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  2. Mechanical Design (CSWA–Mechanical Design) ACADEMIC VERSION

Mechanical Design (CSWA–Mechanical Design) ACADEMIC VERSION

Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate in Mechanical Design ACADEMIC VERSION

The CSWA - Academic certification is proof of your SOLIDWORKS® expertise with cutting-edge skills that businesses seek out and reward.

The CSWA - Academic Exam is provided in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Chinese S, Chinese T, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Sample CSWA Exam (Zip)

Taking the Exam

The CSWA – Academic Exam is offered only through the SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider program. 

SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider Application

CSWA - Academic certification is intended for a student who is well-versed in both basic knowledge of engineering fundamentals and industry practices, along with SOLIDWORKS CAD software and its methodologies and simulation principles. SOLIDWORKS recommends that applicants review the online tutorials on Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings as a prerequisite, and have at least 150 hours of classroom instruction that thoroughly covers the SOLIDWORKS CAD application, engineering design principles, and industry best practices. Students that pass the CSWA-Academic Exam receive an electronic certificate listing their certification ID and educational institution name. The certification ID can be verified by schools and employers.

Recommended Training Courses

My SolidWorks Learning Paths: CSWA and CSWP Exam Prep Courses  
SOLIDWORKS Tutorials 

Exam Length

Full exam of 3 hours or 2 parts of 1.5 hours each

Please note, the 2 part CSWA exam is offered for schools enrolled in the SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider program so that the exam may be administered in two sessions when 3 hours are not available for the full exam. Each part is graded separately and no points are carried over from the grade of one part to the other part. Once a student has passed both parts, the final CSWA certificate will be awarded.

Minimum Passing grade

70%

About the Exam

All candidates receive electronic certificates and personal listing on the CSWA directory* when they pass.

Exam may feature hands-on challenges in some of these areas:

  • Sketch entities - lines, rectangles, circles, arcs, ellipses, centerlines
  • Sketch tools - offset, convert, trim
  • Sketch relations
  • Boss and cut features - extrudes, revolves, sweeps, lofts
  • Fillets and chamfers
  • Linear, circular, and fill patterns
  • Dimensions
  • Feature conditions – start and end
  • Mass properties
  • Materials
  • Inserting components
  • Standard mates - coincident, parallel, perpendicular, tangent, concentric, distance, angle
  • Reference geometry – planes, axis, mate references
  • Drawing views
  • Annotations

Re-test Policy

There is a minimum 14-day waiting period between every attempt of the CSWA - Academic exam. Also, a CSWA exam credit must be purchased for each exam attempt.

SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider Application