Rich Hall’s BLOG

 It’s amazing who you can meet at SolidWorks World where a whole bunch of like minded folks get together.  Right after breakfast on Monday morning of day 1, Gary Hall (my brother of no relation) and I were headed up to get in line for the general session.  As we approached what we thought would be a good entrance point, Gary said hey I know those guys.  We walked over and got in line where I was introduced to Randall Bock and Wescott Pusey.  I found out from our conversations that they were SolidWorks teachers at Pennsylvania State University, better know as Penn State or PSU.  I also found out that they were running the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group on campus.  Throught the week we kept in touch through Twitter and email and Randall ( @randllbock ) told me that one of the SWUGN summits was going to be hosted by HVSWUG later in the year.  Details have not been released on the Happy Valley Summit yet but the date has been set for June, 16 2009.  I have never been to Pennsylvania so it sounds like a good road trip to me.  I am planning on taking my family up on vacation in June and attending the Summit.  Randall has a lot of dynamic ideas and projects he has shared with us here at Educators Corner.  Be sure you take a look at what the next generation of SolidWorks students are learning at a major university. 

 

  

 

Rich Hall (RH): Hi Randall.  Why don’t you share a little about yourself.

Randall Bock (RB): I currently hold a BS, MS in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Penn State.  In my day job I am an Engineering Associate and Affiliate Instructor at The Pennsylvania State University in the area of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.  In my area of core responsibility, I work with faculty and students in the design and implementation of teaching, research, and outreach programs. The engineering and agricultural challenges being studied are wide ranging: bioreactors, food-born pathogens, particulate mechanics, natural resource conservation, structural and mechanical design, food and biomass processing, agricultural health and safety, ethanol production, computer modeling and simulation, and nano-technologies.  My night job is Continuing Education Instructor at The Pennsylvania State University at University Park where I develop and instruct coursework for EDSGN 496A: SolidWorks Fundamentals (3 credits).  Virtually all products manufactured in modern facilities begin as three dimensional computer models (3D-CAD).  SolidWorks has approximately 800,000 licensed seats worldwide and is the most accessible 3D-CAD application at Penn State.  This course delivers the methods and techniques necessary to become proficient in the application of SolidWorks for product design and manufacturing.  The SolidWorks corporate certification exam is included. Advanced topics on weldments, sheet metal, and finite element analysis are covered. 

RH: What led you to become a teacher and why SolidWorks?

RB: Up until 2006 I was using AutoCAD to do 3D solid modeling.  One of my students showed me SolidWorks.  I stopped AutoCAD, dove into SolidWorks and never looked back.  The software changed nearly every aspect of my job.  Design became fun and life got better.  Much of my work is developing prototype equipment for research.  Now with SolidWorks I have the ability to design and analyze using the same package.  Before my class was developed, Penn State did not offer a rigorous course in 3D modeling.  Freshmen engineering students were doing the SolidWorks tutorials as part of a general engineering class and other students we doing the Pro/E tutorials.  In general I found that the software was under utilized.  This fantastic engineering teaching tool was available but no one was using it.

RH: How long have you been teaching?

RB: I started teaching in Spring 2008 with 20 students.  The class has grown to 40 students in two sections with broad interest among under graduate students, graduate students, engineering professors and returning adult students.

RH: Why do you teach CAD with SolidWorks?

RB: Penn State has 500 EDU licenses that are available in all University computer labs through out the Penn State system.  Students new to SolidWorks can achieve CSWA level proficiency in one semester.

RH: What SolidWorks certifications do you currently hold?

RB: I passed the CSWA, CSWP, and plan to take the CSWP-CDES this Spring.  I am also a CSWA provider. 

RH: What are your classes (age range and/or skill level)

RB: The age range is from college freshmen to 65 year old professors.  Most have tried the software but they all lack the knowledge required to make elegant parts and assemblies.  Symmetry, design intent, multi body, and in context modeling are all new concepts. 

RH: What is a typical classroom day like for you? 

RB: I work as a research engineer during the day and teach in the evenings for continuing education.

RH: What is your preferred teaching method? What method of teaching SolidWorks have you found to be successful? 

RB: Since student learn differently, I teach using a variety of methods:

• Standard lecture for new information
• Follow the leader: for detailed modeling techniques or complex features 
• In class challenge assignments
• Timed quizzes: to prepare them for the CSWA
• Homework assignments: I encourage them to work together
• Midterm project: consisting of 8 parts minimum
• Final Project: assembling the parts from the midterm project, producing drawings and doing FEA. 

RH: What curriculum and industry standards do you teach? 

RB: I developed my own curriculum which using what I call “Basic Strategy”  (Blackjack inspired terminology).  This Basic Strategy presents good habits, best practices, and reinforces the basics: design intent, symmetry, constraints, etc.  I have found that students really need the knowledge of experienced users.  Good design practices and strategies normally come from experience; I try to give it to them in the classroom.  I tell them that as a goal: 80% of producing a 3D modeling happens in their head and that pushing the keys is the instant gratification / detail phase. 

RH: How do you use the SolidWorks Educator resources and curriculum in teaching your class? 

RB: The SWE resources are project based.  I start the students with the basics.  I feel making impressive looking parts in the beginning diverts attention away from fundamental modeling techniques.  So I have them start by making very simple shapes.  Then later after they have learned the tools one at a time, they are assigned progressively more complex parts.  After they can make complex parts, I have them pick a project.  I emphasize that the project should have some value to them personally or should otherwise be connected to a project in another class. 

RH: Do you have any work from the students you are able to and would like to share?

To view the following files you must have eDrawings for SolidWorks.  Please click the free Download link below:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH: What industry do you teach for or what is the prevalent industry in your area that would eventually hire a SolidWorks trained person?

RB: I do not teach for any particular industry although most student are in mechanical or aerospace engineering.

RH: What universities or community colleges are nearby that your students would attend and pursue a course of study with SolidWorks application?

RB: Penn State is it.  We are in central PA there is nothing else for miles!

RH: Have you attended SolidWorks World? If so, what was beneficial from a teaching standpoint?

RB: I attended SWW 2009.  This was a great networking and learning opportunity for me!  I am hooked!  I am already planning for Anaheim.

RH: Will your school board or current school be willing to fund a trip for you to SolidWorks World?

RB: So far this hasn’t been a problem.   Penn State supports my trip to SWW as professional development. 

RH: Knowing that most school systems are in desperate financial situations, do you feel that there will be continued support for teaching SolidWorks and CAD drafting skills? 

RB: At Penn State… if it makes money they will let you do anything.  I need to recruit more adult students.  Possibly the Engineering Stimulus will help!

RH: How important do you feel that teaching CAD/drafting skills is for the future of engineering and industry in general?

RB: It is absolutely essential for engineers of all disciplines to have a strong foundation in 3D CAD and analysis.  Many of my students receive job offers based on the classroom training and CSWA.

RH: What are the biggest challenges you face in teaching SolidWorks/drafting?

RB: Having the time and energy to do my daytime job and then get charged up to teach from 6-9pm. 

RH: What are some goals for your future and do you always plan on teaching?

RB: I started the local SWUG because I found that classroom experience isn’t enough.  Students need contact with real world projects and the opportunity to present their solutions.  I hope the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group can provide an educational and networking resource for Penn State students and local industry.

We are hosting a SWUGN Summit on June 16, at Penn State (State College, PA).  Please watch the SWUGN web site for further details.  Please feel invited to join us for a great time in Happy Valley!

Randall,

Thanks for taking the time to share with me at Educators Corner.  I am looking forward to visiting you in June!

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 ” The good you do today, people will often forgot tomorrow; Do good anyway.”……..!!!!!!  This is the tag on my next guests email.  When you look out on the SolidWorks Forums, you’ll find him there.  When you log into SolidWorks Geeks, you’ll find him there.  At these sites you’ll find him as well: Yahoo SolidWorks group, Google SWcad group, Comp.cad.solidworks, Angelsix forum and the MNSUG yahoo group.  “I comment/contribute on these groups/forums as I’m always learning a new thing and wanted to share what I have learned during my life time.“  In this edition of Educators Corner, I will be talking to Deepak Gupta (DG).  Deepak currently works with a multi-national company in their design centre in New Delhi, India.

DG: I used to visit engineering colleges and industries to train students /people. I was involved in this training while I was associated with a SolidWorks VAR.  I am planning to start my own training school (part time).  I have a 4 year advanced diploma in Die & Mould from Indo Swiss Training Centre, Chandigarh, India. 

Check out Deepak’s Webpage Boxer’s Blog 

 

RH: Do you have any industry experience? 

DG: I have around 8 years of experience working in different companies and on different products.  I have been in design, R&D, production, tool room and vendor development.

RH: What led you to become a trainer and why SolidWorks?

DG: I wanted to learn SolidWorks for myself and this led me to be involved in training others.

RH: How long have you been training?

DG: I did that for almost 1 year.

RH: What SolidWorks certifications if any do you currently hold?

DG: CSWA, CSWP, CSWPSMTL (For details of these Certifications, see the SolidWorks Certification Site)

RH: What are your classes like when you train?

DG: All the students were 18+ and include Engineering students, Industry beginners, 2D Cad users and 3D Cad users of software other than SolidWorks.

RH: What is your preferred teaching method? 

DG: Providing useful examples while demonstrating commands/options.  I prefer using practical examples from industry and day to day life while training.

RH: What curriculum do you teach?

DG: I make my own curriculum depending on the user level and needs.  I usually teach the basics of SolidWorks depending on the need.  I will teach sheet metal, surfacing, weldments and animation, but just a basic overview of the these tools. 

RH: What is the prevalent industry in your area that would eventually hire a SolidWorks trained person?

DG: Mechanical industries mostly involving design and analysis work.

RH: Have you attended SolidWorks World? 

DG: Not yet. Was planning to this year but due to some personal issues I could not make it.

RH: Do you feel that there will be continued support for teaching SolidWorks and CAD drafting skills?  If so, is it short term or long term support?

DG: Yes and it will be long term support.

RH: How important do you feel that teaching CAD/drafting skills is for the future of engineering and industry in general?

DG: It is very important.  Today every industry needs trained/skilled people and no one has time and funding to train employees after they are hired.  Some one needs to do this job (training people) and this has to be done at the institutional level.

RH: What are the biggest challenges you face in teaching SolidWorks/drafting?

DG: Sometimes the people using other 3D software packages start comparing the options in the software and start making opinions of the software compared to SolidWorks

RH: What are some goals for your future?

DG: I will keep working in my present field.

Deepak,

Thanks for your time.  I really appreciate your input and am glad to know there are other passionate SolidWorks people around the world!

Rich

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As I try to cover SolidWorks education from different perspectives, I sometimes wonder just how committed the folks at SolidWorks Corporate are.  Well let me tell you about two of the guys.  Jeremy Luchini and Mike Puckett are the guys behind the SolidWorks Certification program.  Recently Jeremy and Mike made visits to some young and impressionable SolidWorks users and made a difference.  Check out Mike Puckett’s Blog and read his account of these visits.  I love these quote from Mike’s story: “Its great to see these kids so excited about engineering at such a young age.” Mike said, speaking about some students involved in the  UsFirst Robotics Competition.  A later visit to still more students at Greenville High School in Marc Nelson’s class spawned this quote from Mike, “One student even asked if they could turn in an assignment after the weekend just so they could use the new home install they had just received.”  Talk about inspiration!  I appreciate what these guys are doing personally and what SolidWorks is doing Corporately to support the next generation of engineers.  If you appreciate what they are doing as well, leave comments here or on Mike’s blog.

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It’s time for another installment of the Educators Corner featuring SolidWorks teachers and educators.  Today I’ll be speaking with Bill Casnovsky, a well known SolidWorks User Group leader and SolidWorks World presenter.

 

Richard Hall (RH): Hi Bill. What is your background?

Hello everyone, I’m Bill Casnovsky (BC). I have a BA in Industrial Design from Michigan State University. I currently teach (Adjunct Assistant Professor) at Austin Community College & I’m a lecturer at University of Texas.  I am the group leader of the Central Texas SolidWorks User Group in Austin, Texas.  We have a meeting coming up on March 19th.  If you are in the Austin area and would like to attend, contact me by email at bill@cazdezign.com

RH: Do you have any industry experience? If so what and/or who with? 

BC: Yes, many years experience.  I had long stint early on working in a Consulting firm. I was a Corporate Designer with Motorola & Lockheed Martin. I am currently doing business as CAZ DEZIGN, where I do Consulting Product Design. 

RH: What led you to become a teacher? 

BC: I felt like I would like to provide instruction to others based on my many years in the design industry. 

RH: Why do you teach CAD with SolidWorks? 

BC: SolidWorks offers CAD tools that are powerful and easy to use in CAD and Mechanical Design. 

RH: How long have you been teaching? 

BC: 4 years 

RH: What SolidWorks certifications if any do you currently hold? 

BC: No current certs – have taken advanced SolidWorks classes in Modeling/Assemblies and many classes in CAD including GE Calma, CADDAM and Cadkey. 

RH: What are your classes (age range and/or skill level) 

BC: I have students ranging in age from 19 to 50. Most have no SolidWorks experience.

RH: What is a typical classroom day like for you? 

BC: I make lesson plans, lecture in class and work interactively with students working on assignments. 

RH: What is your preferred teaching method? What method of teaching SolidWorks have you found to be successful?

BC: My preferred method is to introduce students to SWX tools and then encourage them to work concurrently with me as we go step by step through part, assembly and drawing assignments.

RH: What curriculum and industry standards do you teach? 

BC: I designed my own class content and teach my material using ANSI-English & Metric drawing standards.

RH: How do you use the SolidWorks Educator resources and curriculum in teaching your class?

BC: I do not use them.

RH: Do you have any work from the students you are able to and would like to share? (pictures or models)

BC: Sure. I have a special assignment during the semester that permits the student to be very creative. I can share some of those student solutions. (I will post these as Bill sends them to me)

RH: What industry do you teach for or what is the prevalent industry in your area that would eventually hire a SolidWorks trained person?

BC: In my class, I expose the students to product & mechanical designs created via machining, molding & sheet metal. Industries out here use designers in each of those fabrication methods.

RH: What universities or community colleges are nearby that your students would attend and pursue a course of study with SolidWorks application? 

BC: Austin Community College & The University of Texas

RH: Have you attended SolidWorks World? If so, what was beneficial from a teaching standpoint? 

BC: Yes, I have attended 4 times. I found that meeting/networking with other teachers and attending the technical breakout sessions very beneficial to teaching. Observing good presenters at SolidWorks World really inspires me to try things back in the classroom.

RH: Will your school board or current school be willing to fund a trip for you to SolidWorks World?

BC: Given my adjunct status, I doubt it. However, presenting at the conference is my ticket to getting there.

RH: Knowing that most school systems are in desperate financial situations, do you feel that there will be continued support for teaching SolidWorks and CAD drafting skills? If so, is it short term or long term support?

BC: Austin Community College is celebrating its 35th anniversary, this year. Solidworks has become a core requirement to obtain a degree. Students are also able to pick up classes in AutoCad, AutoCad Inventor & Pro E. This college is fully committed to teaching CAD skills.

RH: How important do you feel that teaching SolidWorks/CAD/drafting skills is for the future of engineering and industry in general? 

BC: Absolutely essential! In addition, ACC likes to recruit teaching talent from the industries in the area primarily to insure that the CAD/Drafting skills remain pertinent and relevant.

RH: What are the biggest challenges you face in teaching SolidWorks/drafting?

BC: Each class is unique and filled with students of various skill levels. A big challenge for me is to find the sweet spot, each semester, that keeps the fast learners challenged and the slow learners inspired.

RH: What are some goals for your future and do you always plan on teaching?

BC: I want to continue with my Product Design Consulting business, slowing to part time as I near retirement. I also wish to continue teaching part time so I can help prepare students who will lead our country to new horizons using Engineering and Design.

Bill,

It has been a pleasure speaking to you about this most important of subjects.  I look forward to the students results from you class as I’m sure everyone is.  Thanks for your time and I hope to see you at a SolidWorks event soon,

Rich

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A few years ago I was asked to start training all the new engineers as they came into the company.  This training included company proceedures, processes, drafting and SolidWorks.  Company proceedures and processes were no big deal since everything was written down in company documents, but how to do the other?  I had no idea what to do or how to teach, train or instruct in the remaining areas even though I have years of experience in them.  At that time I began to think about how this could be done efficently and correctly.  The first thing I implemented was a priciple that I learned from helping my wife get her masters degree in early childhood education.  That priciple was the use of observation of the students to figure out their learning “style”.  Every person has a learning “style” and they fall into 3 primary categories: Visual learner (a person who learns by seeing); Auditory learner (a person who learns by hearing);  Kinesthetic learner (a person who learns by touching or doing).  This principle is know popularly as the VAK principle.  Once I observed how each person learned, their “style”, I could taylor the training courses and exercises to reach each type of learner.  Let’s explore the VAK principle further.  On of the best definitions of learning styles is available from the website presented by Don Clark in the section Learning Styles & Preferences.  Once you understand the VAK principle, you can begin to implement it to recognize each students learning style.  There are several free VAK tests and one is included on Don Clark’s site on this page Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Survey.  In another self test from businessballs.com, 4 test methods are examined for use with determining learning style.  The 4th method has several good questions which allow a through testing of a subject.  Give this a read and try it on a couple of students and see if it works for you.  If this helps or doesn’t, send some feedback so that others can learn from various trials.  If you would prefer to send comments via Twitter, comment to @richard_hall and I will capture them and post them.  Stay tuned for more at the Educators Corner!

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I am going to start what I hope is a regular feature article here on my blog.  The Educators Corner Featuring SolidWorks will spotlight different educators who use SolidWorks to teach CAD/drafting in their classrooms.  Educators from primary to post secondary schools will be featured.  The intent is to showcase the educators and to share information that will be beneficial to the teachers but ultimately to the students.  I believe that we as SolidWorks professionals should get involved with and support the teachers and students in our area as much as possible to help bring more awareness of SolidWorks into the industry pipelines.  SolidWorks User Groups can help but it will take individuals to get the unity and awareness that I feel is possible to support the educators that feed students into our industries.  I have a few educators that I will be sending a survey/questionnaire out to and then post the responses in an interview format (at least that’s the plan).  I need your help to suggest other SolidWorks educators to cover here.  Please comment on the post or you can email me directly at rich_hall@richardwhall.com.  Web links and contact information would be very helpful!  Thanks for your support in this endeavor.

Helpful education links:

SolidWorks User Group Network (Get involved and join a local user group today.  Information can be found here!)

SolidWorks Educators Blog  This site is dedicated to assisting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) instructors in incorporating SolidWorks into their course curriculum.

SolidWorks Corporation  Helpful links for Educators and Students

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In recent weeks a common topic has been brought up on various SolidWorks blogs and on Twitter amongst users, bloggers and 3-D CAD industry folks.  This topic is why are ______ (insert your favorite 3-D CAD software here) users so blind to the “obvious” flaws in the software they use and why are they so rabidly devoted to the software.  Well, those are pretty good questions.  Let me give you my take on this phenomenon. 

I started out my career using AutoCAD and CADAM and then moved to 3-D using SolidWorks, SolidEdge and Catia.  The most time was spent on SolidWorks because that’s what the company I was working for bought and maintained for its design/drafting software.  I worked for that company for almost 10 years.  So lets take a look at look at this.  I used the same software for 10 years.  I want to change jobs, so what is on my resume? 10 years experience with the same software package.  What package does the company looking at my resume use? Hmm, the same software I have 10 years experience with.  What software do I expect to use at the new company?  Now back to the question, If I have several years experience with anything then I am going to be a valuable resource for that thing.  The same applies to software.  Do I know every function and feature and trick? probably not!  But I know a heck of a lot, so why not share it.  Does the software do everything I want it to do and/or does it do it easily? Probably not!  Are their bugs in the software? Probably so!  Can the software be used for what I need to do? Probably so.  Is the company going to spend money to buy new software just because I can’t make one feature work?  Probably not!  We use what we have at the companies we work for.

Are most users rabid?  I don’t think the average users are any more excited about their 3-D CAD software than an assembly line worker is about the wrench he is using to put a product together.  It’s a tool.  Are some users active?  You BET!  Because they know things about the software and how it works or how to do a work around for a design or which button to push; their is a responsibility to share that.  How do they share what they know?  Some folks do in house company training of  their employees.  Some participate in a local user group and might even present.  Some present at larger venues and some blog about the knowledge they have.  I have found that most that do the latter are not in it for glory or noteriety but are in it to help the average user i.e. EDUCATION.   If you look at most CAD sites, they are set up for educational purposes and most of the blogs have visitor input available so that questions and comments can be added to what is already available.  The sum of all this is education for the users of the software. 

In conclusion, what should be the response to those questions?  Well everyone knows that software has flaws and every CAD software has flaws.  Can it still get the job done? Yes it can.  Are their going to be devotees to a particular software? Yes there are.  But you need to ask why are they devoted before passing judgment.

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