Electrical CAD 路 Free
AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design
Free AutoCAD Electrical course for beginners: draw control schematics, PLC I/O, panels and reports. Learning is free; the certificate is optional and paid.
Inside the course
From the lessons
AutoCAD Electrical versus AutoCAD, Install and Interface
ElectroCAD
AutoCAD Essentials for Electrical Drawings
PLC Tutorial
Drafting Aids, Layers and Templates
PLC Tutorial
Projects and Drawings
PLC Tutorial
Templates and Title Blocks
ElectroCAD
Ladders, Wires, Wire Numbers and Signal Arrows
SunTech Engineering Solutions
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Set up AutoCAD Electrical projects with templates and title blocks, draw control schematics with intelligent wires, wire numbers and tagged components, insert PLC modules with addressed I/O, use the catalog and reports, exchange data with Excel, and produce single-line, panel and house-wiring drawings.
- Install AutoCAD Electrical and master the interface and drawing aids
- Manage projects, drawings, templates and title blocks
- Draw wires with numbers, arrows and splices
- Insert parent, child and standalone symbols with catalog data
- Build three-phase and starter circuits and PLC modules with addressed I/O
- Generate terminal lists, reports and Excel exchanges
For you
Taking AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$23.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 18 hours
Compressor-house PLC and starter panel for a bottling plant: an AutoCAD Electrical project with generated reports
Build the full AutoCAD Electrical project for the compressor-house panel of a bottling plant in Doha, Qatar: a project with templates and title blocks, single line and three-phase starter sheets from Circuit Builder, ladder control sheets with reference-based wire numbers and cross-references, a Compact 5000 I/O card set generated from a spreadsheet, terminal strips, cable markers, a panel layout from footprints, and the report set: BOM, wire from/to, terminal plan and PLC I/O. You deliver the zipped project, your own I/O list, drawing list and cable schedule, the panel layout and the reports with the audit record. The sample pack shows what a control designer hands to the panel shop and the plant.
Sample document pack, 7 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Drawing listDrawing and Document List: Compressor House Panel CP-CH1
- Wiring drawingsSchematic Set: Ladder Sheet Index, Wire-Numbering Rules and Cross-References, Panel CP-CH1
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-CH1, CompactLogix 5069-L306ER
- Panel GAPanel CP-CH1: Layout Sheets 26 and 27, Door and Mounting Plate
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-CH1 and Field Devices (Bill of Material report, grouped in build order)
- Cable scheduleCable Schedule: Panel CP-CH1 to Compressor House
- ReportReport Set and Audit Record: Project OCB_CH1
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
The course project 路 about 18 hours
End-of-line conveyor drive panel: six VFDs with safe torque off and an S7-1500, drawn in AutoCAD Electrical
Draw the complete AutoCAD Electrical project for a packaging line's end-of-line conveyor panel: six SINAMICS G120C drives on PROFINET with safe torque off from a three-zone E-stop and guard circuit, a DOL reject conveyor, an S7-1500 with 32 DI and 32 DQ, installation and location codes, a saved drive circuit inserted six times, signal arrows across sheets, parametric PLC modules, multi-level sensor terminals, screened motor cables, a panel layout and the report set. You deliver the zipped project, your own motor list, I/O list and cable schedule, and the audit record.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Drawing listDrawing and Document List: End-of-Line Conveyor Panel CP2, Line 2
- Wiring drawingsSchematic Set: Conventions, Sheet Contents and the Safety Circuit, Panel CP2
- Motor listMotor List: End-of-Line Conveyors, Line 2
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP2, S7-1500 -KF11
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP2 and Field Devices (BOM report, in build order)
- Panel GAPanel CP2: Layout Sheets 22 and 23, Door and Mounting Plate
- Cable scheduleCable Schedule: Panel CP2 to Line 2 Conveyors
- ReportReport Set and Audit Record: Project KSN_EOL2
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
12 modules 路 60 lessons 路 9h 40m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01AutoCAD Electrical versus AutoCAD, Install and Interface4 lessons23m
- 02AutoCAD Essentials for Electrical Drawings3 lessons42m
- 03Drafting Aids, Layers and Templates6 lessons56m
- 04Projects and Drawings8 lessons1h 2m
- 05Templates and Title Blocks3 lessons15m
- 06Ladders, Wires, Wire Numbers and Signal Arrows5 lessons46m
- 07Components, Symbols and the Catalog8 lessons1h 13m
- 08Circuits: Three-Phase, DOL Starter and Saved Circuits5 lessons1h 14m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner. No CAD experience needed.
- Software
- AutoCAD Electrical (free education licence for students and educators, or a 15-day trial) What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None required.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Required
- 01Free trial: 15 days
AutoCAD Electrical toolset
Autodesk
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11 64-bit (the specialised toolsets are Windows only)
- Account
- A free Autodesk account
The Electrical toolset is included with every AutoCAD subscription, and you try it through the AutoCAD trial, which lasts 15 days in most regions (30 in a few). Students and educators can get AutoCAD Electrical free for a year through an Autodesk Education plan.
Steps
- 1.Open the Electrical toolset page on autodesk.com and select Download free trial.
- 2.Sign in to your Autodesk account, or create one.
- 3.Choose the Electrical toolset when the trial asks which AutoCAD toolset you want.
- 4.Download and run the installer on a Windows PC.
- 5.Start AutoCAD Electrical and open one of the sample projects.
- The toolset needs a Windows PC; AutoCAD for Mac does not include it.
- Students and teachers should pick AutoCAD Electrical from the Autodesk Education catalogue instead of the trial.
Official download pageautodesk.comAlternatives
- Autodesk Education plan: AutoCAD Electrical is listed in the free education catalogue for eligible students and educators.
- QElectroTech: Free open-source electrical schematic editor for practice without a time limit.
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design at a glance
AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers and panel designers. It has 12 modules and 9h 40m of video lessons by PLC Tutorial, ElectroCAD, CAD CAM Tutorials and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers and panel designers
- Format
- 12 self-paced modules, 9h 40m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner. No CAD experience needed.
- Brand
- Autodesk
- Software
- AutoCAD Electrical (free education licence for students and educators, or a 15-day trial)
- Hardware
- None required.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, for a small one-off fee shown on edwartens.com/certificate. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- PLC Tutorial, ElectroCAD, CAD CAM Tutorials, SunTech Engineering Solutions, KETIV Technologies (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
FreeCAD 路 FreeAutoCAD 2D and 3D FundamentalsFree AutoCAD course for beginners: draw, edit, dimension and plot 2D drawings, then model basic 3D parts. The certificate is optional and paid.
FreeCAD 路 FreeAutodesk Fusion 360: 3D Design, Modelling and Manufacturing PrepCloud CAD for makers and product designers: the workspace and its key terms, sketching with constraints, extrude and revolve, fillets, shells, threads and holes, loft and sweep transitions, patterns and text, thin walls, user parameters, joints and assemblies, surfaces and T-spline forms, mesh and STL repair, moulds, sheet metal, rendering, 2D drawings and animations, practice exercises and a first CAM toolpath.
FreeCAD 路 FreeRevit MEP: Electrical BIM, HVAC, Plumbing and DocumentationFree Revit MEP course for beginners: model electrical, HVAC and plumbing, circuit panels, make panel schedules and sheets. The certificate is optional and paid.
FreeElectrical CAD 路 FreeEPLAN Electric P8 and Pro PanelFree EPLAN Electric P8 course for electrical designers: projects, terminals, PLC I/O, reports and Pro Panel 3D layouts. The certificate is optional and paid.More free courses: Free electrical design software courses
Learning paths with this course
- Electrical design engineer 路 4 coursesThe three schematic tools tenders name: EPLAN Electric P8, AutoCAD Electrical and SOLIDWORKS Electrical, with the panel-building course to know what the drawings become.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Is AutoCAD Electrical still used, or is it part of AutoCAD now?
AutoCAD Electrical is still current, and Autodesk now ships it as the Electrical toolset included with AutoCAD. Autodesk says the toolset gives you a library of more than 65,000 intelligent electrical symbols and automates wire numbering and component tag generation. Those are the features this course teaches: intelligent wires, wire numbers, tagged components and automatic reports.
What does an electrical drafter earn?
In the US, electrical and electronics drafters earned a median of $76,870 a year in May 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is above the $68,090 median for all drafters, and BLS notes that drafters use CAD systems to create and store technical drawings. BLS projects drafter employment to grow 1 percent from 2025 to 2035. Pay varies by country, so treat the US figure as a reference point only.
Is AutoCAD Electrical free?
For students and educators, yes: Autodesk's education licence is free. Otherwise the trial lasts 15 days, so plan the drawing modules into that window.
Do I need to know AutoCAD first?
No. Modules 2 and 3 teach the AutoCAD essentials the rest depends on.
Will this help with panel drawings for clients?
Yes: starters, PLC I/O, terminals and reports are the drawings every panel builder issues.
Is the AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design course take?
Plan on about 16 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the eleven modules at your own speed.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$23.99, with a receipt.
Issued by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales, company no. 15262249) through the EDWartens training portal, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd. It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- PLC Tutorialthe AutoCAD Electrical tutorial series
- ElectroCADthe AutoCAD Electrical tutorial in English
- CAD CAM Tutorialsthe AutoCAD Electrical beginner tutorials
- SunTech Engineering Solutionsa lesson in "Ladders, Wires, Wire Numbers and Signal Arrows"
- KETIV Technologiesa lesson in "Panel Layout and a Complete Practice Project"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.