Journey to the CSWPA-SM
The sheet metal exam was the 2nd CSWPA exam I took, which I'll give a?solid 5?on my?CSWPA Difficulty Scale. That's because sheet metal features can be overwhelming at first (especially when compared to weldments which only has 6 features). Nevertheless, once you get a grasp of the sheet metal features, you'll find the exam pretty straightforward.
The exam challenges 5 main skills:
1) Creating/Modifying a Sheet Metal Part
Here you’re given a couple of drawings of a sheet metal part, then you'll be asked to model it. The following questions will then ask you to modify it either by adding/removing material or by changing the sheet metal parameters (more on that in skill no.?3).
Tip #1: You must know the difference between Unfold and Flatten; therefore knowing when to use each (check out this article).
Tip #2: Make sure your model can be flattened. Any errors that may appear after flattening mean that you've messed something up.
Tip #3: Most of the time, the model can be modelled in multiple ways. So, if you ever got stuck trying one method, you can always try another one.
2) Converting to Sheet Metal:
Here you'll be given a 3D solid model and asked to convert it into a sheet metal part. You'll be given some instructions that'll help you with the conversion process, so keep an eye on the given details.
Later on, you'll be asked to modify the resulting sheet metal part using traditional sheet metal features, so the tips in skill no.?1 will apply.
Tip #4: Take a good look at the given images of the desired sheet metal part, start assigning the Fixed Entities in your head, choose the edges you'll use for bends, then go ahead and assign these entities. Any other sequence will probably result in time loss and/or getting stuck in a thinking loop.
Tip #5: Keep an eye on the direction of the sheet metal part with respect to the given solid part (you can always change it using the Reverse Thickness option).
3) Modifying Sheet Metal Parameters:
In this part of the exam, you'll be given a sheet metal part and asked to modify its parameters. You might have a Gauge Table attached and then you'll be asked to use it, or have new values for the Bend Parameters/Bend Allowance given in the question.
Tip #6: Make sure you have?MS Excel?installed and working fine so that Gauge Tables can work fine, too.
Tip #7: Read the question thoroughly and extract any valuable details, like?Bend Radius, Thickness, K-Factor, etc.
4) Forming Tools:
This is by far the easiest part of the exam. You'll be given 2 files: a SolidWorks Part File (SLDPRT) and a SolidWorks Form Tool Part File (SLDFTP). You'll then be asked to use the SLDFTP file as a forming tool to modify the SLDPRT file.
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Tip #8: Make sure you add the SLDFTP file to your Design Library, which can be accessed by going to <install_dir>\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS <version>\design library\forming tools
5) 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.
The information it asks for is in 3 forms: the model's mass (make sure you get the model’s material correct), the distance/angle between 2 faces, or some details about the?Bounding Box (which brings us back to Tip #2).
Resources
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...
To access the tutorials for this exam, go to?Help?>?Tutorials?>?Basic Techniques?>?Sheet Metal
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 Sheet Metal Learning Paths (Part 1 - Part 2), as well as the?CSWPA-SM Prep Learning Path?which also includes the sample exercises.
Note that you?must?have a?Standard?account to view the previous links, which is only for users on active subscription.
Unlike the CSWA-MD and CSWP-MD, the sheet metal sample exam can't be accessed in a complete exam experience through Tangix TesterPro Client. But, just like the CSWPA-WD, you can still take the sample exam by yourself (the questions can be downloaded from?here).
General SolidWorks Exam Tips
Tip #9: Make a new file for each question (Save As?will come in handy).
Tip #10: 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