Version 3.2 will save engineers time when developing their power systems, as well as reducing the risk of any problems with their design.
It adds a time-saving numeric conversion calculator, which makes it easier for designers to calculate linear/Vout and linear/direct formatted values seen from monitoring data. The software also includes a new display address resistor suggestion feature, which calculates suggested values for the resistors SA0/SA1.
The software now supports test boards for Flex’s BMR480 and BMR490 DC-DC converters and it has also added the ability to monitor common parameters for power products from other vendors, increasing the flexibility available to designers. These parameters, at a minimum, will be input voltage, output voltage and temperature.
This version incorporates all the features of earlier releases of Flex Power Designer. In particular, it includes the thermal modelling that was added in v3.0. This enables designers to simulate thermal behaviours without building hardware, for example to calculate hotspot temperature and overall system efficiency.
Commenting Olle Hellgren, Director Product Management and Business Development at Flex Power Modules, said: “Flex Power Designer isn’t just about converter configuration – it provides an overview of the entire power system, enabling designers to take full advantage of the latest digital power technology. The new version 3.2 makes it even simpler to use, to create efficient, error-free designs.”
Using Flex Power Designer, designers and system architects will be able to track or simulate the efficiency of their entire power system. They will be able to define relationships across power rails, including phase spreading, sequencing and fault spreading – which means it’s easier to understand behaviour at a system level reducing time-to-market.
The software enables configuration and simulation of the control loop, and straightforward configuration and monitoring of digital power modules. An SMBus tool and sample code are bundled with Flex Power Designer, for full SMBus control and production programming.
The simulation features of Flex Power Designer enable power-stage analysis to optimise tuning, as well as to visualize design behaviour. Engineers can investigate how a system matches up to their design requirements by looking at specific metrics such as transient response, output impedance and power dissipation.
