Author: Michael Koltai

We’ve put together a new video tutorial showing how to efficiently design and simulate power management circuits in TINACloud, using the Infineon’s TDA38826 DC-DC Point-of-Load (POL) regulator  as the featured example. While this video focuses on TINACloud, you can also use the offline TINA program.

The datasheet of this device can be found on the Infineon website and was used to create the SPICE model for TINA and TINACloud by DesignSoft.

This model runs not only in TINA and TINACloud, but also in major SPICE programs including PSpice, SIMetrix, LTspice, and more.

The video covers the following topics:

• Startup Transient Analysis
• Steady State analysis
• Line and Load Step Analysis
• AC Analysis
• Efficiency Analysis

Startup Transient Analysis

A startup transient is the time a DC-DC converter takes to go from an off state to a stable, steady-state condition. Traditionally, simulating this can be time-consuming. However, TINA and TINACloud use a built-in average model that significantly speeds up this process, taking only a few seconds.

For more detailed results, the software can perform a switching-mode transient analysis, which is still fast thanks to its advanced multi-core solvers. Additionally, TINA and TINACloud can quickly calculate ripple voltages by combining the average and switching models.

To begin, you’ll open the “TDA38826 DC-DC Point-of-Load (POL) regulator integrated” circuit file from the TINA Examples folder.

Running a Simulation

To perform a fast transient analysis, click the “Transient Analysis Fast” link or select “Transient…” from the Analysis menu. By default, the “Use switching model” checkbox is unchecked, ensuring the fast average model is used. After clicking “Run”, a diagram will show the startup transient’s time function, with an output voltage of 1V.

Redesigning the Circuit

TINA and TINACloud’s Design Tool can automatically adjust circuit parameters to meet a new output voltage target. For example, let’s change the output from 1V to 3.3V.

Select “Re-design this circuit” from the Tools menu or double-click the text box on the circuit. In the dialog box, simply change Vout to 3.3V and click “Run”. The Design Tool will automatically adjust the necessary components, highlighting them in red. After running the transient analysis again, you can use a cursor to confirm the new output voltage is approx. 3.3V.

For a more accurate simulation, you can run the switching model by clicking the “Transient Analysis Accurate” link or checking the “Use switching model” box in the Run Transient Analysis dialog. The calculation may take a few minutes, and the Vout curve will be very similar to the one from the average model. The key difference is that the switching model will show the ripple, which the average model does not. You can zoom in on the diagram to see the ripple voltage waveform more clearly.

Steady-State and Ripple Voltage Analysis

Steady-state analysis examines a circuit’s behavior after all transients have settled. This is crucial for quickly determining ripple voltages. This method is fast because it doesn’t require storing initial inductor and capacitor values. Using the same circuit file, you can perform a transient analysis to view the ripple voltages and currents.

Line and Load Step Analysis

TINA and TINACloud can quickly simulate how a DC-DC converter responds to sudden changes in input voltage (line step) or load current (load step).

Line Step Analysis

To see the circuit’s response to an input voltage change, click the “Line Step Analysis Fast” link. A diagram of the circuit’s response, including the full ripple voltage, will appear within seconds

Load Step Analysis

To see the circuit’s response to a load current change, click the “Load Step Analysis Fast” link. The diagram will appear almost instantly. You can also run a more accurate, switching-mode version of this analysis by checking the “Use switching model” box.

AC Analysis

The built-in average models also allow for fast and accurate AC analysis. By clicking the “AC Transfer Characteristic” link or selecting “AC Analysis” from the menu, you can display the AC Bode diagram of the loop gain.

Efficiency Analysis

TINA and TINACloud can quickly calculate and plot efficiency as a function of time and load current. Clicking the “Efficiency Analysis Fast” link will generate a diagram showing efficiency versus time. By switching to the TR XY Plot Tab, you can also view efficiency as a function of the output or load current.

This concludes the video tutorial on analyzing the key characteristics of the TDA38826 DC-DC Point-of-Load (POL) regulator using TINACloud.

You can learn more about TINACloud here: www.tinacloud.com

You can learn more about TINA here: www.tina.com

Explore more content from our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TinaDesignSuite

This video will guide you through:

• Installing Wine on SUSE Linux 
• Installing TINA v15 on SUSE Linux 15.6
• Operating TINA v15 on SUSE Linux 15.6

TINA, a Windows-based software, runs seamlessly on Linux by utilizing Wine, a compatibility layer. You can easily install it on SUSE Linux using the YaST Software Manager.

How to Install Wine on SUSE Linux?

To run TINA on Linux, Wine is essential. We recommend using Wine version 9 or later.

Here are the main installation steps:

1. Launch YaST Software Manager: YaST2 (Yet another Setup Tool) is a powerful and user-friendly system administration tool for openSUSE and SUSE Linux, available with both graphical and text interfaces.
2. Search for “wine”: Use the search function within YaST to find the Wine package.
3. Select “wine” for installation: Check the box next to the “wine” package.
4. Accept and install: Click “Accept” to begin the installation.
5. Verify installation: After the process completes, confirm a successful installation in your Terminal.
6. Configure Wine: Launch winecfg to set your preferred font size for optimal display.
7. Start TINA setup: Once Wine is configured, you can proceed with the TINA setup.

How to install TINA v15 on SUSE Linux 15.6?

Up next, we’ll guide you through the installation of TINA v15 on SUSE Linux 15.6:

• Download the setup ZIP file.
• Execute the setup program and allow it to download all necessary components.
• Proceed with the installation steps as prompted.

How TINA v15 Operates on SUSE Linux 15.6?

In conclusion, we’ll demonstrate TINA v15’s functionality on SUSE Linux through practical examples, including:

1. Transient Analysis
2. PCB Designer and Interactive simulation
3. Using TINA’s AI Assistant

For more detailed instructions on running TINA on Linux, please refer to our comprehensive guide: TINA Installation Guide for Linux.

Click here to watch our video.

Content of the video:

00:15 How to install Wine on SUSE Linux?

01:18 How to install TINA v15 on SUSE Linux 15.6?

02:17 How TINA v15 operates on SUSE Linux 15.6?

You can learn more about TINA here: www.tina.com

You can learn more about TINACloud here: www.tinacloud.com

Creating a quiz using the Hartley Oscillator circuit in TINA

This video covers how to create a quiz using the Hartley Oscillator circuit in TINA.

TINA’s AI assists you in generating quizzes for any circuit. Simply provide the circuit’s name if it’s well-known, or add a title and description for circuits that are less familiar. The AI analyzes your request and then provides a detailed summary of your learning progress.
Remember that questions are randomized, so you’ll likely face different questions even when using the same circuit.

Once you’ve answered five questions, you’ll be asked by the TINA AI to either retake or stop the test.

Creating step-by-step solution of simple DC/AC circuits

This video demonstrates step-by-step solutions for simple DC/AC circuits.

You’ll discover how TINA’s AI-powered analysis employs fundamental circuit theory to generate exact analytical results, perfectly aligning with the numerical outputs from TINA’s interactive DC analysis tool.

Our First Example: DC Circuit Analysis

First, we’ll analyze a circuit consisting of four resistors, a voltage source, and a voltmeter. We’ll use both AI and numerical simulation. After adjusting component values as needed, the circuit will be ready. We’ll then instruct the AI to “Calculate the voltage on R2.” The detailed analytical solution will immediately appear in the AI Assistant Window. We’ll compare this with the numerical simulation, confirming the results are identical. As an alternative, we can also have the AI “Calculate the voltage displayed by the Voltmeter.”

Our Second Example: Complex Circuits with Superposition

Next, we’ll analyze a more complex circuit with two sources. We’ll add a current source to our current setup. Our request to the AI will be: “Calculate the VM1 voltage.”

Here, the AI produces the analytical solution using the superposition method, calculating the effect of each source independently. Initially, the current source is considered while the voltage source is short-circuited. Then, the voltage source’s effect is determined, with the IS1 Current Source replaced by an open circuit.

Summing the results from these individual superposition runs yields the final VM1 voltage. We’ll conclude by comparing this result again with the numerical simulation.

TINA’s AI-powered analysis, using fundamental circuit theory, delivers results that precisely match numerical simulations, provided by the interactive DC analysis tool of TINA.

Click here to watch our video.

You can learn more about TINA here: www.tina.com

You can learn more about TINACloud here: www.tinacloud.com

Creating a Quiz using AI

This video demonstrates how TINACloud’s AI can assist in creating interactive quizzes for any circuit. For well-known circuits, simply provide the name; for others, a title and description will suffice. The AI analyzes your request and summarizes your learning progress.

Below, we outline the steps for taking a quiz in TINACloud. Please note that questions are randomly generated, so attempting the same circuit may result in different questions.

First, we instruct TINACloud’s AI to load a Hartley oscillator circuit. Once the circuit is loaded, we’ll enter “Create a Quiz” in the AI Assistant window. The quiz will consist of five questions. Upon completion of these questions, an evaluation of the session will be provided.

Creating step-by-step solution of simple DC/AC circuits

This video demonstrates how TINACloud’s AI-powered analysis uses fundamental circuit theory to derive step-by-step exact analytical results that precisely match the numerical results of TINACloud’s interactive DC analysis tool.

First, we’ll build a circuit consisting of four resistors, a voltage source, and a voltmeter. After adjusting component values, we’ll use TINACloud’s AI to calculate the voltage across R2. The detailed analytical solution will appear in the AI Assistant Window, and we’ll compare it to the numerical simulation to show they are identical. We’ll also have the AI calculate the voltage displayed by the voltmeter.

Next, we’ll tackle a more complex circuit with two sources by adding a current source to our existing circuit and calculating the VM1 voltage. For this, the AI will use the superposition method, analyzing the effect of each source separately. This involves:

• Considering the current source while replacing the voltage source with a short circuit.

• Considering the voltage source while replacing the current source with an open circuit.

Finally, we’ll compare the AI’s analytical result with TINACloud’s numerical simulation by pressing the DC button.

This will again confirm that TINACloud’s AI-powered analysis, using fundamental circuit theory, delivers results that precisely match numerical simulations, provided by the interactive DC analysis tool of TINACloud.

Click here to watch our video.

You can learn more about TINACloud here: www.tinacloud.com

You can learn more about TINA here: www.tina.com

Introduction

AI tools in TINA and TINACloud offer a flexible, user-friendly interface for various engineering tasks, including circuit design, simulation, code generation, and education such as:

• Providing information on circuits
• Designing LDO and SMPS power supply circuits
• Designing active and passive filters
• Designing analog oscillators and digital clock generators
• Selecting and redesigning evaluation circuits from different manufacturers
• Generating Arduino code for rapid prototyping
• Image recognition with Python or MCU
• Creating step-by-step solution of simple DC/AC circuits
• Creating quizzes and riddles and check their solution

Our video summarizes the key general information for using the AI tools in TINA.

Circuit Design, Code Generation and AI-controlled Image Recognition

This video will cover the following:

Redesigning a Switch Mode Power Supply circuit

First, we will redesign a switch-mode power supply circuit by altering its output voltage, using AI to achieve this. The AI Assistant will utilize the Design Tool to automatically calculate and adjust the necessary component values. We will then run a Transient Analysis to verify the result.

Redesigning a Colpitts Oscillator circuit and Providing Information

Next, we will redesign a Colpitts Oscillator circuit. We will instruct the AI to modify the oscillator circuit’s frequency, and subsequently, we’ll verify the waveform by running a Transient Analysis.

Generating Arduino code for rapid prototyping with AI in TINA

In our third example, we’ll ask the AI to generate a simple Arduino code for prime numbers up to 100. We will then demonstrate, step-by-step, how to input the AI-generated code into an Arduino Nano board and utilize TINA’s Serial Monitor Tool.”

AI-controlled image recognition in TINA

Finally, we’ll explore AI-controlled image recognition using TINA.

We’ll demonstrate how the circuit in this example can recognize five different flowers (Daisy, Dandelion, Rose, Sunflower, and Tulip) from a JPEG picture. Our first step involves using the AI image recognition by Python.TSC file from TINA Examples’ AI folder. You’ll simply press the TR button on the top toolbar to initiate the image recognition. We’ll also cover how to swap out the input image. To conclude, we’ll download an image directly from the internet and show the seamless image recognition process by pressing the TR button.

Click here to watch our video.

You can learn more about TINA here: www.tina.com

You can learn more about TINACloud here: www.tinacloud.com