Use simulation to reduce risks in electronic design
SPICE-ing Up KiCad
© Photo by Tamanna Rumee on Unsplash
Designing a power supply can be an interesting yet dangerous engineering task. You can reduce some of the inherent risk by building a model and running simulations with SPICE in KiCad.
I was recently tasked with designing a small mains power supply with an output of 5V at 1A. As the design would eventually have to pass stringent safety and compliance approvals, an off-the-shelf supply was not an option. Instead, I set out to discover how to do this design with as many standard components and with as few design iterations as possible.
Classic low output voltage power supplies use a transformer to reduce the AC mains voltage to a much lower AC voltage that is then rectified, smoothed, and regulated to produce usable DC output. However, such transformers that operate at a main frequency of 50/60Hz are bulky and inefficient, and they often generate stray magnetic fields that can be troublesome to nearby sensitive circuitry.
Switched Mode
Almost all current power supplies and voltage converters are switched mode power supplies (SMPS). This term covers all manner of power conversion devices, but what they have in common is converting a DC voltage into a pulsed signal that is then fed to some type of inductor that is in turn used to convert those pulses into pulses at a different voltage for subsequent conversion back to DC.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.