3 Tips for Improving Your Design Team’s 3D CAD Skills

Design engineering teams are busy. Highly competitive products need to get out the door at breakneck speeds, and little time remains in the week for extras like training. And the truth is, even if there was time, few people want to spend day-long or week-long sessions stuck in a darkened room on an inevitably sunny day.

But Evan Winter, Engineering Systems Training Manager for Kenworth Truck Company, says that polishing up your design software skills doesn’t have to be punishing.

Winter, a former PTC University instructor, provides training and user support for Creo and Windchill at Kenworth. We asked him how he keeps his team updated, ready to roll, and trained—without the pain.

“There are a lot of tools that can help make training less of an imposition,” says Winter. “For instance, PTC has an e-learning library that people can log into and take training when they need it, versus sitting through a class.

Winter offers these three tips for companies that want to train their team members, without the slog.

1. Leverage eLearning. Resources like e-learning often already exist. If it’s available to you, don’t discount e-learning just because it might cost a little bit more money upfront. It’s more accessible, and may be faster for designers to work through than a traditional class.
2. Grow your own training. Many companies benefit by developing their own training, especially when they use processes specific to their teams. This makes training more relevant and engaging for participants. But for best results, make sure it’s available on demand and doesn’t require an instructor to deliver it.
3. Turn to the community. Whether your company is just starting with a new tool or adopting an addition or upgrade, they can benefit from the PTC Community. “There’s a huge community of Creo and Windchill users out there going through the same experience as you,” says Winter. “They face the same challenges. Plus a huge set of resources are out there that I don’t see being used as much as they could.”

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Here's one more tip from the Creo team: Make sure your team is working with the latest software. Why struggle with workarounds and missing functionality, when the newest Creo is free to use for 30 days?  Download the 30-day free trial of Creo 5.0 free. Just click on the image below to get started.