will make it more meaningful to users in search for a way to demonstrate their proficiency with the software, as well as for employers in search for a reliable tool to make sure they’re hiring the right guy/gal for the job.

As it was mentioned in the past by some other blogger and even some people in the forums, up until now you could’ve probably solved the CSWP test using any other 3Dmodeling software.  This is because the features needed to model the parts and assemblies in the test were simple features non-exclusive of SolidWorks and all you had to do was to model them correctly according to the instructions provided and produce the right value for the mass properties of the part or  assembly in question. But if you can do this with any other software then it doesn’t seem as very meaningful as a measure of your SolidWorks skills, does it? That’s precisely what some people have been pointing out over and over in the past.

Well, it’s all about to change! The CSWP test as you knew it is about to be replaced with a new and improved version that, I believe, will prove to be more meaningful as a measure of your SolidWorks skills than the previous one. 

Among the changes introduced to the test you’ll find that now you will be asked to download SolidWorks files during the test and make some modifications to them, always according to instructions. This is why now you’ll need to be running SolidWorks 2008 SP3.1 or higher, otherwise you won’t be able to open the files.  You’ll also find that the images and instructions provided with each question are now clearer and include more details, as well as several orthogonal views of the part or assembly, to help you avoid any confusion.  These images, for instance, were taken from the sample exam document for the new test.  Don’t worry; this sample test will be available soon once the new test has been officially released.

I’ve been told by Mike and Certification Specialist Avelino Rochino, that the test has been completely redesigned, with all new questions that will require from the user a deeper level of understanding of the different tools available in SolidWorks, thus making the test more relevant than ever before. Now, please, don’t be scared! This doesn’t mean that the test has been made more difficult or even impossible to pass; it’s just been revised and transformed to make it a better measure of your skills with SolidWorks. As a matter of fact, you’ll even be given more time to complete it!

The new test can be taken as a non-segmented test that will now be three hours and forty minutes long, or in three segments of forty to ninety minutes long each. The advantage of the new segmented format is that if you fail any of the segments, you would only need to repeat that one segment.  The scores you obtain in any of the segments you do pass are kept for you, and once you pass all three segments you will receive your CSWP certification.  You will also be able to take each segment as many times as you would need to for free.  However, there is a waiting period of 30 days between reattempts of any one segment.  So, for example, if you fail Segment 1, you can take Segments 2 and 3 right away but you would need to wait 30 days to attempt to take Segment 1 again.

Here is a listing of the new segments and basically what will be covered on each.  
 
Segment 1: (90 Minutes)

 
 
•         Create a part from scratch

•         Use dimension links and equations to aid in modeling

•         Use of equations to relate dimensions

•         Update of parameters and dimension sizes

•         Mass property analysis

•         Modification of geometry on initial part to create a more complex part.  

 

Segment 2: (40 Minutes)

 

•         Creating configurations from other configurations

•         Changing configurations

•         Mass properties

•         Changing features of a part that is given to you

 

Segment 3: (80 Minutes)

 

•         Creating an assembly

•         Adding parts to an assembly

•         Doing collision detection when moving a part in an assembly

•         Mates

•         Replacing a part with another part in the assembly

•         Creating a coordinate system

•         Using a coordinate system to do mass properties analysis

 

The new test will be officially released very soon.  Although neither Mike nor Avelino mentioned anything about it, I’m hoping that SolidWorks will come up with some sort of promotion to give users coupons, discounts or a free try to the new test.  

This is the hard part for me. I really wish I had more coupons to give to each one of you that entered the giveaway, but sadly I don’t.  Five winners were chosen randomly from all the comments and emails received and they are:

David Walker

Mahir Abrahim

Mark (It didn’t say much more than Mark, but it’s the only Mark that entered, so, yes, it’s you Mark)

SteveF

Prasad (same here, no other Prasad)

The winners will be contacted shortly and we’ll get the ball rolling. Congratulations to those that won and thanks to all that entered for participating! And also thank you to DS SolidWorks certification team for making this possible!

That’s right! I’m giving away ten coupons for a free SolidWorks certification test. Five will be given to readers of this blog and the other five to readers of SolidWorks para Todos, my blog in Spanish.  Now the really neat thing is that once you win one of these coupons you can actually choose which of the five certification tests available you want to take:

• CSWP-Core Modeling Specialist: (8,329 certified professionals worldwide)
• CSWP-Advanced Sheet Metal: (457 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWP-Advanced Surfacing: (61 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWP-FEA (Simulation): (35 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWA (Education): (8,086 certified worldwide and growing every minute)

Usually, you would have to pay up to $100 dollars to take a certification test, but today ten lucky readers will have it for free!

You can find more information about each of these tests and what you need to know in order to pass by visiting the SolidWorks Certification Homepage.  

Let me tell you, I’ve taken and passed both the CSWA and CSWP-core exams, and I’m currently preparing for the Advanced Sheet Metal test.  I see obtaining that certification as an important milestone in my learning process, as a way to have something to show for all the effort I’ve put in training myself, and as a “secret weapon” that can even open a few doors when it comes to job search. Last year, for instance, when a local reseller called me about a job as an Applications Engineer, they told me that one of the things that made my resume stand out from a list of possible matches for that position was precisely that I was a CSWP. I didn’t apply for that position because it wasn’t a good match for my own crazy life back then, but see? Right there, there was a job and all because I was a CSWP!

And I’ve heard that the certification process has been greatly improved ever since I took those two tests. Now it’s even easier than ever to access the certification center to take the exam and also to access information about your results and other certifications previously obtained. And if you manage a team of users, you can set up certification tests for all of them and even track their progress.

OK, so this is how you can get the free test… First I thought about making you guys design the perfect pet door for me. See, I have this little Chihuahua mutt that keeps soiling my carpet, and I bought a pet door that was supposed to work fine with my sliding glass door to the backyard… Err… Never mind that! All you have to do is leave a comment here saying, in your own words, why you want to get certified. That’s it! Very simple! The winners will be chosen at random from all the entries. Hurry up! Winners will be announced by Tuesday 21^st at 11:00 am PT.  You can also send an email or use the contact form, just remember to use a valid email address so I can contact you back and give you information about how to redeem your coupon for the free test!

Good luck!