TDK Corporation presents the new, powerful and intuitive CLARA tool (Capacitor Life And Rating Application) for calculating and selecting EPCOS and TDK film capacitors for PCB mounting. The tool offers a versatile parametric search functionality.
This includes a search for capacitance, voltage range as well as for rated voltage, RMS and peak current, temperature, maximum dimensions and volume, approvals, reference standards as well as typical applications.
By clicking just once, the performance of up to four capacitors can be simulated under application conditions. This is displayed in a clear table, which may include the following parameters, for example: operating temperature, DC voltage, AC voltage, peak current and expected service life. Furthermore, safety tolerances are specified allowing developers to adjust the configuration in line with their specific requirements. Moreover, a warning is issued if the permitted capacitor parameters are exceeded.
Application conditions, including personal notes, can be stored for future use. STEP files and SPICE simulation data are available for the majority of capacitors. CLARA is linked to the TDK Product Center. The selected capacitors can be easily ordered from there by means of service distributors. The new tool is available for developers at:
www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com/clara
Paper titled “Reliability and simulation of film and aluminum electrolytic capacitors with the latest design tools CLARA and ALCAP” will be presented by David Olalla & Fabio Mello; TDK during the upcoming PCNS Passive Components Networking Symposium Sep 7-10th in Milano.
