This project-based course intends to help students further their electronics systems design experience gained during previous design courses. The project is based around the design and implementation of a switch-mode power supply, an essential sub-system found in all modern electronics devices. To gain fundamental understanding of switch-mode power converters, students will design and implement a pocket-sized power supply that could replace the bulky low-voltage power supply found on a typical work bench. The power supply would be fed from a USB-C PD capable port and its isolated output voltage is controlled by the user via a computer. Real-time information about the load attached to the power supply will also be displayed on the computer. To achieve this, students will be working as part of a design team of four students, who will undertake an investigation and subsequently design and develop a power supply that meets a set of specifications given.
There are four components to this project - hardware design, magnetic design, firmware development, and system integration. Students will start the project by developing a ‘paper’ design of the hardware, and then validate this design using LTspice simulations. Students will then work on the magnetic design, which will be validated and improved using Ansys Maxwell. In parallel, using Proteus Virtual System Simulator (VSM) and an Atmel development board, students will develop and validate the firmware needed to control your power supply. Finally, working with the fellow teammates, hardware, magnetic and firmware designs will be integrated to develop a prototype power supply to characterise and show that it meets the given design specifications. At the conclusion of the project, each design team will be interviewed by an assessor and given the opportunity to demonstrate the performance of their design. The top designs will be judged by engineers from Fisher & Paykel Appliances, who sponsor this course, and the best design team will be awarded a prize.
Further information about the course can be found in the course website - https://uoa-ee311.github.io/ .