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Learning path · Aimed at an electrical design engineer

Electrical design engineer

For learners who want to draw the schematics that panel builders and installers work from.

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

See the courses in order
4 courses · 47 modules · 45h 43m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Draw an electrical schematic in EPLAN, AutoCAD Electrical and SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
  • Keep symbols, wire numbers and cross-references consistent across a drawing set.
  • Say what your drawing becomes once the panel is built.

A path teaches skills. It does not promise a job, an interview or a salary.

Why these courses together

Each course builds on the last

  • 1The three tools do the same job in different ways, so you learn the drawing rules once and the menus three times.
  • 2Seeing more than one tool helps when a job or tender names a different one from the tool you learnt on.
  • 3The panel-building course comes last so you know how a drawing turns into wire and metal.

A planned order also saves the time you would spend choosing what to learn next, and you finish with one story to tell: what you learnt, in order.

The roadmap

4 courses, in this order

  1. Step 1: EPLAN Electric P8 and Pro Panel

    Adds: Free EPLAN Electric P8 course for electrical designers: projects, terminals, PLC I/O, reports and Pro Panel 3D layouts. The certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 14 modules
    • 12h 19m of video

  2. Step 2: AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design

    Adds: Free AutoCAD Electrical course for beginners: draw control schematics, PLC I/O, panels and reports. Learning is free; the certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 12 modules
    • 9h 40m of video

  3. Step 3: SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic and 3D

    Adds: Schematic design that connects to the mechanical model: introduction and licences, projects, templates, locations and functions, title blocks and symbols, manufacturer parts and libraries, wires, marks and multiwires, terminals, relays and black boxes, PLCs and I/O, cables and harnesses, macros, reports and revisions, Electrical 3D and routing, and mechanical schematics, P&ID and PDM.

    • Beginner
    • 12 modules
    • 19h 50m of video

  4. Step 4: Electrical Control Panel Design, Building and Testing

    Adds: Free course for electrical beginners: read PLC wiring diagrams, then build, cool and test a UL 508A control panel. The certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 9 modules
    • 3h 54m of video

4

courses

47

modules

45h 43m

of video in total

Example: at 5 hours a week, the video alone takes about 10 weeks. Practice tasks and the finals come on top, and you set the pace.

Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

See the 3D lab

What you get

What joining gives you

  • Every course is free, with lifetime access and no card.
  • Video lessons by credited independent creators, with our written notes and worked examples.
  • A practice task per module, and one final assessment per course.
  • Ask-an-engineer support.
  • Optional verifiable certificate for each course you pass, US$23.99 for a beginner course. There is no single certificate for the whole path.
  • One course at a time: you start with the first, and the next is added when you are halfway through it.
  • Each course keeps its own progress. You can open any course on its own at any time.

Put it into practice

Then try it in an internship

Hands marking up technical engineering drawings on a desk, seen from above.

Electrical Design Internship

Eight short weeks of single-line diagrams, load schedules, cable sizing and protection: notes, diagrams, a few videos and self-checking design exercises.

The Electrical Design internship is where you practise drawing and checking, with design exercises in the weekly tasks.

The Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate. It is training, not employment, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

See the Electrical Design internship

Questions

Questions about this path

Is the Electrical design engineer free?

Yes. Every course in the path is free in full: lessons, notes, practice tasks and the final assessment. The only paid item is the optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion for each course.

What happens when I join the path?

You are enrolled on the first course straight away. The next course is added to your account when you are about halfway through the one you are on, so you never face a pile of unstarted courses. Each course keeps its own progress, notes and final.

In what order should I take the courses?

In the order listed: each course is placed after the ones it builds on. Every course also stands alone, so you can open any of them from the list.

Do I get one certificate for the whole path?

No. Certificates are per course, issued when you pass that course's final assessment, and you only buy one if you want it. Finishing every course gives you one optional, verifiable certificate for each.

How long will it take?

The video alone is about 45h 43m. Notes, practice tasks and the finals take extra time, and you go at your own pace.

Do I have to do the internship?

No. It is a separate, optional step. The Electrical Design Internship is training, not employment: the Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

Ready to start Electrical design engineer?

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

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