Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2019 - 18

PRODUCT NEWS

Frenetic Applies Artificial Intelligence to Magnetic Component Design, Ferroxcube a Partner
Electronic design company Sp Control Technologies of Madrid,
Spain, has developed a platform for the design of magnetic components that is based on artificial intelligence for speeding up
and improving both the design and manufacturing process.
The company is now commercializing the platform, called Frenetic, using software which it developed for its own use in designing
power converters and magnetic components for automotive,
aerospace and industrial applications.

The software has the capability to learn from each design and
improve its own previous results in terms of accuracy with their
predictions, reducing the gap between classic equations and real
measurements, says the company. Users can connect through
its online portal, allowing engineers to create their magnetics in
a simple way and receive the samples in their lab in less than a
week. A key to the system is being able to apply more than 100
computer servers to a single design task, says the company.
"Frenetic is a disrupting technology created
for designing magnetic components as transformers and inductors," according to Dr. Jose
Maria Molina, CEO. "Not only does it include
analytical equations, but also integrates them
with artificial intelligence and real measurements reducing the gap between theoretical
estimations and real measurements. Once
your magnetic is designed, a sample can be
built, tested and shipped in a few days,"
Dr. Jose Maria Molina,
he says.
CEO of SP Control
Technologies
Frenetic can improve the process of
designing magnetic components to
optimal power density and efficiency
of the power converters, says Molina. "Starting with Maxwell's
equations, it can apply all the expertise accumulated over the
years by the magnetic design community in order to find the
optimal design for every case, bounded solely by physics. The intelligence implemented into this software system is able to learn
from real magnetic designs and balance the analytical equations
from the theoretical models," he said.

Frenetic, in turn, will have access to the latest material developed
by Ferroxcube, faster sample building and faster access to mass
production.
The company provides this explanation of its technology. Designing magnetic elements is quite complex and an iterative process
is usually required. Weeks, even months can be needed to find
a valid solution that might not be the optimal one. Frenetic's
methodology is to determine the optimal magnetic design using
machine learning techniques where the system is learning from
real measurements of its own designs. The idea is to think out of
the box and let the physics establish the limits with the objective
of determining the optimal material, shape and winding for each
case.
Most designs are limited by cost, too, where a new core shape
could increase too much the cost of the design. Frenetic can analyze small modifications in the height or the length, parameters
that core manufacturers may allow a customer to modify without
a significant cost increment. Sometimes, though, standard cores
from manufacturer catalogs can be suitable. Frenetic works
at efficiently analyzing millions of possibilities from different
parameters with its artificial intelligence to determine the optimal
solution.
The next hurdle is testing. "Testing magnetic elements and
performing reliable measurements is not an easy task," notes
Molina. "Most manufacturers take the responsibility for the
theoretical design, but there is a lack of companies performing
hardware tests at real operating conditions. SPC has created its
own set of tests."
First, the saturation limits of the core materials are determined
by measuring the hysteresis B-H curve. Then the real saturation
of the magnetic elements is measured. If everything is within
the expected values, the magnetic element is tested under real
operating conditions. The measurements and experience obtained during these tests are then fed into Frenetic, allowing it to
optimize the designs to be continuously fitting with the real measurements. By applying this technology to the design of magnetic
elements, the artificial intelligence can find the optimal solution to
any design in less than a day, reducing costs up to 50%, he says.
Results provided by Frenetic from some of its work show a size
reduction of 50%. "The combination of number of turns, gap, and
material selected would not be possible without analyzing billions
of options, different shapes with materials from different manufacturers and custom Litz wires," he stated.
For more info, see www.spfrenetic.com,

One of its initial business partners is Ferroxcube, a magnetics
component company which began as a spinout from Philips
Electronics and is now part of Taiwan-based Chilisin Group. Ferroxcube and Frenetic have signed an agreement whereby both
company's customers can benefit, they say. Very accurate data
from Ferroxcube´s materials are included in the Frenetic platform, theoretical and real measurements, which provides very
high fidelities in the designs provided by Frenetic. Customers of

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