CSWP Assembly Mass Properties Analysis — Questions and Answers

Question 1: In a SolidWorks assembly, when you change the material of a subassembly component, what must you do to update the top-level assembly mass properties?

Rebuild the assembly using Ctrl+Q
Re-open the assembly file
Run Mass Properties again from the Evaluate tab (Correct answer)
Update the Bill of Materials

Correct answer: Run Mass Properties again from the Evaluate tab

Running Mass Properties again from the Evaluate tab recalculates based on the current material definitions of all components.

Question 2: Which SolidWorks option allows you to override the density used in a mass properties calculation without changing the part's assigned material?

Edit Material dialog
Override Mass Properties in the Mass Properties dialog (Correct answer)
Configuration Properties
Appearance manager

Correct answer: Override Mass Properties in the Mass Properties dialog

The 'Override Mass Properties' checkbox in the Mass Properties dialog lets you specify custom density, mass, or center of mass values.

Question 3: When SolidWorks calculates the moment of inertia for an assembly, which reference frame is used by default?

The center of mass of the assembly
The assembly origin (Correct answer)
The first component's origin
The bounding box center

Correct answer: The assembly origin

By default, the moment of inertia is reported relative to the assembly's origin coordinate system.

Question 4: A SolidWorks assembly has components with no material assigned. How does this affect the Mass Properties result?

SolidWorks uses air density for those parts
SolidWorks skips those components entirely
SolidWorks uses a default density and warns the user (Correct answer)
SolidWorks reports zero mass for the entire assembly

Correct answer: SolidWorks uses a default density and warns the user

SolidWorks applies a default density and displays a warning that some components lack assigned materials.

Question 5: What is the primary difference between 'Assigned mass properties' and 'Computed mass properties' in SolidWorks?

Assigned values come from material databases; computed values are estimated
Assigned values are manually entered overrides; computed values are geometry-based calculations (Correct answer)
Computed values require purchased licenses; assigned values are free
Assigned values apply only to sheet metal; computed values apply to solids

Correct answer: Assigned values are manually entered overrides; computed values are geometry-based calculations

Assigned mass properties are user-defined overrides entered manually, while computed properties derive from the part's geometry and material density.

Question 6: In which SolidWorks dialog can you select a custom coordinate system to report the center of mass relative to a user-defined reference frame?

Mate Properties dialog
Mass Properties dialog using the 'Report coordinate values relative to' dropdown (Correct answer)
Section Properties dialog
Simulation Study Properties

Correct answer: Mass Properties dialog using the 'Report coordinate values relative to' dropdown

The Mass Properties dialog includes a dropdown to choose any user-created coordinate system as the reporting reference.

Question 7: How does suppressing a component in a SolidWorks assembly affect the mass properties calculation?

The suppressed component retains its mass contribution
The suppressed component is excluded from mass properties (Correct answer)
The suppressed component is replaced with a point mass
SolidWorks throws an error and cannot calculate mass

Correct answer: The suppressed component is excluded from mass properties

Suppressed components are excluded from the assembly mass properties calculation as if they do not exist.

Question 8: When using 'Include hidden bodies/components' in the Mass Properties dialog, what effect does this have?

It includes bodies hidden using Hide/Show in the calculation (Correct answer)
It adds virtual components to the calculation
It forces SolidWorks to recalculate suppressed parts
It enables mass calculation for weldment cut lists

Correct answer: It includes bodies hidden using Hide/Show in the calculation

Checking 'Include hidden bodies/components' ensures bodies that are visually hidden are still counted in the mass properties result.

Question 9: For a CSWP exam scenario, if the assembly mass properties show the center of mass at X=15mm, Y=20mm, Z=10mm and you mirror the entire assembly about the YZ plane, what happens to the X coordinate of the center of mass?

It remains at X=15mm
It moves to X=-15mm (Correct answer)
It moves to X=30mm
It moves to X=0mm

Correct answer: It moves to X=-15mm

Mirroring about the YZ plane negates the X coordinate, so X=15mm becomes X=-15mm.

Question 10: Which SolidWorks feature allows you to add a point mass to a location in an assembly without modeling the actual geometry?

Virtual component
Mass Point
Point Mass (under Insert > Assembly Feature) (Correct answer)
Reference Point with assigned density

Correct answer: Point Mass (under Insert > Assembly Feature)

The Point Mass feature (Insert > Assembly Feature > Point Mass) adds a lumped mass at a specified location in the assembly.

Question 11: In a CSWP scenario, you need the moment of inertia about the center of mass rather than the origin. What does SolidWorks require you to use?

A derived configuration
The parallel axis theorem applied manually
The 'Taken at the center of mass' option in Mass Properties (Correct answer)
A simulation study

Correct answer: The 'Taken at the center of mass' option in Mass Properties

SolidWorks provides a 'Taken at the center of mass' option in the Mass Properties dialog to output inertia relative to the COM.

Question 12: If a component in a SolidWorks assembly uses a configuration with a different geometry than the default, which configuration's mass is used in the assembly mass properties?

Always the default configuration
The configuration active in the assembly context (Correct answer)
The heaviest configuration for conservative analysis
The first alphabetically named configuration

Correct answer: The configuration active in the assembly context

SolidWorks uses the configuration that is currently active within the assembly, which may differ from the part's default configuration.

Question 13: What does the 'Ixx', 'Iyy', and 'Izz' values represent in a SolidWorks Mass Properties report?

Moment of inertia about the X, Y, and Z axes respectively (Correct answer)
Cross-sectional area moments about each axis
Principal stress components
Surface area contributions along each axis

Correct answer: Moment of inertia about the X, Y, and Z axes respectively

Ixx, Iyy, and Izz are the principal diagonal terms of the inertia tensor, representing moments of inertia about the X, Y, and Z axes.

Question 14: In SolidWorks, what is the unit of moment of inertia in the default MMGS unit system?

kg·m²
g·mm² (Correct answer)
kg·mm²
N·mm²

Correct answer: g·mm²

In the MMGS (millimeter-gram-second) unit system, moment of inertia is expressed in g·mm².

Question 15: When you save a SolidWorks Mass Properties report, what file format does SolidWorks use by default?

.csv
.txt (Correct answer)
.xlsx
.rpt

Correct answer: .txt

SolidWorks saves Mass Properties reports as plain text (.txt) files by default.

Question 16: A CSWP question asks for the assembly's mass in grams, but the model uses the IPS unit system. What is the best approach?

Manually convert using 1 pound = 453.592 grams
Change the document units to MMGS before running Mass Properties
Run Mass Properties and use the unit dropdown in the dialog to switch to grams (Correct answer)
Export to simulation and convert there

Correct answer: Run Mass Properties and use the unit dropdown in the dialog to switch to grams

The Mass Properties dialog has a unit dropdown that allows you to display results in different units without changing the document's unit system.

Question 17: Which product configuration technique in SolidWorks would allow you to quickly compare the mass of an assembly with and without a set of optional components?

Design tables with suppression states (Correct answer)
Interference Detection configurations
Exploded view configurations
Motion Study configurations

Correct answer: Design tables with suppression states

Design tables can control the suppression state of components across configurations, enabling quick mass comparisons between variants.

Question 18: In SolidWorks, the product of inertia terms (e.g., Ixy, Ixz, Iyz) in the mass properties report are zero when which condition is met?

All components have the same material
The coordinate system is aligned with the principal axes of inertia (Correct answer)
The assembly is fully defined with no floating components
The assembly contains only standard library parts

Correct answer: The coordinate system is aligned with the principal axes of inertia

Products of inertia are zero when the reference coordinate system is aligned with the principal axes of inertia of the assembly.

Question 19: When you access Mass Properties on a sub-assembly within a top-level assembly, which mass is reported?

Only the mass of the subassembly's own components excluding its children
The total mass of the subassembly and all of its child components (Correct answer)
The mass of the subassembly's external faces only
The mass contribution as a fraction of the top-level assembly

Correct answer: The total mass of the subassembly and all of its child components

Mass Properties on a subassembly reports the total accumulated mass of the subassembly including all of its child components.

Question 20: For the CSWP exam, if you need to find the center of mass of a selected subset of components in an assembly, what is the correct approach in SolidWorks?

Create a derived assembly with only those components
Pre-select the desired components before opening Mass Properties (Correct answer)
Use the Section Properties tool on the selected components
Run Simulation > Mass Participation on selected bodies

Correct answer: Pre-select the desired components before opening Mass Properties

Pre-selecting specific components before running Mass Properties causes SolidWorks to calculate properties for only the selected items.

Question 21: How does adding a flexible subassembly (instead of rigid) affect the mass properties of the top-level assembly in SolidWorks?

Flexible subassemblies are excluded from mass calculations
The mass value changes because components can move to different positions
The mass value remains the same; only the center of mass may differ based on component positions (Correct answer)
Flexible subassemblies double-count their mass

Correct answer: The mass value remains the same; only the center of mass may differ based on component positions

Total mass does not change with flexibility, but the center of mass location may shift because components can occupy different spatial positions.

CSWP Assembly Mass Properties Analysis

In a SolidWorks assembly, when you change the material of a subassembly component, what must you do to update the top-level assembly mass properties?

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