Official Guide to Certified

SolidWorks Associate Exams: ®

CSWA, CSDA, CSWSA-FEA

SolidWorks 2012 - 2015
An authorized CSWA preparation exam
guide with additional information on the
CSDA and CSWSA-FEA exams

David C. Planchard, CSWP, Multimedia Disc

SolidWorks Accredited Educator

SDC
Includes Supplemental

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Instruction
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CHAPTER 2 - CSWA
INTRODUCTION AND DRAFTING
COMPETENCIES
Introduction
DS SolidWorks Corp. offers various types of
certification. Each stage represents increasing
levels of expertise in 3D CAD: Certified
SolidWorks Associate CSWA, Certified
SolidWorks Professional CSWP and Certified
SolidWorks Expert CSWE along with specialty
fields.

The CSWA certification indicates a foundation

in and apprentice knowledge of 3D CAD design
and engineering practices and principles. The
main requirement for obtaining the CSWA
certification is to take and pass the on-line
proctored 180 minute exam (minimum of 165
out of 240 points).

The new CSWA exam consists of fourteen

questions in the following five categories and
subject areas:

• Drafting Competencies: (Three questions -

multiple choice - 5 points each).
• Questions on general drawing views:
Projected, Section, Break, Crop, Detail,
Alternate Position, etc.
• Basic Part Creation and Modification:
(Two questions - one multiple choice/one
single answer - 15 points each).
• Sketch Planes:
• Front, Top, Right.
• 2D Sketching: Screen shots from the exam

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CSWA Introduction and Drafting Competencies

• Geometric Relations and

Dimensioning.
• Extruded Boss/Base Feature.
• Extruded Cut feature.
• Modification of Basic part.

In the Basic Part Creation and

Modification category there is a dimension
modification question based on the first
(multiple choice) question. You should be
within 1% of the multiple choice answer before
you go on to the modification single answer
section.
• Intermediate Part Creation and
Modification: (Two questions - one
multiple choice/one single answer - 15
points each).
• Sketch Planes:
• Front, Top, Right.
• 2D Sketching:
• Geometric Relations and Dimensioning.
• Extruded Boss/Base Feature.
• Extruded Cut Feature.
• Revolved Boss/Base Feature.
• Mirror and Fillet Feature.
• Circular and Linear Pattern Feature.
• Plane Feature.
• Modification of Intermediate Part:
• Sketch, Feature, Pattern, etc.
• Modification of Intermediate part.

In the Intermediate Part Creation and Modification Screen shots from the exam
category; there are two dimension modification questions
based on the first (multiple choice) question. You should
be within 1% of the multiple choice answer before you
go on to the modification single answer section.

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 CSWA Introduction and Drafting Competencies

• Advanced Part Creation and Modification: (Three

questions - one multiple choice/two single answers -
15 points each).
• Sketch Planes:
• Front, Top, Right, Face, Created Plane, etc.
• 2D Sketching or 3D Sketching.
• Sketch Tools:
• Offset Entities, Convert Entitles, etc.
• Extruded Boss/Base Feature.
• Extruded Cut Feature.
• Revolved Boss/Base Feature.
• Mirror and Fillet Feature.
• Circular and Linear Pattern Feature.
• Shell Feature.
• Plane Feature.
• More Difficult Geometry Modifications.

In the Advanced Part Creation and Modification

category; there are two dimension modification questions
based on the first (multiple choice) question. You should
be within 1% of the multiple choice answer before you go
Screen shots from the exam
on to the modification single answer section.
• Assembly Creation and Modification: (Two different
assemblies - four questions - two multiple choice/two
single answers - 30 points each).
• Insert the first (fixed) component.
• Insert all needed components.
• Standard Mates.
• Modification of key parameters in the assembly.

In the Assembly Creation and Modification category; expect to see five to seven
components. There are two dimension modification questions based on the first (multiple
choice) question. You should be within 1% of the multiple choice answer before you go
on to the modification single answer section.

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Download the needed components in a zip folder during

the exam to create the assembly.
Do not use feature recognition when you
open the downloaded components for the
assembly. This is a timed exam.
Additional model information is
not needed in the exam.

Illustrations may vary

depending on your SolidWorks
version and system setup.

Use the new view indicator to

increase or decrease the active
model in the view window.

Screen shots from the exam

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 CSWA Introduction and Drafting Competencies

A total score of 165 out of

240 or better is required to
obtain your CSWA
Certification.
You are allowed to answer
the questions in any order
you prefer. Use the Summary
Screen during the CSWA
exam to view the list of all
questions you have or have
not answered.
During the exam, use the
control keys at the bottom of
the screen to:
• Show the Previous the
Question.
• Reset the Question.
• Show the Summary Screen.
• Move to the Next Question.
When you are finished, press the End Examination
button. The tester will ask you if you want to end the
text. Click Yes.
If there are any un-answered questions, the tester
will provide a warning message as illustrated.

If you do not pass the certification exam, you

will need to wait 30 days until you can retake the
exam.
Use the clock in the tester to view the amount of
time that you used and the amount of time that is
left in the exam.

Screen shots from the exam

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During the exam, SolidWorks

provides the ability to click on a
detail view below (as illustrated) to
obtain additional details and
dimensions during the exam.

No Simulation questions are

on the CSWA exam.

No Sheetmetal questions are

on the CSWA exam.

FeatureManager names were

changed through various revisions
of SolidWorks. Example: Extrude1
vs. Boss-Extrude1. These changes
do not affect the models or answers
in this book.

No Surface questions are on

the CSWA exam.

Goals
The primary goal is not only to help
you pass the CSWA exam, but also to
ensure that you understand and
comprehend the concepts and
implementation details of the CSWA
process.

The second goal is to provide the most

comprehensive coverage of CSWA
exam related topics available, without
too much coverage of topics not on the
exam.

The third and ultimate goal is to get

you from where you are today to the
point that you can confidently pass the
CSWA exam.

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Objectives
Drafting Competencies is one of the five categories (Drafting Competencies, Basic Part
Creation and Modification, Intermediate Part Creation and Modification, Advance Part
Creation and Modification, and Assembly Creation and Modification) on the CSWA
exam. This chapter covers the general concepts, symbols and terminology used in the
exam and then the core element (Drafting Competencies) which is aligned to the new
CSWA exam.
There are three questions (total) on the CSWA exam in the Drafting Competencies
category. Each question is worth five (5) points. The three questions are in a multiple
choice single answer format. You are allowed to answer the questions in any order you
prefer. Use the Summary Screen during the exam to view the list of all questions you
have or have not answered.
In the Drafting Competencies category of the exam, you are not required to create or
perform an analysis on a part, assembly, or drawing but you are required to have general
drafting/drawing knowledge and understanding of various drawing view methods.
On the completion of the chapter, you will be able to:
• Recognize 3D modeling techniques:
• Identify and understand the procedure for the following:
• Assign and edit material to a part, Apply the Measure tool to a part or an
assembly, Locate the Center of mass, and Principal moments of inertia relative to
the default coordinate location and Origin.
• Calculate the overall mass and volume of a part
• Identify the process of creating a simple drawing from a part or an assembly
• Identify the procedure to create a named drawing view:
• Projected view, Section view, Break view, Crop view, Detail, Alternate Position
view, etc.
• Specify Document Properties: Select Unit System and Set Precision

In the Basic Part Creation and Modification, Intermediate Part Creation and
Modification, Advanced Part Creation and Modification and Assembly Creation and
Modification categories, you are required to read and interpret various types of drawing
views and understand various types of drawing annotations.
All SolidWorks models (initial and final) are provided in the
book. Copy the folders and model files to your local hard drive.

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Procedure to
Create a Named
Drawing view
You need the ability to
identify the procedure to
create a named drawing view:
Standard 3 View, Model View,
Projected View, Auxiliary
View, Section View, Aligned
Section View, Detail View, Broken-out Section, Break, Crop View
and Alternate Position View.
Create a Section view in a drawing by cutting the parent view with
a section line. The section view can be a straight cut section or an
offset section defined by a stepped section line. The section line
can also include concentric arcs.
Create an Aligned section view in a drawing through a model, or
portion of a model, that is aligned with a selected section line
segment. The Aligned Section view is similar to a Section View,
but the section line for an aligned section comprises two or more
lines connected at an angle.
Create a Detail view in a drawing to show a portion of a view,
usually at an enlarged scale. This detail may be of an orthographic
view, a non-planar (isometric) view, a section view, a crop view, an
exploded assembly view, or another detail view.

Crop any drawing view except a Detail view, a view from

which a Detail view has been created, or an
Exploded view. To create a Crop view, sketch a
closed profile such as a circle or spline. The view
outside the closed profile disappears as illustrated.

Create a Detail view in a drawing to display

a portion of a view, usually at an enlarged scale.
This detail may be of an orthographic view, a
non-planar (isometric) view, a Section view, a
Crop view, an Exploded assembly view, or
another Detail view.

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Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-1

Identify the drawing name view and understand the procedure
to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views. The top
drawing view is a Break view. The Break
view is created by adding a break line to a
selected view.

Broken views make it possible to display

the drawing view in a larger scale on a smaller size drawing
sheet. Reference dimensions and model dimensions associated
with the broken area reflect the actual model values.

In views with multiple breaks, the Break line style must

be the same.

Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-2

Identify the drawing name view and understand the
procedure to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views. The right
drawing view is a Section View. The Section
view is created by cutting the parent view with
a cutting section line.

Create a Section view in a drawing by cutting

the parent view with a section line. The section
view can be a straight cut section or an offset
section defined by a stepped section line. The
section line can also include Concentric arcs.

Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-3

Identify the drawing name view and understand the
procedure to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views. The Top drawing
view is an Auxilary view of the Front view. Select a
reference edge to create an Auxiliary view.
An Auxiliary view is similar to a Projected view, but it is
unfolded normal to a reference edge in an existing view.

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Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-4

Identify the drawing name view and
understand the procedure to create the name
view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views. The
bottom drawing view is an Aligned
Section view of the right view. The
Aligned Section view is created by using
two lines connected at an angle. Create an
Aligned Section view in a drawing
through a model or a portion of the model
that is aligned with a selected section line
segment.

The Aligned Section view is very similar to a Section View,

with the exception that the section line for an aligned section
comprises of two or more lines connected at an angle. The procedure
to create an Aligned Section view was modified in SolidWorks 2013.

Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-5

Identify the drawing name view and
understand the procedure to create the
name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views.
The left drawing view is a Detail
view of the Section view. The Detail
view is created by sketching a circle
with the Circle Sketch tool. Click
and drag for the location.

The Detail view tool provides

the ability to add a Detail view to
display a portion of a view, usually at
an enlarged scale.

To create a profile other than a

circle, sketch the profile before
clicking the Detail view tool. Using a
sketch entity tool, create a closed
profile around the area to be detailed.

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Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-6

Identify the drawing name view and understand the
procedure to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing views. The right
drawing view is a Broken-out Section view. The
Broken-out Section View is part of an existing
drawing view, not a separate view. Create the
Broken-out Section view with a closed profile,
usually by using the Spline Sketch tool. Material
is removed to a specified depth to expose inner
details.

Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-7

Identify the drawing name view and understand the
procedure to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing view. The top
drawing view is a Crop view. The Crop view is
created by a closed sketch profile such as a
circle, or spline as illustrated.
The Crop View provides the ability to crop an
existing drawing view. You cannot use the Crop
tool on a Detail view, a view from which a Detail
view has been created, or an Exploded view.
Use the Crop tool to save steps. Example: instead of
creating a Section View and then a Detail view, then
hiding the unnecessary Section view, use the Crop tool to
crop the Section view directly.

In the exam you are allowed to answer the questions

in any order. Use the Summary Screen during the exam to
view the list of all questions you have or have not
answered.

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Tutorial: Drawing Named Procedure 2-8

Identify the drawing name view and understand
the procedure to create the name view.
1. View the illustrated drawing view. The
drawing view is an Alternate Position View.
The Alternate Position view tool provides
the ability to superimpose an existing drawing
view precisely on another. The alternate
position is displayed with phantom lines.

Use the Alternate Position view is display the

range of motion of an assembly. You can
dimension between the primary view and the
Alternate Position view. You cannot use the
Alternate Position view tool with Broken, Section,
or Detail views.

Engineering Documentation Practices

A 2D drawing view is displayed in the Basic Part
Creation and Modification, Intermediate Part Creation
and Modification, Advance Part Creation and
Modification, and Assembly Creation and Modification
categories of the CSWA exam to clarify dimensions
and details.
The ability to interpret a 2D drawing view is required.
• Example 1: 8X Ø.19 EQ. SP. Eight holes with a
.19in. diameter is required that are equally (.55in.)
spaced.
• Example 2: R2.50 TYP. Typical radius of
2.50. The dimension has a two decimal
place precision.
• Example 3: . The Depth/Deep
symbol with a 1.50 dimension associated
with the hole. The hole Ø.562 has a three
decimal place precision.

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• Example 4: A+40. A is provided to you on

the CSWA exam. 44mm + A.

N is a Detail view of the M-M Section

view.

• Example 5: ØB. Diameter of B. B is

provided to you on the exam.

• Example 6: . Parallelism.
• Example 7: . Tangent.

Document Properties
You need the ability to identify the procedure to
select system units and precision of a SolidWorks
model using the Document Properties section.
Access the Document Properties tab from the
Options tool located in the Menu bar toolbar.
Set precision for the selected unit system
during the exam as illustrated.
Document properties apply to the current
document. The Document Properties tab is
only available when a document is open.
New documents get their document settings
(such as Units, Image Quality, etc.) from the
document properties of the template used to
create the model or drawing.

Screen shot from the exam

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Know how to set the Unit system, and Tolerance/Precision option in

a document for the CSWA exam.

Tutorial: Document Properties 2-1

Set Document Properties for a part.
1. Create a New part in SolidWorks.
2. Click Options, Document Properties tab from the Menu
bar toolbar.
3. Select ANSI for the Overall drafting standard drop-down
menu.
4. Click the Units folder.
5. Select IPS for Unit system.
6. Select .123 Decimal places for Length units.
7. Select None Decimal places for Angular
units.
8. Close the part.

Tutorial: Document Properties 2-2

Set Document Properties (Custom) for a part.
1. Create a New part in SolidWorks.
2. Click the Options, Document Properties
tab from the Menu bar menu.
3. Select ANSI for Overall drafting standard
from the drop-down menu.
4. Click the Units folder.
5. Click Custom for Unit system.
6. Select centimeters from the length units
drop down box.
7. Select .12 Decimal places for Length units.
8. Select None Decimal places for Angular units.
9. Close the part.

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Summary
Drafting Competencies is one of the five categories on the CSWA exam. There are three
questions on the CSWA exam in this category. Each question is worth five (5) points.
The three questions are in a multiple choice single answer format.
Spend no more than 10 minutes on each question in this category. This is a timed exam.
Manage your time.
Basic Part Creation and Modification and Intermediate Part Creation and Modification
are the next chapter in this book.
This chapter covers the knowledge to create and modify models for these categories from
detailed dimensioned illustrations.
The complexity of the models along with the features progressively increases throughout
the chapter to simulate the final types of model that could be provided on the exam.

Screen shots in the book were made using SolidWorks 2014 SP2 and SolidWorks
2015 SP0 running Windows® 7 Professional.

Questions
1. Identify the illustrated Drawing view.
• A: Projected
• B: Alternative Position
• C: Extended
• D: Aligned Section
2. Identify the illustrated Drawing view.
• A: Crop
• B: Break
• C: Broken-out Section
• D: Aligned Section

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3. Identify the illustrated Drawing

view.
• A: Section
• B: Crop
• C: Broken-out Section
• D: Aligned Section
4. Identify the view procedure. To
create the following view, you need
to insert a:
• A: Rectangle Sketch tool
• B: Closed Profile: Spline
• C: Open Profile: Circle
• D: None of the above

5. Identify the view

procedure. To create the
following view, you need to
insert a:
• A: Open Spline
• B: Closed Spline
• C: 3 Point Arc
• D: None of the above

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6. Identify the illustrated view type.

• A: Crop
• B: Section
• C: Projected
• D: Detail

7. To create View B from Drawing

View A insert which view type?
• A: Crop
• B: Section
• C: Aligned Section
• D: Projected

8. To create View B it is necessary to

sketch a closed spline on View A and insert
which View type?
• A: Broken out Section
• B: Detail
• C: Section
• D: Projected

9. To create View B it is necessary to sketch a closed

spline on View A and insert which View type?
• A: Horizontal Break
• B: Detail
• C: Section
• D: Broken out Section

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Screen shots from an older

CSWA exam for the Drafting
Competencies category. Read
each question carefully. Use
SolidWorks help if needed.

Zoom in on
the part or view if needed.

Alternative Position View:

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 CSWA Introduction and Drafting Competencies

Screen shots from an older

CSWA exam for the Drafting
Competencies category. Read each
question carefully. Use SolidWorks
help if needed.

Broken out Section View:

Section View:

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Notes:

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