Yes, I was doing some research a while ago to make some software to assist
in power supply design. It was going to walk you through each of the
stages, eg. Rectification and filtering, PFC, switching mode, feedback, etc.
It turns out that there isn't enough literature readily available to
convert into circuit design software, and the whole thing turned out to be
very complex. Ultimately each manufacturer ends up saying that when
designing the various stages you need a rigorous cycle of theory/design and
practical testing and tweaking. So I ended up doubting the whole value of
the software in the end, since there isn't enough predictability in a
theoretical power supply design. One can't simply connect a variety of
desired modules together and expect a SMPS to function. All the modules
interplay with one another and the controllers used are also important and
have unique requirements. However with enough care I cannot see any reason
why you can't almost "plug together" a PFC module onto almost any SMPS
design. The theory always sounds like it would work. I've not had enough
practical experience trying to build them in reality, and the ones I have
tried have failed, and I don't have enough experience to debug why.
It's all left me rather sad because I love the topic and would like to
pursue it further, but there just aren't enough people doing it it seems. I
would like to help in some way to make it more accessible because there are
millions of products which needs SMPS units designed for them and ever
increasing green standards (driven from the EU currently). I'm still
surprised that there aren't more people actively pushing SMPS design
forward and helping to modularize their designs.
Ryan
On Wed, 19 May 2021 at 11:09, Bob Blick <***@outlook.com> wrote:
> Hi Denny,
>
> That's actually a great idea. Did not know such a thing was available. And
> they can be paralleled to really test my circuit breakers!
>
> Thank you.
>
> Bob
>
> ________________________________________
> From: piclist-***@mit.edu <piclist-***@mit.edu> on behalf of
> Denny Esterline
> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 9:51 AM
> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
> Subject: Re: [EE] Power Factor Correction
>
> I'm no great expert, but the response has been so quiet that my
> experience may be the best you get.
> A couple years ago I got sucked into a ~2kW motor driver project and it
> quickly became relevant that PFC was going to be necessary. I made a couple
> half-hearted attempts to do it as part of the motor driver based on one of
> Microchip's app notes. It quickly spiraled into a rabbit hole of details
> that you either have to get _absolutly correct_ or the magic smoke exits
> vigorously.
> After more unsuccesful effort and expense than I'd like to admit, I tripped
> on purchasable PFC modules that I was able to incorporate into the design.
> Armed with my fuzzy memory and the Digikey website, here's a representative
> unit that (might) be the one I used.
> Artesyn Embedded Power AIF04ZPFC-01L
>
> Cost about $300 USD each, but unless you're doing high volume, I can assure
> you that your development effort is going to exceed that. :-)
>
>
> -Denny
>
>
>
> On Sun, May 16, 2021 at 3:33 PM Bob Blick wrote:
>
> > I wonder if anyone here has any experience with power factor correction
> > for switching power supplies. I don't, but have read this document from
> > OnSemi:
> >
> > https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/HBD853-D.PDF
> >
> > Basically it looks like a varying current-mode boost regulator with 385
> > volt output, feeding a normal switching supply, is the simplest.
> Especially
> > if you already have the power supplies and went cheap and bought the ones
> > without PFC built in.
> >
> > Discontinuous mode is the easiest to stabilize, but if I go that route
> > I'll need bigger or more MOSFETs to handle the current. On the other
> hand,
> > if I breadboarded something touchy with continuous mode, I'll probably
> kill
> > lots of devices and then just give up in disgust. I'll probably start
> small
> > before trying to build a 2KW unit, which is my goal.
> >
> > Anyway, if anyone has built a PFC controller, I'd love to hear. BTW, this
> > is just a hobby project for me.
> >
> > Thanks, Bob
>
> --
> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>
--
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist