- CSWAP-MM here means Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Mold Making, issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes).
- The issuer's current public title is SOLIDWORKS Mold Making Professional (CSWP-MM); CSWPA-MM is a legacy alias.
- The exam is hands-on, runs two hours, and requires a minimum 75% grade.
- Fourteen published objective areas run from Parting Line Creation through Surfacing.
The Short Answer: Decoding the Acronym
CSWAP-MM expands to Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Mold Making. Read it piece by piece and the structure is easy to follow:
- C - Certified: the holder passed a proctored assessment rather than simply completing a course.
- SW - SOLIDWORKS: the 3D CAD platform from Dassault Systemes, which governs the credential.
- AP - Advanced Professional: the tier above entry-level user credentials, aimed at engineers who already work fluently in the software.
- MM - Mold Making: the specialty topic, meaning SOLIDWORKS mold tools and the associated mold-making knowledge.
If you want a broader orientation before going deeper, the site has companion explainers: What Is CSWAP-MM?, CSWAP-MM Meaning, and What Is CSWAP-MM Certification?. This article concentrates on the naming itself, the exam it points to, and what you must be able to do at a keyboard to pass.
Acronym vs. the Issuer's Current Exam Title
One source of confusion deserves a direct explanation. The abbreviation used on this site is CSWAP-MM, but SOLIDWORKS currently publishes the exam as SOLIDWORKS Mold Making Professional (CSWP-MM). You will also see CSWPA-MM in forums, older catalogs and search results; it is a common legacy alias for the same Mold Making certification.
| Label | Where you will see it | Same Mold Making exam? |
|---|---|---|
| CSWAP-MM | This site and its practice materials | Yes |
| CSWP-MM | SOLIDWORKS' current public exam page | Yes |
| CSWPA-MM | Legacy catalogs, forums, older study posts | Yes (legacy alias) |
| CSWP-SU | SOLIDWORKS Surfacing Professional | No - a different certification |
The practical takeaway: when you search for study help, include all three labels. A forum thread titled with CSWPA-MM may describe exactly the skills you need, but check its date, because the exam rules have changed over the years (more on that below). For the full naming discussion, see What Does CSWAP-MM Stand For? and What Does CSWAP-MM Mean?.
What the Credential Actually Covers
The "Mold Making" in the name is literal. The exam tests whether you can use SOLIDWORKS mold tools to turn a molded part into a working mold design, and whether you understand the surrounding mold-making concepts well enough to solve problems rather than just click through a wizard.
Typical workflow thinking you need:
- Analyze the part for draft and undercuts so you know what will and will not release from the tool.
- Apply shrink or scale so the cavity compensates for material contraction.
- Define the parting line and build the parting surface that splits core from cavity.
- Close off openings with shut-off surfaces, and add side cores where undercuts demand them.
- Build the cavity, verify opening distances, and check cooling and flow-related details.
This is not a vocabulary test. The issuer describes hands-on challenges across many of its objective areas, which means you will be modeling, not recalling definitions. That is also why this credential feels different from a standard associate-level exam, a point explored in How Hard Is the CSWAP-MM Exam?.
How the Exam Works: Format, Fee and Rules
Delivery and technical setup
Testing is delivered through the SOLIDWORKS/3DEXPERIENCE Certification Center using VirtualTester. The current procedure uses the VirtualTester Web Client; some older instructions still use the TesterPRO label, so do not be alarmed if a PDF and the live process use different names. You need your own working SOLIDWORKS installation (version 2015 or later is the minimum supported) and a reliable internet connection. Dual monitors are recommended, since you will keep the instructions on one screen and your model on the other.
Time, grade and attempt rules
- Duration: two hours.
- Minimum passing grade: 75%.
- Cost: the current catalog lists USD 20 per attempt for North America.
- Retake: a failed attempt requires a 14-day wait and a new exam credit.
- Pausing: not possible. The timer keeps running through a computer crash or restart.
- Credits: unused purchased exam credits do not expire.
- Prerequisites: the program FAQ states professional exams have no formal prerequisites.
Because the clock cannot be paused, your machine's stability matters as much as your modeling skill. Close background applications, confirm your SOLIDWORKS version launches cleanly, and rehearse timed sessions before exam day. Detailed cost and eligibility breakdowns live in CSWAP-MM Certification Cost, CSWAP-MM Requirements and CSWAP-MM Passing Score.
What you receive
Successful candidates receive a certificate and digital credential, with visibility in the public directory controlled by their own settings. Training and your software license are separate from the exam fee.
The 14 Objective Areas in Plain English
SOLIDWORKS publishes the exam scope as a list of top-level objective areas. No percentage weights are published, so do not assume any area counts more than another. The list below follows the issuer's order, and a deeper walkthrough is available in CSWAP-MM Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 14 Content Areas.
Domains 1-4: Reading the Part
Parting Line Creation, Cavity Tool, Draft Analysis and Undercut Analysis.
- Know where a parting line can legitimately sit and what it implies for the core/cavity split.
- Use draft analysis to identify faces that will drag against the tool during ejection.
- Use undercut analysis to flag regions that trap the part and need side action or redesign.
- Understand how the Cavity tool consumes a part and a mold base to produce the cavity.
Domains 5-6: Mold Cooling Problem and Max Mold Opening
These are applied calculation-and-measurement style challenges rather than pure feature-building.
- Cooling problems ask you to reason about channel placement and what the geometry demands of the tool.
- Max mold opening asks how far the mold must open so the part and any runner system can clear.
- Community threads such as SOLIDWORKS Forum's "Mold Cooling Problem" discussion show candidates stumble here; treat such threads as hints about difficulty, not as official exam facts.
Domains 7-9: Parting Surface, Runner and Sprue Fill, Shrink / Scale
Building the splitting surface, accounting for filling geometry, and compensating for material shrinkage.
- Parting Surface Creation must produce a clean surface that fully separates the two halves.
- Runner and Sprue fill involves the feed-path geometry that delivers material to the cavity.
- Shrink / Scale factor changes your final dimensions and any mass-style results you are asked to report, so apply it in the right order and to the right body.
Domains 10-13: Shut-offs, Side Cores and Interlocks
The most troubleshooting-heavy cluster: Shut-off Surface Creation, Modifying Shut-off Surfaces, Create Side Cores and Create Tapered Interlocks.
- Shut-off surfaces seal through-holes and openings so the parting surface can complete.
- Modifying shut-offs means editing them when the first attempt does not knit or close properly.
- Side cores handle undercuts that cannot release along the main pull direction.
- Tapered interlocks align and lock the mold halves.
Domain 14: Surfacing
The issuer's Surfacing heading includes nested topics that matter for repairing and building mold geometry:
- Ruled Surface
- Planar Surface
- Knit Surface
- Filled Surface
- Extend Surface
- Trim Surface
- Lofted Surface
Surfacing here supports mold work; it is not a substitute for the separate Surfacing Professional (CSWP-SU) exam.
Who Hires for Mold Design Skills
Mold Making certification is relevant wherever molded parts are designed or tooled: injection-mold shops, tooling and die makers, contract manufacturers and product-development teams that must hand off moldable designs. Roles that benefit include mold designers, tooling engineers and product engineers who need to judge manufacturability before a tool is cut.
Two honest caveats. First, no certification-wide pass rate or certification-specific salary premium is asserted here, and anyone quoting precise figures should show their source. Second, the credential demonstrates verified software skill; employers still weigh hands-on shop experience heavily. For the career-value discussion, read Is the CSWAP-MM Certification Worth It?, CSWAP-MM Salary Guide and CSWAP-MM Jobs.
Key Takeaway
Mold Making can also count as one of the advanced-topic certifications that, combined with CSWP, count toward SOLIDWORKS Design Expert (CSWE) eligibility. That is a bonus pathway, not a prerequisite for sitting the Mold Making exam.
Scheduling Preparation by Domain
Because the exam is performance-based, passive reading will not carry you. SOLIDWORKS recommends Mold Design Using SOLIDWORKS and the CSWP-Mold Making Exam Prep Course as preparation; treat the training book's table of contents as curriculum guidance, not as an exhaustive list of exam questions. Here is one way to sequence your practice so earlier skills feed later ones:
Analysis and Splitting Foundations
- Run draft and undercut analysis on several parts until reading the color output is automatic.
- Practice parting line creation and parting surface creation on simple shapes first.
Shut-offs, Side Cores, Interlocks
- Deliberately break shut-offs, then fix them; this is where knitting failures teach the most.
- Build side cores for undercut parts and add tapered interlocks.
Calculation Domains and Surfacing
- Work cooling, max mold opening, runner/sprue and shrink/scale problems against the clock.
- Drill the seven nested surfacing tools until you can pick the right one fast.
Full Timed Rehearsals
- Run complete two-hour sessions on your exam machine with the same software version.
- Take the CSWAP-MM practice test to expose weak areas, then redo the matching modeling drills.
For a fuller plan, see the CSWAP-MM Study Guide, the CSWAP-MM Training overview and the one-page CSWAP-MM Cheat Sheet. For scheduling logistics, check CSWAP-MM Exam Dates, and for realistic outcome expectations read CSWAP-MM Pass Rate. When you are ready to test yourself under pressure, head back to the main practice test site.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Mold Making. The certification validates your ability to use SOLIDWORKS mold tools and apply mold-making knowledge in a hands-on exam governed by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes).
They all point to the Mold Making certification. SOLIDWORKS' current public exam title is SOLIDWORKS Mold Making Professional (CSWP-MM), and CSWPA-MM is a common legacy alias. It is not the Surfacing Professional exam (CSWP-SU).
The exam runs two hours and requires a minimum passing grade of 75%. It is a hands-on assessment delivered through VirtualTester, and the timer cannot be paused if your computer crashes or restarts.
The current catalog lists USD 20 per attempt for North America. A failed attempt requires a 14-day wait and a new exam credit. Unused purchased credits do not expire.
No. The program FAQ states professional exams have no formal prerequisites, and a prior CSWP is not required here. You do need your own working SOLIDWORKS installation, version 2015 or later, plus internet access.