Official Guide to Solidworks Associate Exams: Cswa, Csda, Cswsa-fea

There are three goals for this book. The primary goal is not only to help you pass the CSWA, CSDA and CSWSA-FEA exams, but also to ensure that you understand and comprehend the concepts and implementation details of the three certification processes.

The second goal is to provide the most comprehensive coverage of CSWA, CSDA and CSWSA-FEA 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, CSDA and the CSWSA-FEA exam.

The Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) certification indicates a foundation in and apprentice knowledge of 3D CAD design and engineering practices and principles. Passing this exam provides students the chance to prove their knowledge and expertise and to be part of a worldwide industry certification standard.

The Certified Sustainable Design Associate (CSDA) certification indicates a foundation in and apprentice knowledge of demonstrating an understanding in the principles of environmental assessment and sustainable design.

The Certified SolidWorks Simulation Associate Finite Element Analysis (CSWSA-FEA) certification indicates a foundation in and apprentice knowledge of demonstrating an understanding in the principles of stress analysis, and finite element analysis. SolidWorks 2012 or higher is required to take the exam.

CSWA Exam Audience

The intended audience for this book trying to take and pass the CSWA exam is anyone with a minimum of 6 - 9 months of SolidWorks experience and basic knowledge of engineering fundamentals and practices. SolidWorks recommends that you review their SolidWorks Tutorials on Parts, Assemblies, Drawings as a prerequisite and have at least 45 hours of classroom time learning SolidWorks or using SolidWorks with basic engineering design principles and practices.

CSDA Exam Audience

The intended audience for this book trying to take and pass the CSDA exam is anyone interested in Sustainable design and life cycle assessment. Although no hands on usage of SolidWorks is required for the CSDA certification exam, it is a good idea to review the SolidWorks SustainablityXpress and SolidWorks Sustainability tutorials inside of SolidWorks to better understand the actual workflow.

CSWSA FEA Exam Audience

The intended audience for this book trying to take and pass the CSWSA-FEA exam is anyone with a minimum of 6 - 9 months of SolidWorks experience and knowledge in the following areas: Engineering Mechanics - Statics, Strength of Materials, Finite Element Method / Finite Element Analysis Theory, Applied concepts in SolidWorks Simulation: namely Static Analysis, Solid, Shell, and Beam elements, Connections, and Applying loads and boundary conditions and interpreting results.

The purpose of this section in the book is NOT to educate a new or intermediate user on SolidWorks Simulation, but to cover and to inform you on the required understanding types of questions, layout and what to expect when taking the CSWSA-FEA exam.