I am looking for a simulator that is more power than standard Spice and more electronics oriented than APT. The Electronics Workbench seemed to be such a program but I can't find it any more. I think it has changed name to Circuit Logix Pro, but not sure.

Are there other programs available that can handle the intimate details of a fast voltage comparator, some CMOS logic, a thyristor or IGBT, a three-phase transformer and associated breaker and PFC capacitors?

I don't mind paying some money for it, but want to keep costs below around a few thousand dollars.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

Have you tried the free LTSpice from Linear Tech (http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/)? If so, what are you looking for that it can't do?

What is APT?

I believe Electronics Workbench got bought by National Instruments and is now integrated with MultiSim (http://www.ni.com/multisim/).

Beige Bag (http://www.beigebag.com/v5_features) has a nice Spice tool. We have a license but I haven't used it in years as LTSpice is a bit simpler to work with.

Z

Thanks. Yes I do have LT4. But I need to do things with three-phase power and the diagrams don't look good. It works quite well, though.

APT should probably read ATP and is an alternate transient program that can be used instead of ETAP, which is a heavy and expensive program for power generation and distribution.

I was hoping to find a low cost program that combines electronics with power generation and distribution. I have been lookin for that for a while and I am not so sure it exists. LT4 doesn't have any limitations that I know about, so I guess I will have to learn how to create subcircuits for three-phase power applications.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

If LTSpice is effectively capable, but you want to ease 3-phase and logic elements, then I'd recommend PSIM from Powersim Inc. Has 3-phase blocks ready to go and also simulates logic elements on the same schematic. Commercial, not polished, but effective.

Thanks. Waiting for a quotation from them now.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

I don't know. The LT Spice is very capable and all I need to do is to draw three sources instead of one. Works very well. So, I skip the Powersim. Haven't received any quotation yet.

So, LT it is. Good, available and lowest cost possible. Schematics can be made to look good if you eliminate some of the data associated with the components from the drawing.

Thanks to Linear!

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

Be careful with PSIM - I don't have a lot of experience with it, so take this warning with a grain of salt, but it does not handle parasitics nearly as well as LTSpice. By this I mean leakage inductance in transformers, output capacitance in switches, etc. AFAIK, you have to manually add this stuff in. It seems geared towards writing dissertations, not designing stuff for the real world.

I noticed that! My six-pulse rectifier started swinging violently when I added inductance to the mains impedance. LT Spice handles that a lot better. And their PWL and other stuff are very intuitive and "safe". After all, there are such things as free lunches.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.