Your boss just asked you to create a voltage regulator design to power the latest board revision. Do you have all the tools you need to create your design?
- Brain, check.
- Books, check.
- Coffee, check.
- Tools, hmmm ... maybe …
You probably know the steps you have to take, and of course, you have Google to search for anything not covered in your books or that you might have forgotten about power design (or face it, maybe never knew). You probably have a tool to create your circuit schematic, and you either have a calculator or your computer to calculate the equations. You might even have a SPICE simulator to dive deeper into transient behaviors.
OK, now you’re depressed … am I right? It looks like mountains of work with hurdles to jump, and a headache from the review of multiple datasheets, intense simulation model search and CAD tool updates to ensure it is all compatible, but it’s not.
On top of tool-related struggles, there are the typical power design challenges. You have to carefully consider selecting the right inductors, FETs, diodes and capacitors that will maintain the essential stability requirements and still achieve the necessary efficiency, all while meeting cost and size and heat constraints. You must make trade-offs. But how do you know that you are making good choices and getting the job done quickly without turning it into a research project? Your boss is waiting ...
Well, it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Powerful tools are at your fingertips on TI.com. WEBENCH® Power Designer can do the calculations, select components, make the trade-offs, create the schematic and run simulations in a few minutes and you won’t break a sweat. This tool takes you from a few specifications to a complete design, including a schematic and board layout with the full library included.
Figure 1: WEBENCH® Power Designer
Never heard of it? Worried it might be too difficult? You can learn about all the steps in detail by watching the “Learn WEBENCH Power Designer” video series.
Additional resources
- Select from a portfolio of WEBENCH design and simulation tools.
- Visit the TI E2E™ Community to search for solutions, share knowledge, and solve problems with fellow engineers and TI experts.