SolidWorks CSWA practice exam
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- 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
great video sir i nailed my exam thanks to it, but please drink a glass of water next time haha
yes, please. but great video
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
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.
@@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.
@@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.
"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 :)
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 :)
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.
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 :)
@@MCatwar Great 👏🎈 so was it easy compared with the given time, watching this video? how many parts were there?
@@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.
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!
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.
can you please share all the PDFs for these exams if you have any, i would appreciate it@@DanAbbott-SMCC
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.
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.
Can you link the finished product?
@@TheBigBonesJones bruh... the whole point is to practice
@@EAGLINWRX 27:27
@@jeffrysanjaya8866 ??
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.
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.
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
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.
How did you do?
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
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!
were the questions similar to any of the practice exams? any of them the same?
@@khamisi__6378 No, but as long as you understand at least 70% this excercises, you will pass
Is it just me, or does Mr. Abbott sound like Tom Hanks?
I think it is just you, but I think Tom Hanks sounds OK, so I'll take that as a compiment!
@@DanAbbott-SMCC actually you do sound like him
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
It is my pleasure. I make these videos for my classes at SMCC, but I'm very glad that others find them helpful.
Just looked up certification practice for my exam coming up, thank you so much and it helped a ton!
Glad it helped!
This was phenomenal crushed the exam! Thank you sir! Maybe make a CSWP Practice exam video?
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.
Sir, Can I retake the test if the score does not reach the requirement to get cswa/test can only be done once?
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.
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.
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.
Very helpful! I'm not trying to do the CSWA but I learned some good tricks from watching this. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Great tutorial - it's greatly appreciated!
Glad it was helpful.
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.
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.
Just passed my CSWA, after drilling this video and the practice exam for a few weeks. Very Helpful. Thanks!
You're welcome. Glad it helped.
were the questions similar to any of the practice exams? any of them the same?
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.
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 ?
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.
@@DanAbbott-SMCC Thank you sir for a quick response. Also thank you for the tricks, will surely apply during my exam.
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.
Send me the sldprt file. Dan@danabbott.com
Did you get this resolved?
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!!
Glad to hear that it helped you. Nice job.
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!!
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.
can you make videos on the new CSWA exam?
This video is for the official practice exam, which I don't believe has changed. I can't make a video about the exam itself without violating the copyright and my agreement with SolidWorks not to publicize the contents of the exam. You may find others on TH-cam who have done so without the permission of Dassault.
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
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...
Thanks for the help, it clarified how to do global variables properly. It also showed me what I was doing wrong in the assembly.
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
Sir for the actual exam will the part files for the assembly will be provided for download or we have to make the parts?
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."
@@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
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.
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.
Studied this video, drawing was easy...purchased the test for a 100 dollars and was given something totally ridiculous compared to this. Did not pass, how else can I prepare myself?
I've administered this exam to several hundred students over the past 15 years at the end of their first semester class. Although some of them have had the same reaction you did, slightly more than half of them pass the exam on their first try. The main problem that students who don't pass the exam have is with the timed nature of the exam. In most cases, they got hung up on one of the early part files and ran out of time before finishing. In some cases they have such high anxiety when taking a timed exam that they are unlikely to be successful even when they have developed considerable skill with the software.
You might try taking the practice CSWP exam for a more challenging preparation. If you didn't take the CSWA practice exam using the test engine shown in my video, make sure you use it this time. You might also get a classic drafting/engineering graphics textbook (my favorite is anything by Giesecke) and select some complex parts and assemblies from it, and practice with a timer. Try them several times and see if you can reduce the time it takes as you develop strategies to work more efficiently.
One of the things I do with my students is have them take care of anything that they might need to do while they're taking the exam before it starts: go to the bathroom, eat something, turn off their phones, etc. I also recommend that they start up SolidWorks and begin a part file using MMGS units before selecting the final "start exam" button.
I emphasize a number of things during the semester that I believe help them succeed with the software, and I remind them of some of these things before the exam starts: fully define all sketches, select a logical origin for the first sketch, recognize symmetry and use it to your advantage while sketching or extruding (mirror entities in the sketch, use mid-plane where appropriate when extruding a boss). Make sure you really understand the creation and use of global variables (names must be in quotes when typed, or select them from the drop-down list). Do an interference check on assemblies before answering any questions. See if any parts are not fully mated as well.
Otherwise, practice as much as possible during the waiting period to retake the exam. People who work with the software professionally or use it extensively in other classes rather than just taking one course don't seem to have much problem with the CSWA exam, although that isn't always the case with the CSWP exam or the other specialty exams like weldments, drawings, etc. It is quite possible to do well on the exam with just one class though. Every semester I have several students who get perfect scores.
When taking the exam again, you might try changing the order in which you answer the questions so you get to the questions regarding assemblies before you take on the part creation questions. They tend to be less demanding, but carry a lot of weight in the final score. You won't be expected to use any of the advanced mates or the mechanical mates, so concentrate on coincident, concentric, distance, and angle. When you do the part creation questions, concentrate enough time on the initial part to make sure it is correct before moving on. If you get hung up on the last question for that part, skip it and go on to the next part and do the same thing. If you have time at the end, go back and finish the questions.
I hope this helps. I do have a document that I prepared for my classes with advice on what I consider best practices in using SolidWorks (or any parametric modeling program) that I would be happy to send to you if you are interested (contact me at dabbott@smccME.edu). The exam itself really isn't ridiculous compared to the practice exam, but you have to be prepared for different types of geometry, including those requiring revolves. Good luck with the next round.
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
If you share your email or smth on your youtube channel (about me section) i could sent them 😊
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
Loved this video very helpful. Quick question, does this exam format still follow today’s testing guidelines? Or has anything changed since the video
There has been no change in the exam for the past 12 years I've required it. Glad you found the video helpful.
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!
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!"
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).
@@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.
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!
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
You can take the practice exam for free. It will include the parts for the assemblies as a zip file download. SOLIDWORKS.virtualtester.com/.
At 35:50 when he trims the circle mine says I cannot use a close entity for trimming or extending
I realized he just dragged across the circle to trim it
powertrim works most of the time.
I could not get the answers you got. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere. Amazing video by the way.
I get the same answers every time, as do my students. Make sure you have no underdefined sketches. If you do, figure out why and fully define them. You may also have an over-defined sketch, which is usually from an automatic relation being added that you didn't notice and is in conflict with a dimension. If you got the "do you want it driven" message when adding any of the dimensions given on the exam, look for relations that you don't want and delete them so the dimension is driving, not driven. You may also have misinterpreted the drawings, of course. But if you go through the video again, you should be able to find where you went astray.
Your videos are very helpful. thank sir
My pleasure
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! :)
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.
hi thanks teacher when I draw the model the lastly, I would get 2% more than the answer. in mass configuration
You have a geometry error somewhere. I've created this model many time in front of my classes, and my students all have to take the practice exam before taking the actual exam. The results have always been the same as the answer given at the end of the exam.
Check for under-defined sketches.
Make sure that there are no unintended relations added automatically (a perpendicular relation is the most likely).
Make sure that you used every dimensions given and have no driven dimensions.
If you want to send me the model at dabbott@smccme.edu, I'd be happy to take a look at it.
i know all this stuff, maybe i should get a certeficate.... and learn how to write certeficate
Sure. You might want to practice the online exam first, but if you know all this stuff and have $100, I'd say go ahead.
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!
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 dabbott@smccME.edu and I'll take a look at it when I get a chance.
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.
618 IS NOT 628. check answer 5 again boss.
Corrected later in video
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.
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.
@@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?
38:34 you did not get the correct answer
your answer is 618 but the answer is 628
628/618 error is still within 1% which is acceptable on the day of the exam. Thank you Dan for the great video! I really do appreciate it!
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
Basic question--I don't own a legal copy of Solidworks, and I'm also not a student. Won't I have to have a legal copy of SW in order to take the CSWA exam?
There is no information about the software you are using that is communicated to SolidWorks or the exam provider, so you can download a trial version and take it within the 30 day trial period. You can also buy a yearly subscription for what they call the "maker" version for $99/year so you don't have to use illegal software. You can even use it to make some hobbyist type of money as long as it is not more than $2000 since it is not a commercial version.
@@DanAbbott-SMCC THANK YOU! That is incredibly helpful information.
how do you adjust the origin. i do reference coordinates but that doesnt help
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.
Can I take the test in the free trial solidworks, or I need the actual software on my PC
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.
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
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 dabbott@smccME.edu with a screen capture of your results.
cant seem to get the answers correct but am doing the same exact thing....dont know where i am going wrong
Melissa,
It might seem like you are doing the same exact thing, but something is off if you aren't getting those answers. The most common problem is having sketches that are under-defined, so look there first. The next thing to try is to see if an automatic relation was added that you didn't notice. If you are unable to add a dimension that you know is necessary because it would over-define the sketch, that is probably what happened, and the most likely is a perpendicular relation to a line on the opposite side of the sketch. If you find a perpendicular relation, delete it and add any necessary dimension. The third thing is to look carefully at your dimensions to see if you might have selected the wrong point on the sketch for one end or the other. If none of those work, send me your part file to dabbott@smccme.edu and I'll tell you what the error is.
I feel so prepared to fail my exam on Monday :D
exam in university or in school?
Oprah James uni
Advice I give my students for taking the SolidWorks Certified Associate Exam
(also, start a SolidWorks part file, go to the bathroom, get a cup of water, etc. before you select the last Start Exam button.)
1. Take a deep breath. You have 3 hours to take this exam. You have done all the things required and more. Take the time to analyze the parts before starting.
2. Create equations for each variable when making a part. You’ll have to change them later and having equations does make it easier. (You can skip this for the assemblies.)
3. Understand how to use the MEASURE tool and the MASS PROPERTIES tool.
4. Fully define every sketch!!!!! Really.
5. Start the part in a logical location even if they don’t require a specific origin. Place the first part in an assembly where it is specified in the question.
6. Be careful to select the correct material before finding any mass properties.
7. Understand what each of the drawing view options does, including the “Alternate Position” view. If you forget during the exam, or if you want some reassurance, just start a drawing and look.
8. Make sure you know how to place a distance mate in an assembly.
9. If you need to select a face inside another part in an assembly, make the part transparent, OR use the section tool and drag the pointer to a location that opens up the part for you.
10. When you do the assembly, make sure that NO parts are free to move.
11. On the advanced part watch for opportunities to use Convert Entities to simplify things. If you select a face, all edges associated with the face will convert. If you use the Offset Entities options and select the face, all edges will convert AND offset. DON’T FORGET TO START A SKETCH BEFORE TRYING TO USE CONVERT ENTITIES!
12. Save everything you do every 10 minutes or so to a local drive as you are working so you can get back to it.
13. If you have time at the end, review all the questions to make sure you answered them.
14. Don't get hung up on one part. If you are spending a lot of time on a part, go on to the next one, and make sure you leave time for the assemblies. Many people find them much easier than the parts, and they are worth a lot of points on the exam.
15. Don’t panic if you can’t answer all questions. You need only 165 points out of 240 to pass this test. Just do the best you can. You can do this.
Thank you for posting this video. I will update once i take the cswa exam within a week! what is your email address by the way? Thanks again!
You're welcome. My email address is dan@danabbott.com
dabbott@smccme.edu
Amazing! Very well explained, I appreciate the help for sure!!
Glad you found it useful.
excelente video wey, no mames
You're welcome
I swear I have the same sketch like you, but still don't get the correct answer. Could you help me please?
If you aren't getting the same answer, the sketch is not the same. Some possibilities:
1. Make sure your sketch is fully defined. If not, figure out why.
2. You may have a relation that was added automatically that you don't want. The most likely would be a perpendicular relationship. If you try to add a dimension and get an "over-defined" error, check for any unwanted relations and delete them.
3. You might have placed a dimension with an incorrect location on either end so that it looks fine when you scan it, but results in incorrect geometry.
4. You may have a correct sketch but an incorrect extrusion depth.
5. You might have assigned the wrong material.
6. Your equations might have a typo.
If you can't find the error, send me the .sldprt file to dabbott@smccme.edu and I'll find it for you.
@@DanAbbott-SMCC thanks. I found the mistake. The dimension up of 29 was in the wrong position
Thanks Dan Abbott, I love you
You're very welcome. You might be falling in love a little too quickly though! : )
I dоwnloaded everything is okay
Good.
Great video, many thanks for posting this, it's helping me a lot
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
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
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.
omg thank u so much, i skipped green check part so my origin point is not coincident. Thanks for the reply!!!🙏 god bless you
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.
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.
so the answers for the sample exam are alwys the same?
They are. The actual exam draws from a pool of parts, assemblies and drawing questions and based on seeing student exams, they are randomly selected and each of them has different values assigned to the variables. But the practice exam hasn't changed in many years.
very helpful; thanks for sharing!
You are most welcome
Σ is not epsilon, it’s called “sigma”
I know. That was an error on my part that I noted in the comments but didn't find important enough to redo the entire video. Editing a video once it is posted is not worth the trouble.
Now I wish I watched this video before taking the practice exam...
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.
I agree! I figured out where I lost a bunch of time. Thank you for your help. I'm taking the certification exam tomorrow.
@@samshim3149 Good luck.
Could I get pdf ?
You can get the practice exam from SolidWorks. Just do a web search on "SolidWorks CSWA practice exam PDF"
Hello, I just graduated from university as mechanical construction diploma (We study about Solidworks and Catia..) ... After graduating. I felt like my diploma is useless or rarely demanded. like where would I work?.. I'd be happy if you comment about this. Thank you.
Rauf,
I don't know what a university diploma is where you went to school. I teach at a community college that still has a very strong occupational focus in addition to that of transfer to universities. My role is to prepare student to become skilled technicians who will assist architects and engineering in documenting developing and documenting designs in a variety of disciplines. For the past few years virtually all of our students who complete the A.A.S. degree get hired, go on to an advanced degree, or both. I've been teaching here for over 34 years, and we have many very close relationships with employers who value our degree very highly. Just today I had request from two employers for either a graduate or an advanced student.
The key is developing proficiency in the use of CAD software and understanding the ways in which it is applied in various disciplines. Our graduates are very skilled and employers know that. If the diploma you received doesn't by itself seem to be helping you find work, you might want to take the certification exam in SolidWorks to demonstrate your ability. If you find you are unable to pass the exam, you might benefit from some of the many videos on TH-cam to develop your skills further.
Good luck,
Dan Abbott
Sir, is it necessary to define and use the global variables??
. I have just sketched this without defining any global variables.
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.
Thank you sir, i passed my exam
You are welcome.
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
I'm glad it was helpful!
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.
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.
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
Thanks. You are most welcome.
my man sounds like tom hanks
Weirdly enough, you are perhaps the 6th person to say that. But, I am six years older than Tom, so he actually sounds like me.
Omg,sir thank you very much for this videos,this is very helpful for me,i got that exam today,Hope i make it
All the best
45:16 your 2nd pocket extruded cut doesn't go in far enough, hence why your weight was wrong. Good video however. Thanks.
I think I correct that later in the video, but I don't edit these since they are used for my classes. I let them find errors since that's really the skill I want them to develop. And it is reassuring to some of them that "even the instructor" can make a mistake. Glad you liked it though.
Thanks for the lesson
You're welcome.
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?
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.
This looks hard asf :(
Just keep practicing and it will seem less hard. My students have a 52% pass rate after a one semester course, so it is not out of reach for you.
Than you Mr. Abbott. I am considering to take this exam and this video helped me a lot!
Glad to hear that.
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.
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.
thx
You're welcome.
Thank you for the video, it was a great help
You are most welcome.
what the actual value is 5.21 or 5.00? I do more than 10 times but I can't get it.
I am not sure what you are referring to here. If you can be more specific about the 5.21 or 5.00 value, I'd be happy to respond.
Sir, Please make video for CSWP
I did. It's been on my playlist for SolidWorks for several years.
11:27 Small nitpick - That's Sigma. Not Epsilon.
Indeed it is. I've been wondering when someone would note that. I'd like to dismiss it as a typo, but in fact, I did think it was Epsilon at the time -- confidently enough not to check it. Thanks for pointing it out. If I could easily edit the video on TH-cam, I'd change it.
One question, isn't the 19mm wrong at 17:28? isn't it supposed to be 29?
Yes it is. That oversight is corrected a couple of minutes later when I changed the 19 to 29 before creating the solid.
i got 939.54g but when changing the equation to 84,59,45 the mass turn to 1045,40g why is that?
Not sure. If you wan to send me the file at dan@danabbott.com I'll take a look when I get a chance.
Thanks Sir
You are most welcome.
Why was the mass for your part and the correct answer different? The correct mass was shown as 628.18g and your part was shown as 618.6g?
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. I think I corrected that later in the video though.
@@DanAbbott-SMCC ok thanks, I wasn't sure if I was missing something. Thanks for the content!
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.
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.
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?
No. Use mates and change the values there. It works about as quickly as changing global variables.
Great video, was very useful
Glad you found it helpful. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
hey mr. Daniel, thank you for your kindness sharing this video, now im ready for my exam
Best of luck!
Hi mate, not sure if you’re still active on here but I’ve been going through the exam and for a couple of the questions my answers are like 0.2 grams off and I can’t work out why. Any chance you’d be able to look at my part files and give me a hand? Thanks
I would be happy to. Send them to me at dabbott@smccme.edu.
Daniel Abbott Thanks very much, I’ll send them over now
That's a wonderful and a very knowledgeable video.
You're welcome. Catching up on my TH-cam comments, so this is belated.
WOW!!!! This was a Amazing video !!!! I learned a lot just watching how you did it. Keep up the great work.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi again Daniel, just checking you got my email? Thanks
I responded to your email on 11/27 with comments and an attachment. You had a number of under-defined sketches, in part because you didn't establish a relationship between the part and the origin. That makes it hard to trouble shoot.
I require that my student fully define every sketch unless it contains text or irregular splines.
where can I get the part file for assembly?
If you register for the SolidWorks exams, you can take two of them for free using the same test engine used for the actual exam. If you take the CSWA with that engine, you can download the .zip files containing the parts for the assembly part of this exam. The process of registering and taking the free exam online is in my video. If for some reason you can't do that, send an email to me at dabbott@smccme.edu and I will email you the .zip file.
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
You can send me a file at dabbott@smccme.edu.
Not able to tab over for inserting a global variable how should i rectify that?
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?
Line function on how to tegent arc ???
Any short cut key ??
i think it's a
Catching up on my TH-cam 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.
I have practiced this one . All my answers matchs ! thank you.
You are welcome.
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
@@DanAbbott-SMCC thank you so much.
@@miniCHANGMIN My pleasure. So it makes sense to you?