Product category: Design and Development Software
News Release from: National Semiconductor | Subject: Solutions.National.com/Webench 4.0
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 09 June 2003
Online design tools gain power support
National Semiconductor reckons its Solutions.National.com design website and Webench 4.0 toolset comprise the industry's most comprehensive suite of free design tools.
National Semiconductor reckons its Solutions.National.com design website and Webench 4.0 toolset comprise the industry's most comprehensive suite of free design tools, interactive product selectors, online information and search engine that dramatically reduce time-to-market for new products The Webench 4.0 toolset now features switching regulators for high-voltage power supply designs
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Jan 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Solutions.National.com and the Webench toolset enable our customers to visualise complete systems, do interactive online design, prototype and bring products to market in time frames that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago", said Phil Gibson, Vice President, Web Business and Sales Force Automation at National.
"National's high voltage switchers and LDOs extend the Webench toolset into an entirely new range of industry solutions", said Edward Lam, Vice President, Power Management, National.
"Our broad portfolio of high-voltage power management products is ideal for cellular telephone basestations, central office switching equipment and automotive applications".
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"Using Webench tools, I saved at least two full work days in the design and simulation of a power supply for a new cellular and global positioning system (GPS) product", said Todd Smiley, cofounder of SignalCraft Technologies, an Alberta, Canada-based contract design house specialising in wireless systems.
"With a few clicks, it allowed me to quickly compare cost/benefit scenarios and select the optimum design for my application.
In addition, I used Webench tools to order a prototype evaluation board, saving several more days of work".
Solutions.National.com is an easy-to-use interactive online design support environment that slashes time needed to find the best products for an application.
It features 30 colour-coded block diagrams that are organised for specific applications in eight major market categories: automotive, broadband communications, displays, industrial, medical systems, personal/consumer electronics, power and wireless communications.
Design engineers can use the graphical navigation guide to access the 30 system solutions, get a list of recommended integrated circuits, perform thermal or electrical simulations online using National's Webench design tools, and order product samples for worldwide delivery in only 24 to 48 hours.
For example, an engineer designing a patient monitoring system for use in a hospital can go to Solutions.National.com to get a quick system overview.
Clicking on a block in the diagram dynamically generates a selection guide showing the most appropriate National products for the application.
The selection guide, powered by iPhrase technology, is completely user-configurable.
Users may select products by adjusting parameters such as supply voltage, package type, pin count, price, and more than 300 electrical characteristics.
Introduced in 1999, National's Webench toolset was the industry's first online interactive design environment.
Webench 4.0 tools (webench.national.com) now feature solutions for switching regulators tailored for high-voltage power supply designs based on National's LM5000 family of products.
The LM5000 family combines advanced high-voltage processes, chip-scale packaging and proprietary circuitry to create the industry's first fully integrated switching regulator ICs that operate from 10 to more than 100V.
These products are ideally suited for communications, industrial and automotive applications.
In addition, National's entire catalogue of low-dropout (LDO) regulators is now available.
This expands the Webench tool catalogue by more than 500 new devices.
Every new LDO alternative is presented with an advisor that recommends the best thermal management compound, heatsink or fan.
Other major enhancements of the Webench 4.0 tool kit include: more accurate simulation capability; faster design; a carbon-copy feature; and Multilingual facilities.
National Semiconductor's Webench toolset is widely recognised as an innovative time saver.
Worldwide, more than 44,000 registered engineers now create an average of 12,000 designs per month, saving an estimated 40 to 50 hours per design.
The automated Webench toolset generates sales of more than $2 million per month for National with little administrator management.
In the past year use of Webench tools has increased by 230% and continues to accelerate.
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