SOLID EDGE CERTIFICATION COMPETITION

SOLID EDGE CERTIFICATION COMPETITION

BF Engineering design office in Lampeter, Wales, United Kingdom

Chris Harper, Project Manager at BF Engineering Recycling Services – UK, recently completed all three levels of the Solid Edge Certification: Associate, Professional, and Expert. I interviewed Chris to learn more about his work at BF Engineering and his experience preparing for and completing the certification exams.

Solid Edge Expert level certificate and badge

Growth Transition from Service Focus to Full Design and Manufacturing

BF Engineering designs and manufactures recycling machinery and equipment, including shredders, conveyors, and complete systems. “We started as a company focused on maintaining existing machinery, then moved into designing and installing modifications. Now we are progressing to fully design and manufacture our own machinery,” Chris said.

A complete BF Engineering shredding system designed and rendered in Solid Edge

Chris has a background and experience in fabrication and welding. This experience has provided him an excellent foundation for designing machinery primarily composed of welded and fabricated components.

“We had a 5-day Solid Edge training course from Siemens channel partner OnePLM. Afterward, I expanded my knowledge by watching YouTube videos on Solid Edge design techniques,” Chris explained. “I also found the Solid Edge User Group on Facebook to be a valuable resource. There, I can ask questions and receive answers for more specific Solid Edge design workflow issues.”

Using Solid Edge for Complete Machinery Design

Chris uses Solid Edge to design complete machines and systems. These can be assemblies with over 1,000 components:

“We found synchronous technology to be an excellent tool to speed up the design process and make modifications easier. We also use Solid Edge Frames to design the support frames for our machinery. We can design 90% of the support frames we need using the standards available in Frames. The remaining 10% requires some custom design work in Solid Edge.

This approach allows us to use standard steel sections whenever possible, reducing material and development costs. We also model weld beads in many cases as it helps us communicate better with welders and allows more accurate machine weight calculations.”

Chris added: “We extensively use Siemens controllers and drives in our machinery. We also use TraceParts to obtain 3D CAD models of these components to integrate into our 3D assembly models. This enables us to build a more complete final machine model.”

Chris stated: “Our future plans include providing additional Solid Edge licenses to new trainees to explore Solid Edge and become part of our design team. We also plan to use additional Solid Edge features for 3D piping design and routing electrical and piping systems around mechatronic assemblies.”

Assembly details of a shredder designed and rendered in Solid Edge

Advice for Designers Planning to Take the Certification

Chris has now passed all three Solid Edge certification exams: Associate, Professional, and Expert. He offers advice for other Solid Edge users considering taking the exams:

“Personally, I found the Q&A portion of the exam slightly harder than the modeling portion. I recommend users familiarize themselves with all the terminology and aspects of the Solid Edge user interface before attempting the exam. For modeling exercises, some initial dimensions may seem missing from the drawings, but as you work through the modeling process, all necessary information is present.”

In conclusion, Chris said: “I am very proud to have passed all three Solid Edge certification exams. My ‘Expert’ certificate will be framed and displayed in the office. Therefore, I recommend other Solid Edge users to prepare for and take these exams.”

One final note: all Solid Edge certification exams are currently FREE for users. This change was implemented by Siemens in 2020 in response to the global pandemic. So there has never been a better opportunity to explore different certification levels and take the time to prepare for and complete the exams you choose!

Source: Siemens

SDE Digital Technology Co., Ltd (SDE TECH) was established in 2014. By 2018, we were honored to become a Smart Expert Partner – a leading partner of Siemens Digital Industries Software in the Southeast Asia – Pacific region for Siemens NX (Unigraphics NX), Simcenter, Solid Edge, Tecnomatix, and Teamcenter management solutions.