What you'll learn:
- Learn to use the Finite Element Method (FEM) / Finite Element Analysis (FEA) / Finite Element Modelling Method (FEMM) for KiCad with free tools
- Simulate the dynamic electromagnetic or static electric fields around your KiCad Traces
- Simulate the voltage drop and current distribution of your traces (PDN/PI analysis)
- FEM / FEA simulations can nicely suplement your LTSpice simulation results
- Lean how to use the free tools KiCad, ElmerGUI, openEMS, FreeCAD, GMSH, ParaView, ... to create 3D simulations
This course is for you if you already use KiCad but either cannot or choose not to invest in a commercial FEM tool.
Beyond learning how to perform FEM (and FDTD) simulations with free tools, you will also discover fascinating insights that will undoubtedly make you a better hardware design engineer by the end of this course.
By the end of this course, you'll have a solid foundation in using free FEM tools for PCB design, empowering you to make better design decisions.
What You Will Learn
In this course, I will guide you through simulating the following topics using free software tools for KiCad:
Current Flow in PCB Traces (DC) / PDNanalysis / PI analysis
Learn how to simulate the current flowing through a PCB trace.
Based on current density, we will analyze and simulate voltage drops along the trace.
This will in return also give you information about the trace resistances
Electric Fields Around Traces and Components
Understand how to simulate electric fields around traces and components.
Explore 3D field simulations to visualize signal propagation and identify areas where PCB routing can be improved.
We will simulate static electric fields with the free tool Elmerfem and dynamic electromagnetic fields with OpenEMS.
Troubleshooting
I will show you many ways to troubleshoot typical errors when working with the free tools which will hopefully lead to a fast learning curve.
