- What the Five Domains Actually Are
- Exam Format and Scoring: What the Domains Sit Inside
- Domain 1: Electrical Theory
- Domain 2: SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematics
- Domain 3: SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D
- Domain 4: Electrical Design
- Domain 5: Installation
- Working Through the Official Sample
- Which Domain to Study When
- Who This Credential Is For (and Who It Isn't)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The five published topics are Electrical theory, Schematics, Electrical 3D, Electrical design, and Installation; no weighting is published.
- The exam is 50 multiple-choice or true/false questions in 60 minutes, with 35/50 (70%) needed to pass.
- It is a knowledge test, not a hands-on CAD build, though you may run SOLIDWORKS Electrical to help answer.
- The fee is USD 20 in North America; retakes require 14 days and a fresh exam credit.
What the Five Domains Actually Are
The Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate - Electrical credential (listed by SOLIDWORKS today as "SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate (CSWA-E)") is published with five exam topics. Those five headings come straight from the issuer, and they are the only structure SOLIDWORKS commits to publicly:
- Electrical theory
- SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematics
- SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D
- Electrical design
- Installation
One caution before going further: SOLIDWORKS lists these as topics, not as a weighted blueprint. There is no official statement that each domain carries 20% of the questions, and no official statement that any single domain is the heaviest. Any site that gives you precise domain percentages for this exam is either guessing or importing numbers from a different credential. Plan your preparation around coverage of all five areas rather than around a fabricated weighting.
If you are new to the credential itself, our explainers on what CSWA-E is and what CSWA-E stands for cover the basics. This article goes deeper on the content areas and what to master in each.
Exam Format and Scoring: What the Domains Sit Inside
Understanding the container helps you decide how deeply to study each domain. According to the issuer's exam guide and the September 2025 SOLIDWORKS "Lesson 13" clarification, the exam works like this:
| Element | What SOLIDWORKS publishes |
|---|---|
| Questions | 50, each worth one point |
| Item types | Multiple-choice and true/false |
| Time limit | 60 minutes |
| Passing score | 35 of 50 points (70%) |
| Delivery | Online via SOLIDWORKS / VirtualTester |
| Fee | USD 20 (North America), one attempt |
| Retake wait | At least 14 days, with a fresh exam credit |
| Expiration | No official expiration date for customer/student certificates |
A frequent point of confusion: some third-party pages describe this as a long, practical, hands-on exam. The issuer's own exam-specific guidance describes a knowledge test with multiple-choice and true/false items. You do not have to build a project from scratch in the software. The guide and Lesson 13 do allow you to run SOLIDWORKS Electrical while answering if that helps you check a behavior, but it is not required. The current exam page asks for familiarity with SOLIDWORKS Electrical principles from version 2015 or later; that is a knowledge baseline, not a requirement to own a 2015 license.
For the arithmetic of passing, see our dedicated breakdown of the CSWA-E passing score. Note that 70% is a cut score, not a pass rate; no official pass-rate figure has been verified, which we discuss in CSWA-E pass rate: what the data shows.
Domain 1: Electrical Theory
This is the foundation layer. Because the exam is a knowledge test, expect questions that check whether you understand the electrical concepts behind the software before they ask about the software's behavior.
Electrical Theory: What to Master
Candidates should be comfortable reading and reasoning about basic circuits without a tool doing the thinking for them.
- Core circuit relationships: voltage, current, resistance, and power, and how they relate in series and parallel arrangements
- Recognizing common control components and what they do: contactors, relays, switches, push buttons, protection devices, motors
- Understanding how a control circuit differs from a power circuit
- Reading standard schematic symbols well enough to follow the logic of a circuit
- Grasping why a wire's identity matters: the idea that connected points share a common electrical potential
That last idea matters more than it looks. SOLIDWORKS Electrical builds much of its automation on the concept that points joined by conductors form a single electrical node, which the software calls an equipotential. Candidates who understand the theory behind equipotentials find the software questions in later domains far more intuitive. If you treat wire numbering as a labeling chore rather than a reflection of electrical connectivity, you will find yourself memorizing instead of reasoning.
Domain 2: SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematics
This domain moves from theory to the software's 2D schematic environment. It is the area most candidates associate with SOLIDWORKS Electrical, and it is where the keyword-level vocabulary of the exam lives: electrical schematics, wire numbering, equipotentials, symbols, and manufacturer parts.
Schematics: What to Master
Know how a schematic project is structured and how the software creates intelligence from drawn symbols.
- The relationship between a project, its folders, and its drawing sheets
- Placing components and associating them with manufacturer parts
- How wires connect to symbol connection points, and what makes a connection valid
- Wire numbering: how numbers are assigned, how they propagate along an equipotential, and what changes them
- Cross-references between related symbols, such as a relay coil and its contacts on other sheets
- Terminals and terminal strips as they appear in a schematic
- Reports a schematic project can generate, such as bills of materials and wire lists
A useful way to frame this domain: the software is not just a drawing tool. Every symbol you place and every wire you connect writes data to a project database. Questions in this area often probe whether you understand that a drawn line is also a data relationship. When studying, ask of every feature: "What does the database now know that it did not know before?"
Project-level settings, such as numbering formats or naming conventions, are good preparation material because they teach how the software thinks. Treat them as study aids for understanding behavior, not as an invented list of exam objectives, since SOLIDWORKS has not published a subtopic list at that granularity.
Domain 3: SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D
The third published topic covers the 3D side of the product, where the electrical design meets the physical enclosure or machine. Here the schematic's logical information is placed into a model of the real world.
Electrical 3D: What to Master
Understand how the logical design from the schematic connects to physical placement in a 3D assembly.
- The purpose of the 3D environment: positioning components, routing, and verifying fit
- How schematic components map to 3D models and what keeps them synchronized
- The concept of routing wires and cables through a physical layout, and why route lengths matter for accurate wire and cable data
- Working with panels, enclosures, rails, and ducts as the physical supports for components
- How changes on the schematic side relate to the 3D side, and vice versa
Because this is not a hands-on CAD assessment, you will not be asked to model a bracket. You will be asked conceptual questions: what a feature is for, what data flows between environments, and which tool applies to a given situation. If you have access to the software, spending a little time actually routing a wire in 3D makes these questions easier to answer, but reading the Electrical 3D learning path material is a workable substitute.
Domain 4: Electrical Design
"Electrical design" is the broadest-sounding heading, and SOLIDWORKS does not publish a detailed subtopic list for it. Based on the issuer's framing, it is best understood as the integrative layer: how schematic, 3D, and project data come together into a coherent, documented design.
Electrical Design: What to Prepare For
Think of this as the workflow-level domain, where you demonstrate you understand how a complete design is built and documented.
- The end-to-end flow of a design project from schematic creation to documentation
- Choosing appropriate components and managing manufacturer part data
- Design consistency: making sure schematic, parts, and physical layout agree
- Generating deliverables such as reports, lists, and drawings from the design data
- Recognizing design problems, such as an unconnected symbol or inconsistent numbering, and knowing which tool surfaces them
Because the heading is broad and the issuer has not detailed it, the safest preparation is to practice thinking in workflows. For each study session, trace one full path: start with a requirement, identify the components, build the schematic logic, relate it to the physical layout, and produce a report. If you can narrate that path, you can handle most integrative questions regardless of their phrasing.
Domain 5: Installation
"Installation" is a published heading, but SOLIDWORKS has not published an exhaustive subtopic list or a weighting for it. That makes it the area where candidates most often guess wrongly. Two honest ways to read it:
- Software installation and configuration awareness: understanding how SOLIDWORKS Electrical is set up, including that it works with a project database and related components.
- Installation-oriented design concepts: understanding how a design relates to the physical installation of a panel or machine.
Installation: A Cautious Preparation Approach
Because the official outline stops at the heading, prepare broadly and label your assumptions as preparation, not guaranteed exam content.
- Review the product's setup concepts in the official learning materials
- Understand the general relationship between the software, its databases, and project files
- Connect design output to real-world installation needs, such as wire lists and terminal documentation used by the people who build the panel
- Use the official sample exam to see how the issuer phrases installation-flavored questions
If a study resource claims to know exactly what the Installation questions cover, treat it with skepticism. The responsible stance is to cover the reasonable interpretations and let the official sample guide your sense of tone and depth.
Working Through the Official Sample
The issuer-linked exam guide includes an eight-question sample. It is a sample, not the full exam, and eight questions cannot tell you the real distribution of topics across fifty. Its real value is showing you the style: short, direct, knowledge-oriented items rather than long procedural tasks.
Here is how to extract value from any sample or practice question, using original reasoning rather than memorizing answers:
- Classify it first. Before answering, decide which of the five domains the question belongs to. Over time you will notice which domain feels weakest.
- Separate the concept from the product. Ask whether the question is really about electricity (Domain 1) or about how SOLIDWORKS Electrical represents electricity (Domains 2 to 5).
- Explain the wrong options. For multiple-choice items, articulate why each distractor is wrong. For true/false items, rewrite a false statement so it becomes true.
- Verify in the software when allowed. The guide permits running SOLIDWORKS Electrical to help answer. If you are unsure how a feature behaves, a quick check teaches more than any flashcard.
For extra question practice, our CSWA-E practice test is built around exactly this style of reasoning, and the CSWA-E cheat sheet is a handy one-page refresher on the facts that are easiest to forget.
Which Domain to Study When
Since the domains build on one another, sequencing matters more than total hours. Here is a CSWA-E-specific order. For broader preparation planning, see the CSWA-E study guide.
Electrical Theory First
- Refresh circuit fundamentals and control component functions
- Get comfortable with the idea of equipotentials before you meet the software term
Schematics
- Work through project structure, symbols, wires, and wire numbering
- Practice cross-reference logic with relay coils and contacts
Electrical 3D and Design
- Study how schematic data maps to 3D placement and routing
- Trace one full design workflow from requirement to report
Installation and Full Review
- Cover installation concepts cautiously and broadly
- Take timed practice sets: 50 questions in 60 minutes, aiming for at least 35 correct
The reasoning behind this order: theory first, because every later domain assumes it; schematics next, because they generate the data the 3D and design domains reuse; installation last, because it is the least precisely defined and benefits from the context built earlier. Timed practice at the end builds pacing, since 60 minutes for 50 questions leaves roughly a minute per item.
Who This Credential Is For (and Who It Isn't)
The CSWA-E is an Associate-level software credential. SOLIDWORKS states there are no formal entry prerequisites for Associate or Professional exams, and recommended training is preparation rather than a mandatory hour count. The full picture is in our guide to CSWA-E requirements.
It tends to suit people who work with, or want to work with, electrical design in a SOLIDWORKS environment: students in academic programs, designers moving from mechanical CAD into electrical control design, and engineers at companies that use SOLIDWORKS Electrical for panel and machine documentation. If you are exploring where it leads, see CSWA-E jobs and weigh the cost-benefit question in is the CSWA-E certification worth it. We have not verified any certification-specific salary uplift, so treat claims of one with caution; our CSWA-E salary guide explains what can and cannot be said.
Equally important is what it is not. Passing this exam does not license you to perform electrical work, and it does not replace an electrician's or electrical engineer's credentials. It shows that you understand a specific design software and its associated concepts.
Key Takeaway
Prepare for all five domains rather than hunting for the "heavy" one. The issuer publishes topic names, not weights, so balanced coverage plus timed practice at 70% or better is the most defensible strategy.
On logistics: the fee is USD 20 in North America for one attempt, though eligible Academic Certification Providers may offer free opportunities. Details are in our CSWA-E certification cost breakdown and exam dates and scheduling guide. For a candid look at the difficulty, read how hard the CSWA-E exam is, and when you are ready to test your knowledge, head to the main practice test site.
Frequently Asked Questions
SOLIDWORKS publishes five topics: Electrical theory, SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematics, SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D, Electrical design, and Installation. They are published topic headings rather than a weighted blueprint, so no official percentage is attached to any of them.
The exam has 50 questions worth one point each, to be completed in 60 minutes. Items are multiple-choice or true/false, and you need 35 of 50 points (70%) to pass.
No. The issuer describes it as a knowledge test with multiple-choice and true/false questions rather than a hands-on CAD build. You are allowed to run SOLIDWORKS Electrical to help answer questions, but interactive use is not necessary to complete the exam.
Not as a requirement. The exam page asks for familiarity with SOLIDWORKS Electrical principles from version 2015 or later, which is a knowledge baseline, not a license or installation requirement. Having the software available can still help you study and verify behaviors.
The current exam page and certification program policy require at least 14 days between attempts, and a retake needs a fresh exam credit. The older 30-day wording in the exam guide is superseded by the current policy.
According to the SOLIDWORKS Certification Program Q&A, customer and student certificates have no official expiration date. The software evolves over time, so refreshing your knowledge for newer versions is still sensible even without a formal renewal requirement.