SOLIDWORKS Simulation Associate (CSWA-S)
The main requirement for obtaining the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Associate (CSWA-S) certification is to take and pass the on-line 120 minute exam which consists of 20 questions.
Take the Exam
Note: You must use at least SOLIDWORKS Premium 2012 or SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2012 or SOLIDWORKS Student Edition 2012 for this exam. Any use of a previous or lower version will result in the inability to open some of the testing files or access some of the needed functionality.
Exam Length
2 hours
Minimum Passing grade
70% (70 points out of 100 points total)
About the Exam
All candidates receive electronic certificates and personal listing on the CSWA directory* when they pass.
The questions consist of 3 hands-on problems, single answer, multiple-choice, yes/no and multiple selections for a total of 100 points. Point allocation ranges from 3 points to 20 points per question, depending on the difficulty.
Qualified schools that are CSWA Providers may apply to become CSWA-Simulation Providers. A minimum network license on subscription applies.
Anyone can take this exam including students and commercial SOLIDWORKS users. The intended audience to take and pass the CSWA-Simulation exam is anyone with a minimum of 6 - 9 months of SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS Simulation experience and knowledge in the following areas:
- Basic View Creation
- Engineering Mechanics - Statics
- Strength of Materials
- Finite Element Method / Finite Element Analysis Theory
- Applied concepts in SOLIDWORKS Simulation:
- Top-level
- Defining Static Analysis Study
- Applying Materials
- Working with Solid and Sheet Metal models
- Defining Solid, Shell, and Beam elements
- Applying and modifying Connections, Contact Set, and Contact Type
- Defining Standard and Advanced Fixtures and External loads
- Knowledge setting and modifying of SI/English units
- Defining Local and Global coordinate systems
- Understanding the axial forces, sheer forces, bending moments, a factor of safety
- Defining Connector properties such as Contact Sets, No Penetration, Bonded
- Setting up and modifying plots to display in the Results folder
- Working with Multibody parts as different solid bodies
- Creating different mesh types, quality, and parameters for parts and assemblies
- Selecting different solvers as directed to optimize problems
- Determining if results are valid and make sense
- Understanding the types of problems SOLIDWORKS Simulation can solve
- Using SOLIDWORKS Simulation Help
Re-test Policy
There is a minimum 14 day waiting period between every attempt of the CSWA-Simulation exam. Also, a CSWA-Simulation exam credit must be purchased for each exam attempt.