SolidWorks CSWA practice exam

This video reviews the SolidWorks certified Associate practice exam with suggestions for approaches that might make you more efficient and accurate in creating parts and assemblies. I go through the process of registering for the exams and taking the exams either on-line or using the downloadable PDF file from SolidWorks. (Several people have mentioned that I incorrectly identified the Greek letter used to indicate an equation as Epsilon when it is in fact Sigma.)
The practice exam doesn't include a part requiring a revolve, which is very likely to be on the CSWA exam itself. I have a video with a sample part requiring a revolve, showing how you might approach it. It is one I made up that is similar to what you are likely to find. Here is the link to that video.
• CSWA Sample Revolve Part

[@ModestMaker]

Mr. Abbot - just letting you know that five years later, your video is still helping those of us who want to pass the CSWA exam. Your explanation was so much clearer than my own professor's with some added tips that really helped especially drawing a construction box around my model as a first step. I don't know why we weren't taught this in my class given how helpful this is to avoid problems when dimensioning. Direct and efficient. Thank You!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Thank you for those kind words. I'm glad it was helpful, but don't be too hard on your own professors. I don't think I've ever seen a video or SolidWorks tip that uses a construction envelope in this way, so it just may never have occurred to them.

[@karabophak2238]

can you please share all the PDFs for these exams if you have any, i would appreciate it@@DanAbbott-SMCC

[@juanmanuelbedoyaacevedo420]

Greetings from Colombia Mr.Abbott, I was really lost with the assembly when I was trying it by myself , I thought I was doing everything correctly but I saw your video and it astounded me to see that I had missed a step, I had no idea you had to mate the planes, I really understood your explanation and I wish to thank you so much for making this video.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad you found it helpful. I make these video for my classes at Southern Maine Community College, but when I get feedback from others around the globe I am glad I made them all public. Thanks for letting me know.

[@frozenmoment8781]

Mr. Abbott I admire your spirit of welfare of the students and your patience to create very lucid videos. I am moving from 2D to 3D and will be taking CSWA in days and hoping to do it. Thanks for your dedication

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

It is my pleasure. I make these videos for my classes at SMCC, but I'm very glad that others find them helpful.

[@kckeith2471]

Just looked up certification practice for my exam coming up, thank you so much and it helped a ton!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it helped!

[@Kaser]

"The overall mass is 618.6" *sees 628.18 is the right answer* "I know I've got that one correct" You made me laugh there. Nice video anyway :)

[@MCatwar]

I was looking for what happened, and it's because he made a small error in the globals. a, b, and c should be 86, 58, and 44, respectively :)

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I do my videos in one take, and because they're meant for my classes, I don't go back to correct small errors, I let my students find them. It reinforces that real-world process of design and the fact that I WANT them to make mistakes so they can then apply problem-solving skills. Good catch.

[@MCatwar]

Daniel Abbott thanks for the reply! also, i failed this practice exam multiple times and came across this video for guidance. as soon as i saw you set up your globals, and convert entities etc i knew where i went wrong. took the real exam last week and got a 240/240 on it. so thanks so much for making this to help other students out as well! it was for a university of colorado boulder CAD class for mechanical engineering and i also got my certification :)

[@mamaeritrea3035]

@@MCatwar Great 👏🎈 so was it easy compared with the given time, watching this video? how many parts were there?

[@RICARDOLOTU]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC i've watch the video, thank you for the time that took you, i would like to add that when you are cutting the bottom piece you correctly say that the offset it's going to be 12, yet it changes to 22. Anyways, nice video.

[@talkingmudcrab718]

Very helpful! I'm not trying to do the CSWA but I learned some good tricks from watching this. Thank you!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it was helpful!

[@casualcombine]

Thanks for the help, it clarified how to do global variables properly. It also showed me what I was doing wrong in the assembly.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@HelioTitan]

Three years later and this video is still very helpful!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it helped. Good practice never goes out of date.

[@eknim]

great video sir i nailed my exam thanks to it, but please drink a glass of water next time haha

[@ajetjennings]

yes, please. but great video

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it was helpful. I have a speech impediment due to a serious injury. Grateful to be able to speak at all , and I do the best I can. It's not a question of drinking water or making an effort.

[@eknim]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC im sorry to hear that. i did not make that comment with bad intentions and would like to apologise if it came off as rude.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

@@eknim I accept your apology my friend. You're not the first to mention it. After spending a month unable to speak, eat, drink, or breath without a tracheostomy, I really am just grateful to be able to do these for my students. It took over a year before I was willing to try, but they wanted this video so I made it. Happy to share it with the public though.

[@trexinvert]

I've drawn this model over and over a dozen times now. I got it under 5 minutes from starting with clicking "new part" to final "mass properties". Here's some tips for speed, efficiency and accuracy that I would like to share: 1.) Do not manually draw the chamfer(7x45@2 plcs, 5x45) and fillet(R5). Draw them to a "point". Then use Sketch Tools/Fillet & Chamfer to add those features. Not only will it dimension for you, but the fillet will automatically have tangent relations applied. Using sharp corners at 4 positions will really simplify your sketch extremities. Simpler = less chance for errors and you could even forego the need for reference lines and dimensions. As the good professor suggest its a good idea to use them, but if you are not in the habit of doing so(also linking it to equations) you are adding more elements for failures/time loss. 2.) The most "critical/complex" portion is the R29 radius and constraining it, so that's where I started the sketch. My origin is at the bottom of the part, where the point has horizontal dimension=29. 3.) Also for the other questions, you can "enter and preload" the different "a", "b" and "c" values if you create configurations. However, make sure upon creating configurations you "uncheck" suppress features. In the equation edit environment make sure the "only this configuration" symbol is toggled. (If you are not rock solid with using configuration a lot can go wrong so, ignore this. ) 4.) Related to .3) you can also add different materials in each different configuration, so another time saver if you decide to use this option.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Nice tips for this particular part. Don't overlook the fact that you'll never see it on an exam. I think timing yourself is a great way to develop some good efficient habits, but before the exam, grab some parts you've never done before and time yourself on those. Good luck on the exam.

[@TheBigBonesJones]

Can you link the finished product?

[@EAGLINWRX]

@@TheBigBonesJones bruh... the whole point is to practice

[@jeffrysanjaya8866]

@@EAGLINWRX 27:27

[@EAGLINWRX]

@@jeffrysanjaya8866 ??

[@Johncon123]

I feel much more confident about getting enough of a score to pass watching this and doing some calculations to see how much points from each category you need to pass great video

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Best of luck. Make sure you do the assemblies. The only mates you have to use will be the standard mates. And pay attention to the drawing questions. If you're not sure, go look at a drawing in SolidWorks to see what the views are called. Don't guess...

[@nolanferguson7760]

Just passed my CSWA, after drilling this video and the practice exam for a few weeks. Very Helpful. Thanks!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Glad it helped.

[@khamisi__6378]

were the questions similar to any of the practice exams? any of them the same?

[@nolanferguson7760]

rhodes different questions but similar. It's been a while for me, but from what I recall it was the techniques he teaches that really helped.

[@laweafome528]

I passed the exam!! thank u so much, this video was really helpful, I watched it like 3 times and toke notes. Thank u for giving your time to educate

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I'm glad to hear it. I am fortunate to be able to educate people of all ages. My last class had people who were 19 and one who was 72 with all kinds of people in between. Learning is one of life's great pleasures, so plan to keep doing it!

[@khamisi__6378]

were the questions similar to any of the practice exams? any of them the same?

[@laweafome528]

@@khamisi__6378 No, but as long as you understand at least 70% this excercises, you will pass

[@haidenjones9178]

Amazing! Very well explained, I appreciate the help for sure!!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad you found it useful.

[@gumi3404]

thank you sir, the method with first making the drawing so it kind-of resembles the final one and adding dimensions to if afterwards has saved me a lot of time and helped me pass this exam! Again, thank you very much for the tips!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are welcom. Glad it helped.

[@buynsell365]

WOW!!!! This was a Amazing video !!!! I learned a lot just watching how you did it. Keep up the great work.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@neil9768]

Hello Mr. Abbott, just passed with 240/240 and I owe you credit! This is the most helpful CSWA tutorial I've found. For everyone else attempting the CSWA for the first time, my advice is pay careful attention to Mr. Abbott's video before starting. Very important: 1) Have a strong command of using equations/global variables. You'll need them. 2) "Warm up" before starting the exam. Play around in the software and get comfortable. 3) Use two monitors or a separate computer during the exam! You'll need to flip back and forth many times between the test and SW. I completed the exam on one monitor and I regretted it! It'll be easier on your eyes if you can blow up the exam question drawings to a large size to read all of the dimensions and relations. 4) Skip past the questions you're unsure of, then return to them. I finished with about 30 mins remaining on the clock, so I used that time to go back and review. Good luck everyone, and thanks Mr. Abbott!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Neil, You are most welcome, and congratulations on getting a 240. -- very impressive. The suggestions you make are very much in line with what I recommend to my students before they take the exam, although I add "go to the bathroom before starting the exam!"

[@SkillUpMobileGaming]

I'm considering studying for and taking this exam in High School. Should I do it now or wait until I'm an Undergrad? I want to know because of internship opportunities (I am also for sure planning on taking the CompTIA A+ before college).

[@neil9768]

@@SkillUpMobileGaming If you have the opportunity to take the exam in high school, I'd say go for it! It's not all that difficult, just watch this video and practice modeling in the software until you're comfortable with the commands. There's no substitute for time spent modeling.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

If you have a chance to take it for free (must be included in your school's license for SolidWorks) I would do it. Good practice and it would give you a chance to test your knowledge. It is certainly possible to learn enough in high school to pass the exam!

[@brookspearce7938]

This was phenomenal crushed the exam! Thank you sir! Maybe make a CSWP Practice exam video?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're very welcome. I actually do have a CSWP practice exam video on my channel. It's the first one in the SolidWorks playlist and has been there for several years.

[@s_sstryker5982]

I have practiced this one . All my answers matchs ! thank you.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are welcome.

[@ColSeal]

God bless you. I took my practice CWSA today in a lab and absolutely ate it for being away for unforeseen circumstances. They didn't teach us how to do it the way you have, but with prior understanding of solidworks and this example, I'm able to complete all the practice problems with relative ease

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@BagdaZ]

I need to thank you, today I passed CSWA exam. Only one missed and didn't answer correctly. I wached your only video that day until i took the test and It really help me to take steps where normally I would panic. Thank you!!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad to hear that it helped you. Nice job.

[@anthonystubbs960]

Great tutorial - it's greatly appreciated!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it was helpful.

[@caddynamics1406]

Great video, many thanks for posting this, it's helping me a lot

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@Sumee21051987]

I apologize for indicating an error. For Q5, you got 618.60 grams. but on the answer sheet, it is actually 628.18 grams. Overall your step by step break down is fantastic. I learned a lot from this tutorial.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I haven't watched in in a while, but I think I correct that error later in the video. I make these for my students and don't do any editing on them and think it's a good thing for them to see when I make an error and how I correct it. No need to apologize and I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@rayhannugraha1594]

hey mr. Daniel, thank you for your kindness sharing this video, now im ready for my exam

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Best of luck!

[@user-pr5wp2om7x]

Than you Mr. Abbott. I am considering to take this exam and this video helped me a lot!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad to hear that.

[@weezin99]

Good Afternoon Sir. Thank you for taking the time to create the walkthrough videos. Adding the construction lines for the overall length/height, was the biggest help. It was easy to sketch the shape, but when I started to define it, the sketch would get completely out of wack. I wish there were more people like you,

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad it was helpful to you.

[@ahmedmuawiyah8985]

I needed your hints and tips to successfully do the practice exam, going to do the real one soon. Thank you sir.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

My pleasure.

[@ahmedmuawiyah8985]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC Just passed my CSWA, thanks Mr. Abbot.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Congratulations! @@ahmedmuawiyah8985

[@yemaneberhane6393]

It was brief and unbeliveable explaination. I learned a lot to do in this section and further more. Lastly what i want to say is , thank you very much sir. god bless you. Continue what you was explained briefly and further more. We will follow you sir. Have a good one with your heartedly explaaination. I need 100% likes to you sir. I am happy with you and my friends.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I'm glad it was helpful.

[@mely-ist-krieg]

Great video! had to paused it multiple times, since it's lightly difficult to appreciate when the mouse moves from one line to another line, or point to set a dimension but all was good at the end! Thank you Daniel!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it was helpful. I'll try to remember to have Camtesia add a yellow highlight for the cursor on future videos. Thanks.

[@siddharthsalkar862]

That's a wonderful and a very knowledgeable video.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@wiredChamberlain]

Thank you, this was a wealth of information. Taking the exam tomorrow.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Best of luck. Two people in my current class were able to get a perfect score. Make sure you make time to do the assemblies -- they count for more than you might expect and generally take less time to complete.

[@wiredChamberlain]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC Thanks, will do

[@rishitilawat1910]

You r just aweso....i was litterly noob in tNice tutorials...u explained it very simply...thanks i will surely go for next parts of tNice tutorials video.. thanks

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Thanks. You are most welcome.

[@loganmay5973]

nailed my exam thanks to this video and you!!!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Excellent!

[@jonathanmendoza3]

Fantastic video, thank you!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@banditorunner6946]

Thank you for the video, it was a great help

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are most welcome.

[@laweafome528]

Thank you so much, you really helped me study

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad to hear it.

[@SohilShah_Melodyman]

very helpful; thanks for sharing!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are most welcome

[@SmokeySpace]

About to take the exam, this helps a lot actually

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Good luck.

[@shashanka2134]

Thank you so much sir , this helped me a lot .

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are most welcome

[@MrMuki61]

Great video! Really helped me prep for the exam, all the way in Israel :) Cheers from the Mechanical Eng. Faculty @ Tel Aviv University!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Nice to hear from Tel Aviv! Glad it was helpful.

[@MrJuicyBluntz]

best video ever!! just scored a 220/240 on it. Thank you so much!!!!

[@vibasept7733]

Did this video contain all content of the exam?

[@MrJuicyBluntz]

Hua Wei Yes. The techniques he used including the global variables makes it extremely easier when modifying parts question by question. Both the part makeing and assembly questions were basically the exact same layout. The only difference is there is usually a part that involves a revolving extrusion like a bike wheel or a propane tank. The exam is 14 questions and it usually involves at least 2 parts, 2 assemblies, and one revolving extrusion. This video will help you more than anything. best of luck!!

[@whathen2325]

wait what score is considered passing

[@MrJuicyBluntz]

whathen 160/240 in other words you need to get about 2/3 of the test right. this video covers over the 2/3 you’ll need for sure!

[@whathen2325]

@@MrJuicyBluntz thank you so much!! was it hard

[@whathen2325]

guys im 14 and ahhh omg im studying very hard for this test our teacher doesn't even teach us this stuff we just use the solidworks tutorial but yeah thanks for the help my test is this Saturday 05/25/19 ill tell you guys how i do wish me luck im really gonna need it

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Good luck. I have some other videos that I use in the first half of my classes on this same play list that you might be interested in.

[@nonedone]

How did you do?

[@ricardolinhares9460]

Hello Daniel, great video. Regarding the first model, in the technical draw that they provided there are two symbols of tangent arc close to the radius = 19 (on the top of the model). I thought that instead of a line it would be an arc. Do you know why yours only have one symbol? My drawing got undefined when I tried to make as an arc.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Ricardo, I'm not sure what you're referring to unless you have a different version of the model they use for the practice exam. The single tangent symbol with two leaders is referring to a single tangency between a straight line and an arc. The angle would verify that the entity is a straight line and not an arc.

[@shungualpha2574]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC im also having the same problem, im falling to fully define the sketch between the 10 degrees inclined line and the arc, i know im missing something can someone hlp?

[@ShayanAsim]

Dear Sir, You are an absolute legend! I would be going through these certifications and your 1 hour lecture here really refreshed my knowledge. Is there a Question catalog for these certifications? I would love to go through the most I can. I binge questions for my exam preparations and would really appreciate if you could direct me towards such a document. Best regards and take care! :)

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are most welcome. There are a number of practice exams online. If you take the official SolidWorks practice exam you can try out the testing engine they use. You might also want to download the professional practice exam for a somewhat more demanding model. I have a video on taking that as well.

[@seanhampton9384]

Great video, was very useful

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad you found it helpful. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@animepop7753]

For the assembly questions, is it possible to use global variables for A, B and C when defining(I tried but it didnt work)? Or manually changing it through mates would be the only way?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

No. Use mates and change the values there. It works about as quickly as changing global variables.

[@waseemraza9768]

Your videos are very helpful. thank sir

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

My pleasure

[@AmirHussain-eg3su]

got my exam soon. just refreshing memory using this.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Good luck

[@AmirHussain-eg3su]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC why is practice 90min but real thing 3hr

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I don't write the exam, but when I prepare a sample for my students I often make it shorter as long as it illustrates all the key concepts.

[@josephmassilien321]

Thank you for your help. Around 35 minutes when we use the extrude cut from offset plane, for some reason mine doesn’t want to cut without thin feature on. When I leave the thin feature on not all of it is cut. Any help would be appreciated it.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

If you getting a thin extrude, you don't have a single closed shape. You can either close it by adding whatever line is missing, or use the contour option if you have closed areas but the boundaries overlap.

[@ABCBCACB]

Thank you very much for the nice video.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

My pleasure.

[@manikandarajan7928]

Useful for my exam.... thankyou

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it was helpful

[@cizbarca]

Thank you! I was missing 1 relation!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

That's all it takes. That's why it's so important to fully define all sketches.

[@scotth912]

Thanks for the video. I did this exact did as part of the CSWA Practice Exam provided by the Tangix TesterPro Client application. I am in the midst of of preparing for the true exam - practically ready - but I was wondering if the REAL exam has the same amount of questions, or MORE questions than what the practice exam has - even if they are of the same nature ? Thanks.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

The actual exam is longer and has more parts, assemblies, and as a result questions. The format is similar, and the level of skill required is also similar in my opinion.

[@Muhammad-kc6nb]

Thanks sir, this helped a lot!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it helped.

[@bramvanatteveld5217]

thanks alot for this video.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@mohitsatija4218]

Mr. Abbott thanks for sharing your experience. I was trying to assign the global variables but when I tab It stayed on the dimension dialog and doesn't evaluate or moves ahead for . next row/variable. Could you help me with what problem I might be facing

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I am not clear on what you're asking. When you type a variable name in the first column, pressing the tab key will advance to the value column, or you can select that cell with the mouse. If I am not understanding your question, send me an email at [e-mail] with a screen capture of your results.

[@erikcleeren5306]

Thank you!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@icebro7584]

Thanks for the lesson

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome.

[@metronome2359]

Omg,sir thank you very much for this videos,this is very helpful for me,i got that exam today,Hope i make it

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

All the best

[@RIHANE_Concept]

great video man

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ajetjennings]

Whenever I make the first part, I get the answer right. Then it asks me to change the dimensions, and all of a sudden, my answer is wrong.. I don't get how changing the variables will lead to me getting the next question wrong. I have a fully defined sketch.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Send me the sldprt file. [e-mail]

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Did you get this resolved?

[@wunderlandandcherries7358]

Hi Mr Abbott, for the first part you went through I managed to get the sketch fully dimensioned and the mass correct however when i changed the global variables for part two, I got a mass of 986.44g rather than 1032.32g. Do you know why this might've happened? Thank you for the great video!!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

It sounds like you didn't actually create equations for the dimensions that used global variables. You need to either type the global variable name with quotes around it, or -- preferred -- type the equal sign and use the drop down to select the global variable directly. If the dimension doesn't show the sigma symbol in front of it, it is not being driven by the variable.

[@aravindhasamyr9911]

Thanks a lot sir

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're welcome. Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated.

[@titoslounge1946]

When he changes global variables B and C what dimensions are being changed in the sketch? just the ones linked to the construction lines?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking, but whenever a change is made in the value of a global variable, any dimensions that used that variable are changed, including those placed in sketches with smart dimension, and those placed in the properties pane of features, such as blind extrusions, fillets, chamfers, etc. They can be applied to construction geometry or to geometry that will be converted into a solid or surface feature.

[@youngrison2865]

Great explanation. I put some time to replicate what you did and learned a lot. Is there a reason why you didn't use global variables for Assembly problems, unlike sketch problems?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

It is not possible to use global variables with assemblies, and it wouldn't make it much simpler since editing the mates is about the same amount of work as editing the equations.

[@leonvincent5074]

Sir for the actual exam will the part files for the assembly will be provided for download or we have to make the parts?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

For each of the assembly questions on the associate level exam, there is a link to download a .zip file. You will have to unzip it once it is downloaded, but you can do that by right-clicking on it and selecting "extract all."

[@leonvincent5074]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC i express my sincere gratitude to you as your video was a great insight into the application of basic tools in solidworks. I have passed the associate exam 5 hours ago with a score of 205/240. Thank you

[@samuelhidajat5389]

I'm having problems in doing question 3 in my own way. I have done your advice on making a rough sketch then assign dimensions clockwise from the left side of the drawing. However, I consistently get over-defined dimensions warning. I will send my drawing to you if possible. Please help!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

The most common problem I've seen on this part if you get an over-defined warning is that a perpendicular relationship was added automatically when you didn't intend to do that, and it conflicts with a dimension. Look for the perpendicular icon and if you find it, delete it. If you can't find the error, send me the file at [e-mail] and I'll take a look at it when I get a chance.

[@trexinvert]

When sketching you are not "paying attention" to the relation inferences. They are very "sneaky" and you need to be aware and move the cursor out of its sensing range. Often you are not "zoomed" in enough, so do that often. Then always check the sketch with "view" sketch relations and you will find your answer. Also, get familiar with System Option/Sketch /Relations/Snaps/Sketch Snaps. Turn off some of them, which you can add manually.

[@ssund3966]

Hi Daniel, I have an issue with Q4 Step 2, my sketch is not under defined (I'm already aware of the implications not fully defining sketches) but my calculated weight yields an answer of 1011.18g. I would like to send you the Part file but I have no visibility/option to do so. Thank you for uploading this video

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can send me a file at [e-mail].

[@chadchampion7697]

Thanks Dan Abbott, I love you

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You're very welcome. You might be falling in love a little too quickly though! : )

[@EJ-.]

Thank you sir, i passed my exam

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are welcome.

[@coolx9357]

ty so much for making this video

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You are very welcome.

[@stefanpjevovic7978]

Are there any mistake tolerances in this exam? In the 5th part, i got 432.9 instead of 432.58, i triple checked everything, and did the part exactly like you. So, would it be a fail if i missed by .32g? By the way, i wish i had a professor like you, you did a really good job!

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I have found the answers to be accurate each time I've demonstrated this part in class, but if your answer is within 1%, which yours certainly is, the exam considers that to be correct. That said, I have had a number of people contact me with similar small differences, and when they send their file I have found an error that resulted in a relationship being added in the sketch automatically that was so close to what was accurate that the final answer was within 1%. So you would have no trouble on the exam with an answer like yours, but you might want to look at the sketch to see if there is a perpendicular relation that you didn't intentionally add. If so, delete it and add the dimension that would have over-defined the sketch and see if that gives you the exact value. And thanks for your kind words. I've just finished my 80th semester as a teacher, and keep putting off retirement because I love doing it, so your comment reassures me that I can still do the job!

[@stefanpjevovic7978]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC Thank you, sir!

[@captaintalon4485]

It seems like the modeling section of the test is the longest part. How do you ensure you have enough time to finish the assembly part?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Fully define sketches, do an interference check on all assemblies, and practice. Not sure what else to tell you.

[@iambeansii]

Hello! I am studying for my CSWA exam, and I am following this video to walk me through the questions I needed help with. For 43.29 of the video, he offsets the curved line of the extruded cut we did before. Whenever I offset that, line it offsets 1mm up towards the top plane and not towards the front plane- it does not offset in. So, when I tried to do the next step of converting the face, I can not trim the edges going out since the curved line offset and the converted face are not coincident. I hope that makes sense... I just need help on the offset

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can change the direction of the offset by selecting the correct button in the left panel when offsetting. Hover over each button to see what it does.

[@iambeansii]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC Thank you for the quick reply! The reverse button just makes the curved line offset to the right side not in on the left. The two offset type buttons do not do anything to change the direction. I am using the offset surface button is that why? However, the offset entities button is grayed out and does not work for me

[@firulaisism]

hello, Abbot , what a material you present on these videos, very very good, just wondering where I can find the sample parts to print it out or download and practice , I have the student version at this moment , thank you very much

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can take the practice exam for free. It will include the parts for the assemblies as a zip file download. SOLIDWORKS.virtualtester.com/.

[@alex1nos]

Hello. Thanks for the video. Very informative. I have a question that is a bit offtopic. I am working in design and i have a company laptop with Solidworks. But I don't have rights to install/download other software (so neither this virtual tester). Can i install it on a different PC, with no Solidworks, and answer the questions there? Or does the virtual tester check that solidworks is installed on the device? Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

SolidWorks doesn't have to be installed on the computer you use for the exam, but you do have to download zip files to answer the assembly questions, so you would have to transfer them from your personal computer to your company computer. Did you try to use the virtual tester on the company computer? When I give the exam to students, they are able to use the virtual tester despite not having the rights to install software. If you can copy files to the company computer, you can probably used the tester on it. If you do take the exam on a laptop, I would plug in a monitor so you can have the exam on one and SolidWorks on the other.

[@samshim3149]

Now I wish I watched this video before taking the practice exam...

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You were probably more attentive to specifics than if you had watched it first. Glad it was helpful. I don't know if you can take the practice exam online again, but you can download it as a PDF and practice some more. You might also want to practice something that requires a revolve, since there always seems to be one on the exam.

[@samshim3149]

I agree! I figured out where I lost a bunch of time. Thank you for your help. I'm taking the certification exam tomorrow.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

@@samshim3149 Good luck.

[@anaskhikam]

mr. abbot, for number 6 is the assembly origin doesnt matter? i cant move the origin since the part has no sketch. Thank you so much

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

The assembly origin always matters on the certification exams since questions often include center of mass. In this case the origin of the assembly is the same as the origin of the first base part inserted into the assembly. That seems to always be true on the Associates exam, so you can just select the green check when placing the first part. On the professional exam you frequently have to place the first part differently, or create an independent coordinate system, but both are easily done. If you place the part incorrectly, you can change its properties from "fixed" to "floating" and then use mates between its origin and the origin of the assembly to move it. You may also have to place mates between primary planes depending on just where you want the part to be located.

[@anaskhikam]

omg thank u so much, i skipped green check part so my origin point is not coincident. Thanks for the reply!!!🙏 god bless you

[@m_s916]

Line function on how to tegent arc ??? Any short cut key ??

[@barnabydrew8637]

i think it's a

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Catching up on my KZbin comments, so this is belated. Tangent arc can be sketched by hovering over the end of a line or arc you've just drawn and moving the cursor away.

[@LankyLeaf]

Hi! Putting in the 19 mm between the midpoint of the line and the bottom at 21:15 overdefines the sketch for me, I've followed your instructions exactly, any idea why it does this?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You have probably been caught by the automatic relations being added when you weren't expecting it. You may have snapped to the midpoint of the line, or it may be that you had a perpendicular relationship added automatically (which happens fairly often on complex parts and it's easy to miss) to some line that is on the other side of the part. If you can't find the incorrect relationship, send me the part file at [e-mail] and I'll be happy to find it for you.

[@LankyLeaf]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC I figured it out shortly after and that was exactly the problem, it had snapped to the midpoint

[@varunmanjunath6509]

Hello, amazing video for beginners like me. For 5th question, I am getting 618.53 g, but in pdf file, answer given is 628.18g, I tried many times but ended up getting the same answer. Pls tell which is correct? Also let me know where I might be wrong if mine is incorrect

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Not sure without seeing the model you made, but the correct answer is that given in the PDF. Check for any under-defined sketches; make sure you use only dimensions given and not any derived mathematically from those given, double check the equations, and make sure you used the Y value not X for the second hole.

[@elliot3147]

At 35:50 when he trims the circle mine says I cannot use a close entity for trimming or extending

[@elliot3147]

I realized he just dragged across the circle to trim it

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

powertrim works most of the time.

[@davidmagana7946]

About to take the exam this weekend, trying to take in as much knowledge before taking it

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

How did it go?

[@davidmagana7946]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC I’ve actually decided to take it sometime next week to get more practice in, but idk where to find my practice/examples

[@simranjeetsingh3592]

Sir, is it necessary to define and use the global variables?? . I have just sketched this without defining any global variables.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

It is not necessary, but it is much more efficient and less prone to error if you do. It's definitely worth learning to do at any rate.

[@ifeanyimartins-udeze8899]

for the assemby part, i didn't get the right center of mass but all my relations was correct. WHat else can influence this result?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You either didn't place the initial part at the origin of the assembly (select the green check mark when inserting the first base part -- in this case the vertical pin or shaft), or you didn't constrain the first link correctly. Note the XYZ triad. The front plane of one side of the first link needs to be parallel to the front plane of the assembly.

[@preetinair3447]

Can we give the exam using two laptops and not dual monitors ? One would be used for Tester and the other one will have the software to work on. Is that acceptable ?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can do that, but you'll have to download some files for the questions on assemblies, so you'll need to be prepared to transfer them from the exam computer to the computer on which you are running SolidWorks. That will slow you down a bit, but is certainly possible.

[@preetinair3447]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC Thank you sir for a quick response. Also thank you for the tricks, will surely apply during my exam.

[@christopherguzman1046]

How do you fix a part to the origin? I tried to fix the first long pin to the origin but it turns out it wasn't at the origin.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

When assembling parts it is helpful to identify the single part that anchors the others in place. To do that if the part is made so that it's origin and orientation are what you want in the assembly (which is also a good idea and is true of the long pin in the assembly provided for the practice exam), make it the first part you insert and just select the green check mark in the upper left portion of the screen. It will be fixed to the origin and orientation of the assembly. If that isn't what you want, change the properties of that part from "fixed" to "floating" and use mates to fix the part as you want it to be oriented. Don't try to assembly parts without fixing one of them or you will be driving a hammer through your monitor in about 3 minutes.

[@miniCHANGMIN]

Thank you for sharing us. For this example I don't understand about why we need to create the circle at the origin point. Please suggest me. This video is very useful for me but I'm not a native speaker. Sometimes I can't catch with the thing that you teach in the video.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

The origin doesn't have to be at the center of the circle, but that is a logical place to put it. Establishing the origin on a logical location on the part makes it more likely that you will anchor the part to a specific location in the Cartesian Coordinate system. If you ignore the origin, you will never have a fully-defined sketch. As a result, if you have an error due to leaving out a dimension or a relationship, it will be very difficult to find the mistake since all of the entities will be blue. A part like this is likely to be attached to a shaft that goes into the hole. That means that all of the other features will relate to it. But you could place the origin on a corner. To me, this part has no corner that would be a logical location, so the only logical place to start is the center of the hole. Note the number of other dimensions that start there. I hope this helps. I have a number of students for whom English in not their first language, so I know how hard it can be to understand some of the technical descriptions. I hope that the video itself is clear enough to convey what I am doing.

[@miniCHANGMIN]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC thank you so much.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

@@miniCHANGMIN My pleasure. So it makes sense to you?

[@zyfus5128]

One question, isn't the 19mm wrong at 17:28? isn't it supposed to be 29?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Yes it is. That oversight is corrected a couple of minutes later when I changed the 19 to 29 before creating the solid.

[@luigimacchiaizzano7122]

Very helpful

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Glad it helped

[@HassanAli-km1fs]

how do you adjust the origin. i do reference coordinates but that doesnt help

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

The origin is determined by the placement of the initial sketch. I selected the origin as the center of the hole and added dimensions to other features from there. If you decide you want to adjust the origin, you would do that by editing the original sketch and moving all of the entities to a new location or by deleting the relation (coincident) or dimensions that locate the sketch and adding a coincident relation between the point you want at the origin and the origin itself. I would highly recommend that be the center of the hole for this part.

[@christophorusraryo4530]

Sir, Can I retake the test if the score does not reach the requirement to get cswa/test can only be done once?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can retake the test, but there is a waiting period. I'm not sure just how long, but I think it is 30 days. Check on the SolidWorks certification site to confirm.

[@vs-1993]

Can I take the test in the free trial solidworks, or I need the actual software on my PC

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You can use any version of SolidWorks that you have. They haven't updated the parts for years, so as long as it isn't a very old version, you should be fine.

[@sauravl9357]

is it legal to post a video of each question of CSWA or other Solidworks exam. Or do we need to take permission to post a video on it. Please answer.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I don't work for SolidWorks, but I believe you would find that posting a video of questions or even images of the parts to be drawn would violate what you agree to when you take the exam. That is why my video is of the freely available practice exam and not an actual exam.

[@AeroDZ]

Great Video I like it I have the pDf but i dont have the files for the assembly part Can you please provide me with those Thank you very kindly

[@BagdaZ]

If you share your email or smth on your youtube channel (about me section) i could sent them 😊

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

You should be able to find them online. Go to the test site they use at www.virtualtester.com/solidworks. You can take the practice exam for free and you can download the files from there. If that doesn't work, here is a link to a google drie that contains the three parts: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iaWo445reIvlWDtq9zAAqEsgHRRnAeOf?usp=sharing

[@zaydkhalid4909]

Not able to tab over for inserting a global variable how should i rectify that?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

That's a new one on me. Can you select the cell with the mouse? I've never had a problem using the Tab key for this, and I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would cause it. I assume the Tab key works in other applications?

[@iikwoodii5565]

Is it just me, or does Mr. Abbott sound like Tom Hanks?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I think it is just you, but I think Tom Hanks sounds OK, so I'll take that as a compiment!

[@jeophilip4353]

@@DanAbbott-SMCC actually you do sound like him

[@eceive6022]

I did this exam last Friday and failed it, only got 35 points. It was a little discouraging considering I felt like I was actually pretty good at Solidworks CAD, but it was also just a practice test and I'm sure I'll do better next time.

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

I've found that some very capable people are just not good at taking tests. I've also seen people get hung up early on this exam and end up spending a lot of time backtracking. The more you take practice exams, the better, of course, but you might also want to use the following strategy: review the entire exam and do those problems that you are most familiar with first. Some people find the assembly problems to be less troublesome than the part creation, but don't get to them in time to complete the exam. Others have no trouble with the initial part creation, but have difficulties with subsequent edits.

[@inaciocaluhongo381]

I´m getting approximated value of 939.28 grams for the first question, will it change all the results after? is that considered as wrong?

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Inacio. You are well within the 1% value they indicate would be correct, and I have seen small variations on other exams that don't make the answer incorrect, but I think there is still something amiss. I've demonstrated this part dozens of times and had hundreds of students create it, and in each case we were able to get the exact answer they have. Some trouble-shooting advice: Check to see that ALL of your sketches are fully defined. Check the material to make sure that you selected AISI1020 and not something else. Look at each dimension to see if they all match those given. I'm curious to see if there is something wrong, so if you can't find anything, send me the file at [e-mail] and I'll check it out to see if I can find any errors.

[@inaciocaluhongo381]

thank you, sir.

[@mos8397]

Is the actual test similar difficulty or a lot harder?

[@inaciocaluhongo381]

The same one. Preparation for the exam.

[@inaciocaluhongo381]

The idea is basically the same. If you are able to take this, you will surely do well.