Glossary

Quick definitions of the magnetics, simulation, and shop terms you'll hear here. Ask if something's missing.

Components

Transformer — transfers energy between windings through a magnetic core.
Inductor / choke — a single winding that stores energy or blocks certain currents.
Flyback, LLC, DAB (dual active bridge) — common power-converter topologies whose magnetics we model.
Planar magnetics — windings made as flat PCB layers instead of round wire.
Autotransformer — a transformer with one tapped winding.

Winding / turns — the coil(s) around the core; "turns" = number of loops.
Litz wire — many thin insulated strands bundled to cut high-frequency losses.
Foil / stranded winding — conductor as a wide thin sheet / as multiple strands.
Leakage inductance — flux that doesn't couple between windings.
Magnetizing inductance — inductance from magnetizing the core itself.
Coupling factor (k) — how tightly two windings are linked magnetically (0–1).
Core losses / copper (winding) losses — energy lost in the core material / in the conductors.
Saturation — when the core can't carry more flux and inductance collapses.
Permeability — how easily a material carries magnetic flux.
Air gap — a deliberate gap in the core to store energy and avoid saturation.

FEM / FEA — finite element method; splits a model into small pieces to solve the physics.
Mesh — that grid of small pieces; its quality drives accuracy.
Solver / convergence / residual — the engine that computes the answer; "converged" means it settled within a small residual (error).
Harmonic vs transient — frequency-domain (steady sine) vs time-domain (waveform over time).
Excitation / RMS — the voltage or current you drive the model with; RMS = root-mean-square value.
Frequency / excitation sweep — running many frequencies or drive levels to see the trend.
Homogenization — modelling many litz strands as one effective material to keep it solvable.
Symmetry — solving only part of a symmetric model to save time.
Airbox — the region of air around the part included in the model.
Multiphysics (EM + thermal) — electromagnetic and heat behaviour solved together.
Post-processing / ParaView — turning raw results into plots and 3D views; ParaView is the viewer we use.

CAD / CAM — designing parts / generating machine toolpaths.
FDM / SLA — 3D-printing methods (filament / resin).
CNC, laser cutter — subtractive machining / cutting.
Metrology — precise measurement of finished parts against the CAD model.
Reverse engineering — measuring an existing device to recover how it's built and why it performs.

System of record — the Telegram bot. If a task or decision isn't there, it doesn't exist.