The revamped Webench 4.0 now features switching regulators for high-voltage power supply designs, as well as the supplier’s catalog of LDOs, adding more than 500 new devices. According to Edward Lam, vice president, power management at National, “The high-voltage switchers and LDOs extend the Webench toolset into an entirely new range of industry solutions.”
Major enhancements to Webench 4.0 include higher simulation accuracy, faster design, a carbon-copy feature, and multilingual capability. To assure faster and greater accuracy, new Spice-based simulation models have been added, while the older ones have been fine-tuned. Test suites can easily be duplicated with the carbon-copy feature, allowing engineers to automate test suites. The multilingual ability of Webench 4.0 offers easy translation from English to Japanese, Korean, Standard Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. In addition, National’s Analog University and knowledge-based research are integrated with Webench.
Webench usage continues to grow. Worldwide, more than 44,000 registered engineers create an average of 12,000 designs per month. In the past year, the use of Webench tools has surged by 230%—a significant increase since its humble beginnings in 1999, when the online simulator for power supply designers was first launched. Interestingly, much of the new growth is coming from Asia.
For more information, visit www.national.com.