Learning SOLIDWORKS PDM with PDM Training

There are many benefits to using product data management (PDM) software in project management; when used correctly, PDM can simplify the management of your engineering data, eliminate concerns about data loss, and simplify workflow. But for employees who have never used PDM before (or are not familiar with a certain PDM software), navigating the PDM environment can become time-consuming and less effective than it would be with a more experienced user. This is where PDM training comes in.

What is PDM Training?

PDM training is a series of in-person or online classes designed to help attendees have a better understanding of PDM software and how to get the most out of it. At Fisher Unitech, we train specifically in the SOLIDWORKS PDM product suite.

Each session of our PDM training is typically three hours long, with the last hour dedicated to online lab time with the instructor available to assist. A major differentiator of our online PDM training is our cloud-based lab time, which is available 24/7 during the week of classes. The lab does not require you to have the software already installed in the environment and gives attendees the opportunity to practice whenever they’re able. This is beneficial for companies that don’t allow employees to have testing in their PDM environments.

Fisher Unitech also offers 2-hour time blocks of tutoring in a specific area of SOLIDWORKS PDM, including training specific to a company’s unique PDM environment.

What are the Benefits of PDM Training?

For someone who is brand new to PDM software, these courses can be a valuable exposure to PDM functions and nomenclature. You will be able to better interact with the application engineer when implementing a project, saving your company time and money.

On the other hand, attendees who already have experience with PDM have the opportunity to get new employees up to speed, so when someone asks for something they have a good chance of giving that person what they’re looking for.

Who Should Take Our PDM Training Courses?

Attendees of our PDM training courses generally fall into two categories: someone who recently purchased PDM software and wants to be trained before it gets implemented, or (in the case of the administration class), someone who has come into a company and inherited a PDM system they need to learn to manage. 

Anyone who attends these classes will ideally be familiar with SOLIDWORKS because the lessons focus on using PDM inside of the SOLIDWORKS environment. Not knowing directions like “go to the task pane,” could put you at a disadvantage, although it will not prevent you from benefiting from the course.

You can learn the SOLIDWORKS basics with SOLIDWORKS Essentials training.

What SOLIDWORKS PDM Courses Are Available?

Fisher Unitech has a number of SOLIDWORKS PDM courses available. Attendees should take the course that is equivalent to the product they are learning.

PDM220 SOLIDWORKS PDM User Standard

Aimed at users who own SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard. This course helps someone who has never seen PDM Standard before become comfortable with the PDM Standard environment. Although this information is not specific to a particular company’s PDM setup, it will teach attendees how to navigate the general PDM Standard environment without getting lost.

PDM225 SOLIDWORKS PDM User Professional

This course is for users of SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional This course helps someone who has never seen PDM Professional before become comfortable with the PDM Professional environment. Although this information is not specific to a particular company’s PDM setup, it will teach attendees how to navigate the general PDM Professional environment without getting lost. 

PDM300 SOLIDWORKS PDM Administrator Standard

This course gives an overview of common administrative functions in SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard that an admin would be expected to do, such as adding a new user to the vault, modifying an existing data display to show other data, or adding a column to a view so people can see more in-depth metadata.

PDM305 SOLIDWORKS PDM Administrator Professional

This course gives an overview of common administrative functions in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional that an admin would be expected to do, such as multiple workflows, serial number generation, and lists functions. 

PDM307 Advanced SOLIDWORKS PDM Administrator Professional 

For users who are comfortable with the PDM Professional admin tool, this course explores other functions of the software. This includes concepts like replication (vault shared among offices that are in physically different locations of the country or world) and how to do simple AI calls (dispatch). 

Signing Up for PDM Training

If you have questions about SOLIDWORKS PDM training or are interested in signing up, please contact us. 

Related Articles

Getting Started as a PDM User: What is PDM? 

Beginner’s Guide to Using SOLIDWORKS PDM 

Is it Time to Give Your SOLIDWORKS Skills a Tune-Up? 

About the Author

Tom Starks began using SOLIDWORKS in 2008 and PDM in 2010. He joined Fisher Unitech in March 2014. Since then, his role has evolved from Advisory Support Engineer to Senior PDM Support Engineer, and now he is a Senior Application Engineer Instructor. Tom was awarded Elite Application Engineer in 2018 and is a regular online class instructor for SOLIDWORKS and PDM training assisting with Data Management implementations.