Is there an academy, school, or university to become let's say expert in cad software. How can we know the benefits of each system, the tricks, how to deal with each situation? should i take all available courses? should i get a toy( cad cam) and play with it?
i don't own any cad cam, had a training or two on just two systems, but i like to know how to work (master) on all systems.
hoping to become a trainer, maybe adviser in a company, or just gain some knowledge without dropping my work as a dt.
if i may address the questions directly and in order;
i'm going to borrow a quote from someone else on this forum, and for the life of me i can't seem to find the post or thread where i read it, so i am not sure who to give credit to, but here goes "theres a lot [about CAM] that people don't know that they didn't know and that is half of the art of CAM"
most of the time, the only way to flesh out the positives and negatives will be to see them for yourself, much like the matrix. there isn't a tool around that can deal with all situations in the best manner possible; there are advantages and disadvantages to every system, so finding the "best" really does amount to a matter of perspective. one system's disadvantage may be your biggest advantage. and vise versa.
"training" on any given system really does not prepare you for much. i remember the "training" i got from 3shape in 2007. basically it was a phonecall with a Netviewer overlay. we did like 2 copings and one 3 unit bridge, and we followed the manual page by page. i felt like i was being trained by a Youtube video, whilst reading the lyrics in the user manual (which if you remember was a 20 page loose bound booklet)
so "training" can be a misnomer, inferring that you will use the tool to do something productive and learn its functions, yet not in reality.
no, to be a good trainer at something you have to know more than the words in the manual, and you must know how to articulate your thoughts. you need hands on the product to know and describe what may be a solution to one client, and be different for every case; adaptable to the needs of many different styles of ceramists, and knowledgeable on managing a case from beginning to end.
i have had the benefit of being part of a lab that has purchased the Procera systems back before i was part of the lab, then as time drew on we went from 3shape's low end items (d250) through to high end items (d710/810) and sampled Laserdenta along the way, and very nearly sampling Dental Wings series. i'm still massaging that.
the point is this, in order to understand what works and what doesnt work with a CAD or CAM system you must have a thorough knowledge of at least 2 systems. you can be a 3shape CAD wizard and lack the knowledge and understanding to judge your milled product from the place you outsource. communication in this respect will be the test of wizards, not your proficiency with the morphing tools.
bottom line here is get a CAM, handshake it with your CAD, and get a system going that will let you test both your capacity to design, and your capacity to finish your milled design. in doing so, you will see the things that cause you to sometimes get Open contacts for example, or high bites, or let you see how to manage Tall structures in small pucks to save dosh on your supply chain.
the digital labs of the future however will not be so self contained.
