CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

12 December 2005

Implementation Investments

Freiburg, Germany Regional School District Purchases 1,000 Licenses of SolidWorks Education Edition

More than 3,200 vocational students in the Freiburg, Germany regional school district will get a head start on their engineering and machining careers by learning 3D mechanical design fundamentals with SolidWorks® software. The Freiburg district purchased 1,000 licenses of SolidWorks Education Edition software for instructional use in 30 vocational colleges to help students learn how to design and machine everything from watches to complex robots.

All of the institutions in the Freiburg school district teach practice-oriented technical and electronics skills, and product design and development play a crucial role in a complete vocational education. The school district replaced 2D AutoCAD® software with 3D SolidWorks to give students a competitive advantage after graduation.

"Students have to carry out entire projects from planning through production to final presentation," said Jurgen Kubas, senior lecturer for mechanics at Schwenningen State College for Precision Engineering. "We switched to SolidWorks because it is becoming an industry standard, and because it is easier to use and better transfers data to computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) applications than our previous software."

The school district also purchased SolidWorks Certified CAM Product SolidCAM, which provides the tool path between product design and manufacturing. Together, the two products give students valuable real-world experience managing product development from concept to production.

"After extensively testing various 3D CAD and CAM software systems, we standardized on SolidWorks and SolidCAM because they deliver a broad range of functions and are widely adopted in the industry," said Elmar Moschle, consultant for manufacturing technology at the Freiburg school district. "Our future engineers are now able to comprehend the basics of mechanical design and manufacturing in a short period of time."

Using SolidWorks, students learn to design both single components and whole assemblies as they work on practical projects. They discover how to create life-like images of their products for their final presentations and learn how these images could benefit marketing and design collaboration. They also learn how to generate accurate bills of materials that aid in manufacturing and assembly.

"Technical education that focuses on 3D CAD and CAM systems results in better job prospects for the graduates in precision mechanics, electronics or mechanical engineering, and the automotive industry," said SolidWorks European Business Manager for Education Lutz Bettels. "The software systems' ease-of-use allows students to quickly understand engineering and machining fundamentals so they can begin developing the skills they'll need after graduation."

The Freiburg regional school district relies on authorized SolidWorks reseller SolidPro Informationssysteme GmbH for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.

The regional school district of Freiburg, Germany was founded in 1900 and embraces five different school types for engineering and machining education. The school district currently has 3,200 vocational students at its 30 colleges. At each school, the focus is set on teaching practice-oriented technical and electronics skills. For more information, visit http://www.rp-freiburg.de .

SolidPro Informationssysteme GmbH is situated in Langenau and offers professional and individual CAD solutions. With extensive industry experience, SolidPro is an authorized SolidWorks reseller that supports its customers throughout the whole development process, including construction and simulation, production, and presentation of products on the Internet. For more information, visit the Web site ( http://www.solidpro.de ).

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