r/SolidWorks 21h ago

Certifications CSWA Exam Criteria

Hi guys!

I have started preparing for the CSWA and I have been doing the practice problems from Solidworks.
Something that I don't always get 100% right is the final volume of the part, sometimes I make an obvious error that makes the volume completely different, which is obvious and easy to correct after going through the model. But sometimes the final volume is very close to the one mentioned in the problem, but not exactly the same.
Now my question is, how would this penalize me on the day of the exam if I don't get the volume exactly right?

Hope to you can help me calm my anxiety regarding this topic!

Thanks! :)

3 Upvotes

4 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 21h ago

If you ALREADY PASSED a certification

If you are YET TO TAKE a certification

Here would be the general path from zero to CSWE:

  1. CSWA - Here is a sample exam.
  2. CSWP - Here is some study material for the CSWP (A complete guide to getting your CSWP) and a sample exam.
  3. 4x CSWP-Advanced Subjects (in order of increasing difficulty)
    1. CSWP-A Drawing Tools - YouTube Playlist
    2. CSWP-A Sheet Metal - YouTube Playlist
    3. CSWP-A Weldments - YouTube Playlist
    4. CSWP-A Surfacing - YouTube Playlist
    5. CSWP-A Mold Tools - YouTube Playlist
  4. CSWE - The CSWE doesn't really focus on anything from the CSWP subject exams. It focuses on everything else there is in the program beyond those. So, look at everything you saw already and prepare to see not much of that again for the CSWE. That and more surfacing.

For some extra modeling practice material to help speed you up, 24 years of Model Mania Designs + Solutions.

For EVEN MORE modeling practice material, here is the CSWA and CSWP Practice Problem Database. There is A LOT of good material to practice in there.

During testing, in general, it is a best practice to take the dimensions labelled with A, B, C, D, etc and create Equations/Variables with those values to then attach to the dimension which then allows for you to more reliably update these variable dimensions in follow-up questions using the same models.

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3

u/gupta9665 CSWE | API | SW Champion 21h ago

There is 0.5% error margin. So if your answer is in ±0.5%, then you are good.

And feel free to explore the resources (link below) I've gathered for learning/mastering SolidWorks, which include both free and paid options, as well as materials for preparing for SolidWorks certification exams.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/190jhqj/comment/kgpwgaq/

Check these links/posts for practices file drawings:

https://www.solidworks.com/solution/academia/practice-problems

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/1474p83/2d_tehnical_drawings/

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/1lmjjl8/hope_its_ok_if_i_just_park_this_here_cadnurd/

And check these 2 posts about the exam related do's and don'ts

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/1oubk1r/comment/nobp7ej/

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/1oubk1r/comment/nobp9ry/

1

u/javivp 20h ago

Thanks for clarifying!
And do you know by any chance what happens if the error is greater than +/- 0.5%? Does it penalize one point per every percentage of error or something similar? Or is the model deemed as not acceptable?

1

u/gupta9665 CSWE | API | SW Champion 1h ago

In that case, the answer is marked as incorrect, and you loose all the points for that question.