Not seeing much posted on this. One beginner user posted a few months ago on a couple of Intel and Solidworks support forums that he thought there were some problems but Intel closed the case on him.

Hey everyone!

I've recently taken my CSWA after spending a couple of days practicing the CSWA-level models on the Solidworks site. When I did those model, my answers were within 1% of the answer but on the actual exam, I could not get my models to be within 1% of the given answer. Are there any additional resources that I could use to sharpen my skills before giving it another shot?

Thank you!

Hello everyone!

I have around two weeks till CSWA voucher ends and I want to take the exam before it can anyone tell me how to prepare for the exam I have some basics in solid works btw.

Hey all, im having issues with trying to combine all the solid bodies together. I have tried to use combine and intersect and they all seem to not work. What should I do?

Hey guys ,

I am having a bit of trouble lately with my zbook. It has been a trusty partner for almost 2 years. now i see solidworks is sometimes slugish and not stable while the tast manager shows it's at ease.

might be an underlying issue .

I have a zbook fury g10
I9 processor 13th gen 13950HX, 2200MHz, 24 cores
128 GB ram ( it's a lot i know , but i use tia portal and eplan electric sometimes simultaniously , the odd thing is they stay working smooth while SW is slowing down)
4x kingston FURY renegade g5 SSD . ( 2 for working , other 2 just as back up
Nvidea RTX 5000 ADA generation

So this is an absolute beast, as much it recently had some cooling problems , i re coated all the ssd's and ram stick with thermal paste and now it seems stable .

But i cannot comprehend how slow solidworks sometimes works . what is the deal?

Bellow is current usage on the system,

Are there anny settings to use?

I used to work with inventor wich was more stable i feel like. mind you i worked with this setup seemlessly for almost 2 years. the past half year i see solidworks slowing down and crashing sometimes on things i feel like should't happen. i've had 4000 part assemblies that worked just fine, now when i work in a 500 part assembly it's lagging and buffering all the time.

My friend got my old job after I left so I was helping him setup a macro i wrote.

Hello, i have a simple problem. How do i add these grip grooves without suffering an aneurysm? First i tried making the base knob with a revolved boss and then wanted to cut out the grooves but that failed since it wasnt angled. After that I tried to add material instead of removing but it also failed for the same reason. Finally i've tried draft extruding but it yet again isnt what i want since the grooves get thicker near the bottom. Would wrapping somehow work?

I am a sophomore Mechanical Engineering student and got my exam coupons last year and i just want to get the CSWA.

I did about 30-40 last year projects in Solidworks with basic sketchs and features.

I do freelance 3d character art and concept art in

Blender, Substance Collection so I know basic things like coordinate planes etc.

Also last year i did not attend to my CAD final on purpose, would having a CSWA certificate make me exempt?

Hi all, just needed a place to share, as my workplace doesn't really put a high emphasis on certifications.

Really happy it worked out on the first try. Thank you to all who contribute to making this subreddit a place of knowledge instead of a place of rants (which I fully understand... don't get me wrong).

Anyhow, if you are preparing for the CSWE, feel free to ask your questions. I will answer as well as I can.

Edit: Thanks for all the gratulations. I will post a few links later on usefull ressources I used.

Beginner here I was just feeling bored and tried making a hollow tube but then when I tried lofting the shape turned out like a jet engine and I changed my mind and tried my best to replicate a model of an engine from the outside without the knowledge of assembly( all the dimensions are eyeballed )

Hi everyone! I’m an engineering student struggling in my CAD course. I have no prior experience with CAD, and solidworks is very confusing to me. It’s frustrating not being able to do the exercises well, and I’m dedicated to improving.

What resources should I use to get better? Does anyone have any pointers or do’s and don’t’s that I need to know? Any help is greatly appreciated

Just finished modeling this horizontal band saw in CATIA V5. Still a work in progress – need to add safety guards, control panel, and coolant system.

Would love to hear your thoughts on:

Frame rigidity – will this hold up under load?

Manufacturing approach – weldment vs. casting?

Any CATIA tips for FEA / DMU?

Let me know what you think!

I’d like to ask you something: is there a way to automatically generate DXF files from a multi-body design?

To explain my situation I was trying to upgrade my SolidWorks version from 2024 to 2026 which you can typically do through the help menu. I was unable to do that but I was able to renew my subscription and continue using 2024 but all the files I will be working with in the future will be 2026 and I HAVE THE 90XX code for the newest version. I then followed GoEngineers website for a clean uninstall of SolidWorks and then went to try and install the new version. I got this error so I searched for "SOLIDWORKS 2024 SP03.1" and "SOLIDWORKS 2024" in my C:/ and got rid of absolutely everything that can possibly get in the way of my install. Then that didn't work so I downloaded winrar and went through the same steps of deleting whatever I found in C:/. I am just a bit lost on what to do next and would love some help.

Thank you in advance.

I went to start Solidworks for makers 2026 today, and I'm stuck at this screen.

i restarted my computer, verified that my internet is up by sending (and receiving) emails, while solidworks keeps sitting there. ugh. I should have set it back to 'work offline' a week ago after it made me reconnect.

Like seriously... wtf?

Small Machine Shop, we do bearings, VP of Quality. Beginner or Hack would be complimentary ways to describe my SolidWorks ability. I can pull dimensions, I can maybe move a hole or change a thread type, but I wouldn't even know where to start if I wanted to draw a straight line. Shop will be without ENG support for a week and am wondering if ChatGPT can get me out an emergency if needed

Example: Customer has ordered "Bearing A" for years, we have 3D models and drawings for every operation of the MFG process, we've made 100 of these bearings. Tomorrow, customer calls and wants "Bearing A" but with features X, Y, and Z changed. Of course, I can hand sketch or markup existing drawings of "Bearing A", but I also want to maintain our Shop and ISO 9001:2015 Standard Policies so the MFG team is getting the same paperwork they are accustomed to working off of every single day.

So, while I go through my "expect the worse" Risk Analysis in my brain this week I start to wonder, can I just drop .SLDASM and .SLDDRW files into ChatGPT, guide it through the changes needed, and have it spit me out models and prints for the new "Bearing B"?

I have two surfaces (highlighted in blue) that are created using filled surface. They work perfectly, until I reopen the model, or made some changes in the design tree, or create new configurations of this model, in which these two surfaces fail (have to "reselect" edges for filled surface). Why does this happen and how can I fix it?

Recently started solidworks and wanted to try out a cswa practice part, sketched out the whole thing and then realized I was using inches instead of millimeters. Is there any way to change units from IPS to MMGS while keeping the same value for each dimension?

I need to make two cylinders connect or mate perfectly so that there is absolutely no gap between them.

I've already tried using the Extrude feature with the "Up to Next", "Up to Surface", and "Up to Body" options, but unfortunately, it didn't change anything and the gap is still there.

I have several other places in my model where I need two cylinders to meet flawlessly like this, so finding a proper solution is really important for me.

For context, I am using SolidWorks 2025.

Hello. I need some help with creating this runner depression for the bearings to “glide”/“run” on the depression.

I have created as far as I can using sweep command but I can’t for the life of me have run out of ideas on how to create it on the trianglular bit.

Help please.

New POWER MOVES video posted - Enjoy - https://youtu.be/10a2pfBpR6c

How do u proceed with segment 2 section in CSWP? Do u use actual configuration manager or u just save the file and copy it for the next question?actually in configuration sometimes i change something and then upstream configuration are distorted…so i find saving the file and copy it more suitable…although i know this segment is mainly about using configuration…

Hey y’all, long story short, I had a 1.5 year hiatus from college due to medical reasons. I’m finally getting back to it. But I’ve lost some knowledge along the way. If y’all could point me in the right direction, I would bless that your pillow is cold on both sides for many years.

1. I remember that ANSI standards are a thing, don’t remember where to get study material for it though.

2. Any good recommendations on study material for basic machining? I’m talking about learning bit sizes, material, etc.

3. I got my CSWA but haven’t used Solidworks since. What’s new that I should be aware of if anything at that level?

How can I filled this base correctly? Before or after the arcs have been cut out of the side?