Third-party verification is a gold-standard process employed across many industries – finance and banking, sales, cybersecurity, and academia – as a failsafe against bad actors attempting to impersonate others to steal information, money, or worse. Third-party verification requires an independent source outside of the transaction to prove that the participants are who they say they are. With Career and Technical Education (CTE), it’s the same. How do you know a professional has the skills that he claims to have? A certification signifies that a third party has verified that he can do the tasks he’s been hired to do. NOCTI, the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute, was born out of a need for independent, third-party verification for non-degreed professionals.
What is NOCTI?
NOCTI has expertise in, and a commitment to, improving America’s workforce. They are a national leader in standardized credentialing solutions. Established in 1966, NOCTI works to “develop valid and reliable occupational competency examinations, provide field testing, facilitate continuous revisions, and prepare the needed comparative, qualitative data reporting.” Stratasys partnered with NOCTI to develop Stratasys FDM Certification to assist in ensuring that a student’s knowledge and skills in additive manufacturing (AM), specifically Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), are up to a newly established industry standard of excellence. By keeping up with technological advances across fields, legislative changes, and economic trends, NOCTI is at the forefront of groups certifying professionals and is the third-party verification that validates the Stratasys FDM Certification.
Watch this informative on-demand webinar from Stratasys about the new the software to learn more.
The FDM Certification Process
Available to secondary and post-secondary educational programs as well as to industry professionals, the NOCTI | Stratasys FDM Certification tests a student on their knowledge and skills in technologies, applications, materials, operations, software design, and post-processing in FDM. An FDM Certification is a badge showing customers & employers that they can have confidence in the quality of a professional’s knowledge and skill levels. There is currently a skills gap in many industries, and FDM certification shows that you’re up to date with industry standards. To get the FDM Certification, you must be trained and tested at a NOCTI-certified testing site. Exam preparation should be with a certified host institution, and the amount of time needed to cover the preparation materials depends on the level of experience of the student. The Stratasys FDM Certification exam is an online test consisting of 100 questions that a student must complete over the course of two hours in a proctored setting at a standardized computer terminal. The test fee is $30.
The areas covered are:
- Industry & Applications – 11%
- Identify and describe industry utilization and primary applications of FDM.
- Technology & Specifications – 24%
- Describe FDM operations and system hardware and specifications for FDM Stratasys printers, including routine maintenance and key safety areas.
- Materials – 20%
- Discuss materials properties and performance based on application, by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, including support materials and the compatible materials available for the various platforms.
- Design & Fabrication – 8%
- Demonstrate knowledge of general AM design considerations, and articulate the impacts of CAD to STL export settings.
- Software Processing & Communication – 24%
- Show mastery of GrabCAD print workflow, Insight workflow, and advanced processing.
- Post-Processing – 13%
- Describe the difference between primary and secondary FDM processes, demonstrating knowledge of finishing and tools used for post-processing.
It could be a challenge to get this certification if you are new to AM and just learning about Fused Deposition Modeling. Some experience is recommended before undergoing exam prep and taking the test.
Benefits of Being Certified
A complete transfer to additive manufacturing has not been made, yet, so it is still considered an emerging technology to those not on top of industry advances. Therefore, it can be hard for the average person to distinguish what a true FDM professional can do. NOCTI | Stratasys certification makes you an early adopter of the fourth industrial revolution, and early adopters reap the benefits of being ahead of the bell curve. To be FDM certified means you know all the ins and outs of AM – how to, how not to, industry trends, and more. As NOCTI is over 50 years old and recognized as a thought leader across industries, a NOCTI certification carries a lot of weight. By partnering with a third-party institution like NOCTI, Stratasys has legitimized and standardized FDM training into a test with quantifiable results.
Because of the boost to your credibility, in addition to building trust with customers, you will also have established trust with the US government, making you eligible for grants, funding, and aid. The more knowledge you have about FDM, the more quickly and easily you can get tasks done. An un-certified professional who charges $30 an hour may take three hours for a job that you can charge $60 an hour for and get done in one. The skills gained to attain your FDM Certification will ultimately save you time and materials on each job. You can also leverage your NOCTI | Stratasys FDM Certification into greater customer satisfaction and therefore more sales, higher revenue, and a better bottom line.
Learn more about the NOCTI Stratasys FDM Certification or request a quote!
Check out this on-demand webinar from Stratasys to learn even more about the NOCTI Stratasys FDM Certification.
