Good questions. When I started this project I approached many certifying boards. The answer was always the same. “We would love to work with you but we must remain neutral so we cannot help you. One thing that all of these certifying bodies had was a committee of industry experts. Most would not give information on their committee members. In the early stages of this program I would talk with anyone about what industry wanted. One day it occurred to me that these people would make a great committee so I started to invite the best instructors from all over the country to help develop the certification program. This group formed the current Mastercam Certification Advisory Committee. They were not paid to help with this endeavor. Membership is strictly volunteer. The committee has elected a president and operates as any other governing committee. No, I don’t have a certification card. I started my career as a machinist. I have worked in this field for over 20 years. There are probably more qualified people. Mastercam certification just became my job and passion. We in the educational office really want people to be successful with our product. Later when the Navy adopted the program then more and more industrial started asking questions. Mastercam certification started out as a way to recognize top students. We shot for the top 5% of the best schools. I have to go and pick up my kids already late. I will be available to answer any other questions on Monday. Take care,

Thanks for the support. Getting the word out is a great step in making this available to everyone. I understand the apprehension. I also have many training certificates. Let your reseller know if you are interested. But keep in mind that not all of them are aware of this program so please cut them some slack. Mastercam Resellers are the best but it will take some time to get them up to speed on the testing and certification process. Thanks again for your support and comments.

Hi everyone, When I was a Mastercam user, it was frustrating to always have to prove my skills in Mastercam. I moved from Spokane, WA to Portland, OR, and it was a difficult to even get a job with decent pay. How many times have you heard, “If you’re as good as you say, we will raise your pay to that level after a six-month trial period.”? That is one of the many reasons we developed this certification program. Mastercam Certification is designed to validate qualified people. With the release of Mastercam X, it has become very clear that Mastercam is a deep application, and that anyone who really knows how to use it should have a way to be recognized. There will be two levels of certification, and then we will offer add-on programs for multiaxis, mill/turn, and other key components of our software. CNC Services, Inc. in Virginia has implemented the Mastercam Certification program at STIHL Incorporated (power equipment) and at the Navy and Marine facilities in Norfolk. ShopWare, Inc. (IL) is hosting the first open industrial certification class. I will be assisting in this class to make sure that the most up-to-date information is presented. CAD/CAM Consulting Services Inc. (CA), Cimtech Inc. (WA), Sierra CAD/CAM, Inc. (CA), and CAD/CAM Technologies, Inc. (IN) have all expressed interest and will soon be offering Mastercam Certification to their customers. Mastercam Certification is in its infancy. It has taken many years to develop this program correctly. It was created by a machinist, and then tested and approved by a national committee. This certification will be more than just a wall hanging. Right now the people involved are pioneers. Once the word gets out and more resellers get involved, this will be the winning program that employers pay attention to. Have your reseller give me a call. I will be happy to get them involved. Thanks for your patience. Mike Freimann Certification Manager

I write to my elected officials often. You can find out who yours are at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ I hear that elected officials look at each letter as if it were 5000 votes. This is the right season to start writing your concerns. Don’t forget you governor and any other elected officials. Emails are preferred to something hand written due to terrorists. Just cut and paste letters and get them out.

They will offer the instructor certification class. At this time I am the only person that certifies instructors. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to address them offline.

There are many certifications that require more than just showing up to a class. Mastercam Certification requires more than attendance. At this time there are only a handful of instructors that have qualified and many of them are still working to incorporate certification in their programs. I plan on offering this program to resellers sometime after X releases. So keep looking and asking. I am sure that James and others here could pass the certification test. I guarantee that they will not receive a Mastercam Certification card until they do. Take care, Mike Freimann

I worked as a protype Machinist for nine years. I built all kinds of things printer parts, hip replacements and other high tech tight tolerance parts. Then for a while I worked for the West Coast office of CNC Software. I did industrial training; posts and tech support even an occasional demo. Next I worked for a small company selling Wood Routers all over the country. Then I started my own company doing contract programming. I took a six month job teaching High School at a Skill Center. The first project the first day I had students making 3D wireframe drawings. I did not inherit any curriculum. So we really went at it hard. I would spend all of my free time just trying to think of things to keep the students busy. We had a retrofitted Bridgeport. I would not dare letting the students touch. The E-stop did not work. The kids were not by any stretch of the imagination close to a Machinist. We worked on real life skills as much as if not more than Mastercam. I learned far more than I gave. My point is that I have trained lots of people to use Mastercam to make money. I have to say most don’t have the basics. In fact if I only taught or sold to Qualified Programmers I would be in some other line of work. Not all people can or should be CNC programmers but this field is so big and so diverse. There are more jobs related to this field then we can imagine. I have met a few of my former students. One particular student now runs his uncles shop. He went to a private tech school and said he learned more in our class and the tech schools credits are not transferable. The VICA team from that High School had completed their part before any other school in the Nation. They did not win because they did not complete their paper work. Opps, I forgot to cover that. GO High School programs.They inspire our future. Mike

Sorry it took so long to get back. If I don’t stay focused we will not get certification. Please allow me to paint this picture with broad strokes. What I am saying here could be applied elsewhere. The goal of Mastercam Certification is to set a baseline. Mastercam certification also needs to have the same type of respect/credentials that Microsoft or Cisco certification has. Mastercam Certification will be a standard. There will also be different levels of certification. Anyone who wants to be Mastercam certified will need to apply a significant amount of effort. I could lay it all out here and now but I won’t. CNC Software will be the only CAD/CAM Company offering certification for some time. We need to do it right and it needs to have integrity to benefit all of us. The first Mastercam Certification Instructor class will be available in July. Check out mastercamedu.com in about two weeks. Mike Freimann

The Mastercam Certification program is close to completion. This project has taken five years. Defining the skills that good CNC Programmers have is a monumental task. I cannot get into details right now but hope to have things in place within the next two months. I hope Mastercam Certification will help. Mike Freimann

We got a little snow but mostly it has rained most of the month. The lake near my house has even overtaken the road a few times. I haven’t gone wheeling in cruiser in some time. Unless you count driving through two to three feet of water off road. I need to update the site with some new pictures. I can’t believe how many people ask about my fj40. I even got an offer at a show in New Orleans. Mike

We don’t have any evaluation copies of the handbook. This is based on the limited numbers we are printing due to the anticipated release of Version 9. Not that I am saying when 9 will be available. You can see all of chapter 2 on our site. It is in a downloadable PDF. I think chapter 2 is fairly representative of the Handbook. Volume 2 was at the printers and may already be available. Check with your dealer. Tomorrow is my last day in the office for the rest of the year so. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Mike Freimann

As you know we are using the Handbook curriculum for the Certification program. There is a test section for each chapter. I think this is key to understanding what was learned. The biggest problem is the questions. I think we have a good start on this. Open book/Mastercam would depend on the test question.

Has anyone found software that allows video sharing during a Mastercam session? We have a Robotel system in our upstairs lab. It is a good system but it is old and we cannot get two more stations. This leaves us short two. I have heard software systems work but have never seen one.

I believe that the realization of what happened Tuesday is just starting to hit me. Tuesday night the first thing I did was turn on the news. I had to see what I was hearing on the radio. I couldn’t grasp the reality of this act. Because of my job I fly frequently. My first reaction was that I’m surprised it had not happened sooner. For the past several months I have felt that airport security has been lacking. I believe that it comes from our impatience and over booked late flights. As I watched the news they showed the jet flying into the second tower. Then the fire I could almost feel the heat from the pictures. Then I noticed my four year old daughter was watching. I asked her to sit with me. What do I say? Do I tell her about how lots of Mommy’s and Daddy’s just died. No not yet. “Some bad men did that honey.” Mommy and Daddy will keep you safe. Later that evening my wife said, “If you died in one of those planes. You would not want people to be sorry that you died, would you?” I was glad that she understood me. I see the innocent people as people who gave their lives for our country. I greave the loss but I do not call for revenge for the dead. The dead are gone. I grieve for the loss that the family and friends feel. At 4:00am my little girl woke up. She said, “I’m scared. I’m shaking where is mom? Look I am shaking. I had a bad dream. I had a bad dream. The houses were falling.” I took her out of bed and held her. We prayed. I asked Jesus to send her an angel to chase away the bad dreams. We talked about puppies. She slept the rest of the night. Wednesday I read a few things but mostly I dove into work. Some of things the things I read bothered me. “I am very sorry to say that I cant help but feel that its this kind of arrogance that makes your nation such a target.” Don’t confuse a persons feelings with arrogance. Not all people recognize a calculated terrorism act as something to be admired for good planning. Lots of people can plan well. This terrorist action deserves no respect. I do not believe the dead are calling for revenge. I do see this as terrorism. If anyone ever takes a plane that I am on I will fight. I would fight to death not because I want to kill, but because I want to defend the weak and defenseless. I will not allow anyone to take the feelings of safety from my children. I will not give my life carelessly, but I have many things worth dieing for. America is a defender of the weak and innocent and it is a hard job. It will require more than a strong military. Make no mistake it is a time for action. Freedom is at risk. Thanks for letting me vent. Mike Freimann

Luther anyone who would answer that would be just guessing. CNC Software has yet to announce a release date. Yes an Alpha went out but it was for dealer feed back only. Conversations about what will be available in V9 are speculative. I have seen beta change drastically in one week. Even the “last beta” has features pulled out until they are deemed solid. That is another reason for point releases. I have seen dealers get burned in this guessing game. Sorry to rain on the parade. Loose lips sink ships.