Journey to the CSWPA-DT

The drawing tools exam was the 3rd CSWPA exam I took, which I'll give a 3 on my CSWPA Difficulty Scale. Not only because it's by far the easiest CSWPA exam, but also because making/modifying drawings is way easier than the easiest form of 3D modelling.

The exam challenges 4 main skills:

1) Creating/Modifying Views

Here you’ll be given a model, asked to start a new drawing file, then add drawing views of the model. You might also be asked to add some dimensions and/or annotations (more on that in skill no. 2).

Tip #1: If you were given a drawing file to add the views into, be careful not to move any of the existing elements in it. Messing them up will mess up your answers later on (more on that in skill no. 2).

After adding the main view/s, you'll be asked to add more drawing views derived from the views you've previously added. So, make sure you get the first couple of views correct or you'll end up messing up your upcoming answers.

Tip #2: The question won't always mention which type of view you have to add, so make sure you know each view not only by its function but also by the looks of its result. With that being said, the question might still include some hints to which view you'll make, so keep an eye on that, too!

Tip #3: While adding Section Views, make sure you get the Section Direction right. Reversing it will affect the Hatched Area, therefore affecting your answers.

2) Adding Dimensions/Annotations:

After adding the required drawing views, you'll be asked to add some dimensions and/or annotations. Read the question thoroughly hunting for any details that might be mentioned, take a good look at the attached images, then start adding the dimensions to your drawing file.

If you expect this to be done by simply importing Model Items to the drawing views then you're mistaken; most of the required dimensions (if not all of them) are custom ones that can't be added unless you do so manually.

Note that dimensions don't have to be between model entities only; you might be asked to draw some sketch entities yourself, then add dimensions between them and another entity in one of the drawing views.

Tip #4: Before adding any dimensions, make sure you get the Dimension Type right. Changing it from Projected to True and vice versa will delete all previously-added dimensions, which means that you'll have to add them all once more.

Tip #5: If you were given a drawing file with existing sketch elements and asked to add dimensions between them and another entity in a drawing view, make sure to copy that sketch element into the drawing view first.

Tip #6: Try to familiarize yourself with the different dimension features in the software. Smart Dimension may be smart, but smart isn't always what we're after.

3) BOM Tables:

Here you'll be given an assembly, asked to make a drawing of it and - most importantly - create a new BOM table for it. You'll then be asked to add new columns and/or remove existing ones, then sort the data according to the details in the question.

While adding new columns, you might be asked to assign Custom Properties to them instead of the standard ones. You might also be asked to add a new property that's derived from the existing ones by means of equations, so make sure you're able to customize your BOM tables and not just create them.

Tip #7: Before creating the BOM table, read the question thoroughly and extract any valuable details, like BOM Type, Configurations, Part Configuration Grouping, etc.

4) Extracting Info:

Since Tangix TesterPro doesn’t require you to upload your CAD files, it verifies your model by asking you to extract information from the model, which is in one of 4 main forms:

1. Linear/Angular Dimension's value (make sure you get the units correctly).
2. Hatched Area's ... Area (make sure you select the desired faces correctly)
3. BOM Table's Data (make sure you sort the table correctly).
4. Names/Number of Hidden/Shown Components.

Resources

• SolidWorks (built-in) Tutorials

I can keep talking forever about how underrated yet helpful these tutorials are. They have step-by-step instructions, images, sample files, even a cool feature-fetcher (just like the search bar's Show Command Location) and the list keeps going...

There are 2 tutorials for this exam: Beginner & Advanced. To access the beginner's tutorials for this exam, go to Help > Tutorials > Getting Started > Lesson 3: Drawings. As for the advanced tutorials, go to Advanced Techniques > Advanced Drawings.

• MySolidWorks

As the official Everything SolidWorks site, it has tons of lessons, learning paths and eCourses. All that's between you and that content is logging in, then you'll be able to check out the CSWPA-DT Prep Learning Path which also includes the sample exercises.

Note that you must have a Standard account to view the previous link, which is only for users on active subscription.

• Official CSWPA-DT Sample Exam

Unlike the CSWA-MD and CSWP-MD, the drawing tools sample exam can't be accessed in a complete exam experience through Tangix TesterPro Client. But, just like the CSWPA-WD and CSWPA-SM, you can still take the sample exam by yourself (the questions can be downloaded from here).

General SolidWorks Exam Tips

Tip #8: Make a new file for each question (Save As will come in handy).

Tip #9: Take your time to familiarize yourself with the interface, make changes to it if you want and make custom keyboard shortcuts/mouse gestures (click here to know how).

Hope you found this useful!

Stay tuned for the rest of the series