Demystifying Switching Power Supplies (The Demystifying Technology Series) [Paperback]

Raymond A. Mack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0750674458 | ISBN-13: 978-0750674454 | Edition: 1

This book is a crash course in the fundamental theory, concepts, and terminology of switching power supplies. It is designed to quickly prepare engineers to make key decisions about power supplies for their projects.

Intended for readers who need to quickly understand the key points of switching power supplies, this book covers the 20% of the topic that engineers use, 80% of the time.

Unlike existing switching power supply books that deal strictly with design issues, this book also recognizes the growing importance of "off-the-shelf" commercial switching power supplies, giving readers the background necessary to select the right commercial supply.

This book covers the core essentials of power supply theory and design while keeping mathematics to the absolute minimum necessary. Special attention is given to the selection of appropriate components, such as inductors and transformers, to ensure safe and reliable operation. Engineers, whose main design responsibilities are in other areas, will better understand the strengths and weaknesses of switching power supplies and whether such supplies are appropriate for their projects. They will be able to give more meaningful design requirements and specifications to those who design switching power supplies.

* Discusses both AC line supplies and DC-DC inverters.

* Covers the main switching power supply designs, including flyback, forward conversion, bridge, buch, boost, and boost/buck topologies.

* Design examples include a 220 volt offline switching power supply and a 110 volt uninterruptible supply.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mack takes you from the basics (v=Ldi/dt, plus buck, boost, inverting boost, buck-boost, and other supply circuit topologies) on through the details of passive component selection and semiconductor selection. Of particular note are his treatment of control circuits and their effect on ripple levels and electromagnetic compatibility. He provides a step-by-step test sequence for evaluating power-supply response using a variable load, an oscilloscope, and function generator. Mack concludes with two solid examples: a true sine-wave inverter uninterruptible power supply and a personal-computer power supply."
- Rick Nelson, Chief Editor, Test & Measurement World, August 2006

Book Description

This crash-course will help engineers to rapidly acquire the fundamental knowledge needed to make the right power supply choices for their designs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Newnes; 1 edition (April 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750674458
• ISBN-13: 978-0750674454
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,631,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing some basic definitions, May 16, 2010

By 

InformationAddict (Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demystifying Switching Power Supplies (The Demystifying Technology Series) (Paperback)

In general I bought this book hoping for explanations of the basics of SMPS converters but I have been greatly disappointed. I had to refer to other works, just to understand some simple terms.

Some concrete examples:-

1. Introduction page xii: in the example given, if each battery voltage cell is 1.9V when discharged and there are 5 such cells, the minimum supply voltage is 5 x 1.9V = 9.5V (not 9.9V as stated in the book). A small mistake but this changes all the remaining calculations. E.g. the regulator dissipates 7W (not 7.8W) and the efficiency is 63% (not 60%) when the battery is fully discharged.

2. Page-4: just poor editing, the 10 Ohm load in the calculation does not correspond to the 100 Ohm load as marked in Fig 1.1

3. Page-4: it is not clear why the Buck circuit is so named just because the "inductor opposes the supply voltage"...in fact in any circuit where there is an inductor and a voltage source, the inductor will always 'oppose' the voltage source (or am I wrong?), so can this be the reason to call this circuit a Buck converter?

4. Page-4: A basic term such as 'Duty Cycle' is not defined at its point of first use. In fact Duty Cycle is not defined anywhere in this book (as far as I can see). 'Duty Cycle' does not even appear in the Index (and there is no Glossary of Terms). It should be stated somewhere (pref. on page-4) that Duty Cycle = Ton / T.

5. Page-4: Eq 1-6 is essential to understanding how SMPS work but is not explained (and this does not require much Maths).

6. Page-11: The author states "it appears that this supply uses a transformer, but in fact, the magnetic component is an inductor with two windings". Maybe my poor understanding but where is the difference? Is it because the two windings are out of phase? When are two coupled inductors not considered a transformer? From the book, it is not clear. If someone can explain this to me, I would really appreciate the explanation...

There are many more examples of poor explanations in this book but at this point I give up...

If you really want to understand SMPS, do not waste your good money (in my case GBP 46.50) on this book, instead, simply download the following free resources:

a. All About Circuits Volume 2 on AC Circuits (Google it)
The single best explanation of any and all aspects of electric circuits I have ever read in my life (and its free...!!)

Also highly recommended:
b. ON Semi Switchmode power supplies Ref Manual
c. National Semi Application Note AN556

Hope I saved you guys some money...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear explanations, July 16, 2008

By 

YSS127 (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demystifying Switching Power Supplies (The Demystifying Technology Series) (Paperback)

If you desire to know how various switching regulators work, this is the book to get.
The switching regulator is really the heart of a switching mode power supply.
The writing is very clear and along with the diagrams easy to understand.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for all general info for begenners and experts with SMPS, August 10, 2009

By 

eadthem - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Demystifying Switching Power Supplies (The Demystifying Technology Series) (Paperback)

I have owned this book for some time and i keep going back to it for Reference. This book discribes in detail offline and DC DC SMPS supplys. It is missing a cuple more advanced techniques and methods, But it covers everything most pepole in this feald will need to know or run in to. This is a must have in this day and age for anyone in the electronics industry.