Member Profile – Ben Reed, RFID Application Development Lab (RADLab) SAIT Polytechnic
Benjamin Reed is a Research Technologist at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His 2015 resolution is to “learn SOLIDWORKS the right way through SolidProfessor.” As a research assistant and network administrator for the Applied Research and Innovation Services department at SAIT Polytechnic, Reed works with small-to-medium enterprises to develop products and services. “A couple of years ago we had a mechanical engineering technologist in the RADLab. He ended up leaving and, at the same time, I became the liaison between the injection molding company he was working with and the lab. In this role, I’ve found that I need to make the first-level concept in order to accelerate the new-technology development cycle.
“Learn SOLIDWORKS the right way through SolidProfessor”
At first, Reed picked up SOLIDWORKS on his own. He tried using Google to learn new features, but realized that SolidProfessor provided him a better and easier way to gain proficiency in his work. “I’m usually pretty good at picking up new programs. But what I found is that because I hadn’t learned SOLIDWORKS from any particular standard, my work was okay as a reference but messy. Our guys in the SAIT’s main applied research fabrication lab (FABLab) already had a subscription to SolidProfessor and I thought that was the best way to start actually using SOLIDWORKS correctly. And I realized there were a thousand hidden gems I could learn using SolidProfessor.
“If I needed a quick hint, I would brute force the program to do what I think it should be doing. Through SolidProfessor, I’m trying to learn best practices so that I can operate more efficiently with other people who use SOLIDWORKS. I want to use the methods that are industry standards.”
Reed sees a lot of opportunities to expand his knowledge through SolidProfessor. “We’re getting into the Internet of Things. Being able to close the loop on coding and electronic and physical design is what I see as a complete package for product development.”
He says, “I am impressed with the actual quality of the content and how well the concepts work with instructional design. The teaching methodology is very well thought out. Both my parents are high school teachers, so I really appreciate it when someone can put forward a concept effectively.” Reed plans to obtain his Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate certification this year, learning and training through SolidProfessor’s CSWA certification prep course.
We look forward to staying up-to-date with Reed’s work and projects!
