SWITCHERSMADESIMPLE-SW

Note: The Switchers Made Simple design computations have been incorporated into Texas Instruments' award winning WEBENCH Power Designer Online Design Tool. Please use TI's WEBENCH Power Designer online tools for new designs. The WEBENCH Design Tool also includes:

• Visual design optimization for footprint, efficiency, & BOM cost
• Multi-tier, multi-rail power supplies
• SPICE-based electrical simulation
• Board level thermal simulation
• In addition, the WEBENCH design tool is continuously updated with Texas Instruments' latest regulators and passive component libraries
• A version for LED driver power supply circuit design

Switchers Made Simple® (zip file contains all versions)

Switchers Made Simple V6.3.1 (January 17, 2005)

• Supports the 4th generation SIMPLE SWITCHER converters listed below. The online WEBENCH Designer software tools include newer and more accurate versions of all calculations included in the older Switchers Made Simple software.
• "Switchers Made Simple" Version 6.3.1 is compatible with Windows 2000/Me/XPand requires 30 MB of disk space. We recommend at least 256 MB of RAM and a900MHz processor.

Installation Instructions:

• Download the following zip file, SMS6.3.1.zip Version 6.3 can be installed in parallel with older versions; older versions do not need to be uninstalled.
• Save the file to your Desktop. Netscape Users: A window will popup asking for what you want to do with the file you are starting to download. Choose the option to save the file. Internet Explorer users: A window will popup asking what you would like to do with this file; choose the option to save it to disk.
• Go to your Desktop and unzip the file you have downloaded to a temporary folder. Open the folder and run Setup.exe and then follow the installation procedure.
• You can start SMS6.3 using the Start -->Programs --> SMS6.3 menu.

Results from the offline Switchers Made Simple software will not necessarily agree with results from the online WEBENCH software. This is because the WEBENCH software is kept more up to date and uses a more updated component library.

Switchers Made Simple V6.24 (December 6, 2001)

• Supports the Buck, Boost and Flyback SIMPLE SWITCHER converters listed below. It functionally combines the calculation tools of the earlier Switchers Made Simple V4.3 and LM267x Made Simple V2.01 with the "Solution Selector" tool originally developed for online use in the WEBENCH environment. Version 6.24 includes all the features and solutions of V6.1, plus LM259xHV, and LM2698 designs, reduced download size and an improved install procedure. The online WEBENCH Designer software tools include newer and more accurate versions of all calculations included in the older Switchers Made Simple software.
• "Switchers Made Simple" Version 6.24 is compatible with Windows 95, 98, NT4,etc. and requires 20 Mb of disk memory. We recommend at least 64 Mb of mainmemory.

Installation Instructions:

• SMS6.24 for systems with SMS6.1/6.0 previously installed:Please uninstall SMS6.1/6.0 using the add/remove programs item in the Windows control panel then follow the instructions below.
• SMS6.24 for systems without SMS6.1/6.0 installed: Download the following installation file: SMS6.24.EXE
• Save the file to a convenient directory (such as c:/temp). Netscape Users: A window will pop up asking for what you want to do with the file you are starting to download. Choose the option to save the file. Internet Explorer users: A window will pop up asking what you would like to do with this file; choose the option to save it to disk.
• Go to your temporary directory and run the SMS6.24 install file you have selected, then follow the installation procedure.
• You can start SMS6.24 using the Start --> Programs menu.

Results from the offline Switchers Made Simple software will not necessarily agree with results from the on line WEBENCH software. This is because theWEBENCH software is kept more up to date and uses a more updated component library.

Switchers Made Simple V4.3 (March 10, 1998)

• Supports the following regulators for buck, boost, and flyback converter designs, including the new military-temperature range version of LM2595 (for inverting designs, please consult the datasheets for the buck regulator products). It requires MS-DOS 3.3 or later, 521K conventional RAM and 1M of extended RAM. The online WEBENCH® Designer software tools include newer and more accurate versions of all calculations included in the older Switchers Made Simple software.

Installation instructions:

• Download the followinginstallation file: SMS4.3.EXE
• This file contains the compressed installation for version 4.3 of Switcher Made Simple. After downloading, run SMS43.EXE in the subdirectory where you would like the program stored. Start Switchers Made Simple by running SIMPLE.EXE, which is created by SMS43.EXE.

Results from the offline Switchers Made Simple software will not necessarily agree with results from the on line WEBENCH software. This is because theWEBENCH software is kept more up to date and uses a more updated component library.

Switchers Made Simple V3.3 (October 1992)

• Supports the following additional regulators. It requires MS-DOS3.3 or later, 521K conventional RAM and 1M of extended RAM.

Installation instructions:

• Download the following installation file: SMS3.3.EXE
• This file contains the compressed installation for version 3.3 of Switcher MadeSimple. After downloading, run SMS33.EXE in the subdirectory where you would like the program stored. Start "Switchers Made Simple" by running SIMPLE.BAT, which is created by SMS33.EXE.

Results from the offline Switchers Made Simple software will not necessarily agree with results from the online WEBENCH software. This is because the WEBENCH software is kept more up to date and uses a more updated component library.

Switchers Made Simple 6.24 hints and tips

Thank you for downloading SMS6.24 for the stand alone design of our Simple Switchers®. This version now adds the LM2698 boost Simple Switch®. This partruns at 600kHz and 1.25MHz.

I wanted to provide you with some of the hints I feel would be useful when designing with this software. This program is designed to run in a Java environment. It uses a Java Virtual Machine to run so you do not need to install Java as a separate application. You will see what looks like a DOS window with "SMS6.24" as the task bar label. This is the Java VM. This window will have various messages and text and warnings scrolling across it. Do not be concerned by any of the warnings. The contents of this window are useful only if the software bombs. In the future we will figure out how to suppress this window and it will go away.

I have run this software on a 200MHz Pentium Pro with NT4.0 and on a 650MHz Win98 machine. Compared to version 6.2, the speed has been improved significantly. The software will provide you with a design, but you should click on "Operating Values" to make sure there are no warnings regarding phase margin (stable operation). Most often, designs with low phase margin occur when using the LM259x and LM259xHV series of products. To eliminate the stability problems, use a -ADJ part and set the Cff capacitor to about 2.2nF to 10nF. For high output voltage (>12V), select a cheaper output capacitor with higher ESR. You may not find one in the list of choices, so check "Custom" and input an ESR >300m ohm. You may ask why I can tell you this here but not have it implemented in the software and I can assure you we are working on this. If you are using theLM259x products at Vin<=40V, then try the SMS4.3 software. It was the original and runs very clean. We are working out functionality bugs as we move to the new software platform. We are continuing to try and update our component databases and improve functionality. In this release we have added the ability to display the Bode plot. Check the "View Plot" at the top of the Operating Values page.

One bug I know about is as follows. If you click the "New Design" button before you have done any designs at all, the software will lock. Also, on some systems, the software can try to grab memory until the software starts to operate erratic. Maximizing the plot window has always been a problem on SMS and WebSIM.

One feature not yet documented is the ability to run a plot with one set of components and then change components and run the plot again. The original plot window will remain available and you can compare the two to see how your changes effected operation.

Switchers Made Simple 4.3 hints and tips

SMS4.3 provides solutions for LM259x buck regulators for Vin<=40V and boost/flyback converters using the LM258x regulators. This software runs faster and has some features not provided in SMS6.2. One of these features is a good help section which can be accessed by pressing "F1". However, this version will not provide solutions for LM267x or LM259xHV products. Hint: If you get awarning about "Insufficient Phase Margin" for a step down application, try using the -ADJ part. You select the -ADJ part by setting the output voltage requiredto 5.01V versus 5.0V. The software is literal and will select the -ADJ part and add a feed forward capacitor. It you plan a SMT design this is almost mandatory.