The SolidWorks training that had been idling on the runway was just put on the rocket sled. For the past 4 days, I've been a guest of GoEngineer in their SolidWorks Essentials class. I can't say I've become an expert but I do now know enough to be dangerous.
You couldn't do any better than Mike Binford for an instructor. Even more impressive than how much SolidWorks can do is how much Mike knows about how to do it. He can tell you many ways to do something, but most importantly, he can tell you the best way. His grasp of the software is freaky. It's like following an expert tracker who knows the meaning of broken blades of grass or shifts in the wind. Mike explains how to read SolidWorks clues, the meaning of different icons that pop up at the cursor, the color changes in features, plus/minus signs in the feature tree, etc. Though he is a firm believer in the powers of SolidWorks, he is not a cheerleader who just tells you how good it is. He advice is often practical, suggesting workarounds when the software fails (not even SolidWorks is perfect). In fact, a half day was devoted to editing and fixing models. That's the stuff you don't see at demos.
What does it take to lead a SolidWorks training class? Mike is a mechanical engineer with 7 years experience in SolidWorks. He is a both a CSWP (Certified SolidWorks Professional) and a CSWI (Certified SolidWorks Instructor). He left the engineering "trenches" to work with a California SolidWorks VAR which got bought up by GoEngineer, a Utah-based firm that spans seems to span quite a bit of the western US with its 30+ AEs. Mike loves his work and has never looked back.
Mike's parting advice was to spend 30 minutes a day with SolidWorks. That makes sense. I suppose it is like fitness -- hard to get, easy to lose. Perhaps now that cycling has granted me an surprise vacation, the time may be a bit easier to find.
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