150 Students Earn SolidWorks Certificate from Cerritos College SolidWorks Academy Program

NORWALK, Calif. - Aug. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- SolidWorks is used in a variety of fields, such as Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Consumer Products, and Engineering.

The Certified SolidWorks  Associate (CSWA) is an internationally recognized certification for Computer Aided Design (CAD) professionals, which demonstrate the ability of its recipient to make complex parts and assemblies.  The certificate issued by the Dassault Design System exhibits a distinguished knowledge of SolidWorks and is a certification sought out by cutting-edge businesses. Cerritos College is one of the exam providers. 

Cerritos College Technology Division started the SolidWorks Academy Program in Fall 2012 to meet the demand for trained SolidWorks professionals. SolidWorks Academy Program consists of the classes: “Introduction to SolidWorks” ENGT 259, “Graphical Statics and Strength of Materials” ENGT 237, “Tooling/Materials for New Product Development” NPD103, and “Advanced SolidWorks” ENGT 260. In ENGT237, students learn how to do finite element modeling and basics of load simulation and they can potentially earn the “Certified SolidWorks Simulation Associates Certification.” In NPD 103, students can potentially earn the “Certified Sustainable Design Associate Certification.” In ENGT260, students prepare for taking the Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) Certification exams.  Since the inception of the program, the Cerritos College Engineering department has certified one-hundred and fifty students.

All students currently enrolled into the Cerritos College ENGT 259 SolidWorks class can take the certification exam without any additional fee.  The exam is three hours in length and features hands-on problems such as; dimensions, materials, sketch tools, fillets and chamfers, and boss and cut features. The exam has a minimum passing grade of 70%.

Due to a project based class approach, the majority of Cerritos College students enrolled in the SolidWorks ENGT 259 class are able to pass the certification exam by the completion of the course.

“Besides learning mechanical design via parametric modeling, our students understand the 21^st century solution tools for sizing and new product designs, based on the modern Finite Element Methods (FEM), in this case through the use of the SolidWorks Simulation solver. Students are able using the FEM tools to contextualize abstract principles and concept of statics and strength of materials, and ask “what if” questions,” said Instructor, Dr. Miodrag Micic. “Furthermore they learn, in our problem-based approach curriculum, how to apply those concepts for solving real world product design problems. Last Spring students in theGraphical Statics and Strength of Materials ENGT237 class were involved in designing a natural fiber composite bridge for the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) International Students Bridge Competition. They were able to apply all of the knowledge gained in introductory and advanced SolidWorks class and perform calculations based on the theories and practices learned in our Strength of Materials simulation based class."

To learn more about our Engineering Design Technology department, visit our website at http://cms.cerritos.edu/engt/ and our Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CerritosCollegeFabLabs or contact Dr. Miodrag Micic at (562) 860-2451 Ext. 2910 and mmicic@cerritos.edu.