Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Pakistan’s First & Only SOLIDWORKS User Group Officially Backed by
DASSAULT SYSTEMS
CSWA Simulation EXAM GUIDE
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Credits
This is a comprehensive guide for the CSWA simulation exam. This guide is a property of the
Islamabad SolidWorks User Group (ISUG) and is prepared by its Technical Team.
Members of the Technical Team are:
Muhammad Hamza- ISUG Leader Muhammad Hamza | LinkedIn
Moosa Jilani- CSWP MD | CSWA MD, AM (3) Moosa Jilani | LinkedIn
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan- CSWA MD, Si, AM (3) Muhammad Shahzeb Khan | LinkedIn
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Contents
What’s CSWA Simulation (CSWA -S): ........................................................................... 4
Why Take CSWA Exam: ................................................................................................ 4
Exam Details: .............................................................................................................. 4
Question Details........................................................................................................ 4
Total Questions: ........................................................................................................ 5
Total Points: .............................................................................................................. 5
Points Needed to Pass: .............................................................................................. 5
Maximum Time: ......................................................................................................... 5
Preparation for CSWA: ................................................................................................. 5
Test Questions: ............................................................................................................ 5
Multiple Choice Questions ......................................................................................... 5
Hands-on Questions:................................................................................................. 7
Where to Give Test: .................................................................................................... 16
Exam Strategies: ........................................................................................................ 17
Helpful Sites and Material: ........................................................................................ 17
Concluding Remarks: ................................................................................................ 17
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
What’s CSWA Simulation (CSWA -S):
CSWA is an associate-level exam that tests your fundamental knowledge of SolidWorks. The
Certified SolidWorks Associate - Simulation (CSWA-S) exam is a certification offered by
Dassault Systèmes to validate an individual's basic knowledge of Finite Element Analysis
(FEA) and SolidWorks Simulation tools. It is designed for engineers and designers who
want to demonstrate their ability to set up and analyze simulations using SolidWorks. There
are three types of questions, including easy, medium, and difficult level questions, each
carrying weight.
Why Take CSWA Exam:
Being a CSWA is the difference between saying “I’ve used SOLIDWORKS” and “I know
SOLIDWORKS.” The information in the CSWA Exam covers basic must-have skills for a
serious SOLIDWORKS user. The CSWA may also be your stepping-stone towards higher
certifications, like the CSWP and the CSWE, which make you different from others in this
competitive market. They are widely recognized certifications that verify your aptitude with
SolidWorks, which may show employers that you are capable of design-related roles.
CSWA-S is the recognized proof of FEA skills in SolidWorks Simulation which enhances job
prospects in mechanical design and analysis and builds a strong foundation for advanced
FEA studies (CSWP-S).
Exam Details:
The following is the topic and question breakdown of the CSWA exam:
Question Details
This exam covers three main topics.
➢ Basic FEA theory
➢ Hands-on
➢ Meshing
Multiple Choice Questions: (15-30%)
Each MCQ carries 3 marks.
Hands-on Questions: (70 -85%)
Each question carries different marks according to its difficulty level.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Total Questions: 20
Total Points: 100
Points Needed to Pass: 70
Maximum Time: 120min
Preparation for CSWA:
Don’t let the exam questions take you by surprise! It is recommended that you practice static
simulation so that you become familiar with all the things. This will help you avoid the little
mistakes that you may often encounter while in the CSWA-S exam. Also, consult a YouTube
playlist to get an idea about these questions and how to solve them. The link to the playlist
in present in useful resources heading.
Test Questions:
Multiple Choice Questions
In these types of questions, we are usually asked to answer basic questions related to basic
theories in FEA. Also, you are given some scenarios, and you have to answer them using your
knowledge of forces and stresses. Sometimes, you may also encounter a question related
to the hands-on question you performed in the previous question. You have to answer it by
analyzing it according to the answer you obtained after you performed the simulation. The
Following topics are mostly covered in it.
➢ Stress-strain curves
➢ Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, yield strength
➢ Factor of safety (FoS) and failure theories
➢ Types of analysis: Static, thermal, fatigue, buckling
Following are the attached pictures of the actual CSWA-S exam MCQ questions.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Hands-on Questions:
In this portion, there are mostly 3 types of questions. Let us talk about each type of
question one by one.
Simple Force Application
This question is the simplest exam portion. You are given the details, and you have to
interpret the desired result. Following is the actual question of CSWA-S. You are given the
material, Mesh type, load to be applied, and fixtures and asked to find some results after
simulation like average displacement or overall stress. In the following question, you have to
find the maximum resultant displacement.
Let’s solve it.
• After downloading the part, you will go to SolidWorks simulation tab and start a new
static simulation.
• On the screen, you will see the command tree on the left side of tree. First step is to
apply the material which you are given to apply. For this purpose, click on the part
name on the side tree and apply given material (cast carbon steel) from SolidWorks
library.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• After this, the next step is to finalize the fixtures. In the statement, we are asked to fix
both circular faces as a fixed support indicated by A. So, right-click on fixtures and
select fixed geometry. Now, select mentioned two circular faces for fixed support
• The next step is to apply load. As we are given force, go to the external loads and
select force by right-clicking on external loads in command tree. Now, input given
value of force (1000N) and select the face on which force is applied. Always take care
of direction of applied force.
• Now, apply standard mesh by right-clicking on mesh in the command tree and
selecting create mesh. After a window is opened. Keep everything the same except if
you are given a standard mesh in question. For this case, click on the mesh
parameters and select standard mesh. Now press ok to create the mesh.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• After applying all the parameters, run the simulation.
• After running the simulation, you will get three results by default as shown in the figure
below.
• All desired results can be obtained from here. According to the question, we are
asked to find the resultant maximum displacement in mm. So, we will proceed to
Displacement1 (-Res disp-) and double-click on it after selecting it. Now, we will go
to chart options tab in it. In this tab, we will tick show max annotation and show min
annotation box. Now, we can see maximum and minimum values of resultant
displacement. If you want to know answer in floating rather than scientific, it can be
done by scrolling down in the same tab. This tab can also be activated by right-
clicking and selecting chart options.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• Sometimes, switching from scientific to floating may automatically round off answers
which may be incorrect so always take care of it. The number of decimals can also be
set from here.
• The maximum value is your answer. Write it in the box given in question. Always take
care of units.
• The nature of the result may be changed. For example, they may ask you to find the
minimum resultant stress. So, it can also be find in the same way.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Sheet Metal Question
This question is almost equal to first type but there will be a little change that you will be
given a sheet metal part just like question given below. Therefore, it can be solved as:
• As they asked to use shell elements. It means that we will have to simulate a shell
body. Sometimes, sheet metal body is already treated as a shell body by default by
SolidWorks but sometimes, it is not. So, for this purpose, you have to right-click on
the name of part file and then select Treat as Sheet Metal. If you see treat as solid,
it means it is already treated as shell element by the system.
• Another twist is that you are given faces mentioned as A are immovable. So, do not
mix it with fixed support. When you treat your part as sheet metal, you will see an
additional option Immoveable (no translation) in fixed geometry. So, you have to
select that instead of fixed support.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• After this, all the steps are the same till simulation as described in the above
question.
• When you get some results after running the simulation, the next step is to obtain the
desired result. In the question, we are asked to find the value of displacement in the
global Y- direction.
• For this purpose, right-click on results in the command tree and select define
displacement plot. If you are asked to find some kind of stress, select define stress
plot. After selecting define displacement plot, open the drop-down menu and select
required result. In this case, we will select UY: Y Displacement.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• But stop! The game is not over yet. You did not get the answer. They asked us to
calculate y-displacement at a point that moves the most.
• It means first, we will find that point(node) with maximum resultant displacement.
For this purpose, we will take the help of probe.
• First, go to resultant displacement and tick show max and min annotations in chart
options as in the previous question. Now, right-click on Displacement1 (-Res disp-)
and click probe. Now, carefully select the node at which maximum displacement is
being shown. In this way, you will get the node number of that point.
• As we got node with maximum displacement so now select Displacement2(-disp-)
in results and select probe by right-clicking on it. Select At node number and input
the node number found from the previous step which in this case is 60. The
displacement shown is your result.
• Sometimes, you are asked to find buckling, so it can be found in the same way by
going to define stress plot.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
H- Adaptive Method Questions
It is something different and difficult from the previous questions but we are here to help you.
H- adaptive method is basically a method to find some change after a given number of
iterations of loads.
Let’s take it step by step.
• First, treat this part as a solid body because they have given us that we have to apply
a solid mesh. So, do it as described in earlier questions.
• To solve this question using the h-adaptive method, right-click on the "Static 1
Default" label located at the top of the Command tree on the left side. After right-
clicking, select "Properties," then navigate to the "Adaptive" tab. In the Adaptive tab,
choose the h-adaptive method instead of the "None" option and press OK. Also
mention number of iterations or loops which are given to you in the question.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• We will apply material as the same method as earlier questions but from SolidWorks
DIN Materials. Do not apply from SolidWorks Materials.
• Now, we are given that one of our faces is fixed while the other two can rotate about
a fixed axis. For this purpose, we will right-click on a fixture and select fixed geometry
and then we will select B as our fixed geometry while A as a fixed hinge.
• After this, we have to apply a more distributed load. For this purpose, we will right-
click on external loads and select remote mass/Load.
• Now we will write the coordinates of the location that are given to us after selecting
the face and then we will put the coordinates of the force in the respective axis as it
is given. This will apply a remote-distributed load on the selected face.
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
• Now, run the simulation and simply get the desired answer which in this case is to
find the maximum Von Misses nodal stress. So, it can be found easily just like
previous questions. If an additional thing is asked in the next question, it will be the
same as we seen in earlier questions.
Where to Give Test:
The real exam can be taken on your personal computer or laptop. The CSWA Exam is
administered through the Tangix Tester PRO Client, an application that you may download
from the SOLIDWORKS Virtual Tester website using the link 3DEXPERIENCE® Certification
Center.
To learn the testing procedure in Virtual Tester, if you have MySolidWorks - Official
SOLIDWORKS Community account, please refer to this video:
Installing and Viewing the Test Software | MySolidWorks Training
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Islamabad SolidWorks User Group CSWA Guide
Exam Strategies:
Time Management
• Divide time per question.
• Tackle easier questions first to secure marks early.
Take Care of Selections
• Always select all the parameters according to the given conditions
• Double check all the selections because a little mistake will result in a wrong answer
Read Questions Carefully
• Pay attention to details of questions.
• Always double-check the answer to the question you selected.
Helpful Sites and Material:
➢ (170) CSWA SIMULATION - YouTube
➢ 3DEXPERIENCE® Certification Center.
Concluding Remarks:
CSWA is a challenging exam because of its length and complexity but you can easily tackle
it with proper time management and practice. Take help from the resources that are
mentioned above. And last but not least, take help from this guide. See and understand how
to approach a problem. This guidebook covers almost all the questions that may arise in your
mind about the test. Now, this is your turn. Accept this challenge and put your efforts into
becoming a Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate Simulation.
Best of Luck!
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