Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), a leading provider of high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, and SnapMagic, a company specializing in streamlining electronics design, have announced a collaboration aimed at enhancing the design process. The companies revealed that Power Integrations’ online design tool, PI Expert, now incorporates schematic and netlist export capabilities, made possible by SnapMagic’s innovative schematic export technology.
Previously, PI Expert enabled users to generate complete power supply schematics automatically based on specified parameters. However, manual transcription into a CAD package was necessary for simulations and physical layout. With SnapMagic’s new export feature, the design, including symbols, footprints, 3D models, and electrical netlist, can be seamlessly transferred into popular PCB CAD tools such as Cadence OrCAD, Altium, Autodesk Eagle/Fusion360, and KiCad.
Trevor Hiatt, Director of Channel Marketing at Power Integrations, highlighted the significance of this development: “Eliminating the need for manual creation or download of symbols and simplifying the schematic-to-PCB layout process saves time, reduces errors, and ensures version control and traceability.” Hiatt emphasized that the exported schematic is optimized for readability and consistency.
Natasha Baker, CEO, and Founder at SnapMagic, emphasized the game-changing aspect of this collaboration: “By allowing real-time export of schematics, we’re not just saving engineers weeks; we’re changing the game entirely. Engineers can now focus on innovation, unburdened by time-consuming manual tasks.”
Wayne Stambaugh, KiCad Project Leader at KiCad, expressed enthusiasm about the impact of this collaboration on the engineering community: “Accelerating product development while ensuring design success is great for our community. The product developed by PI Expert and SnapMagic, offering native schematic export for our KiCad users, is truly exciting.”
PI Expert Online, a web-based program, simplifies the power supply design process by generating comprehensive power conversion solutions based on user specifications. The tool provides detailed reports, winding instructions, diagrams, bill of materials (BOMs), and board layout recommendations. No download or installation is required. With the introduction of schematic export, engineers can seamlessly transition from design to PCB layout, enhancing workflow efficiency.
