I have written a numerical optimizer (solver) for LTSpice. It automaticall= y adjusts component values to meet circuit performance targets you set. Fo= r example maximum power output and minimum supply current. It uses a fast = evolutionary algorithm to get good results quickly. You can get good result= s in anything from 5 minutes to a few hours depending on the complexity of = the circuit. It is much faster and better than using any of the genetic al= gorithms available or the Simplex method. =20 Anyway I have provided a free trial usable until 5 August with a 3000 itera= tion limit. I am thinking about providing a 3 month trial with an iteratio= n limit of about 500 afterwards. You can try it here: http://www.evospice.site88.net/evospice/evospice.html Best Regards, Sean O'Connor
Numerical Optimizer (Solver) for LTSpice
Started by ●July 23, 2012
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
bitterlemon40@yahoo.ie wrote:> I have written a numerical optimizer (solver) for LTSpice. It > automatically adjusts component values to meet circuit performance > targets you set. For example maximum power output and minimum supply > current. It uses a fast evolutionary algorithm to get good results > quickly. You can get good results in anything from 5 minutes to a few > hours depending on the complexity of the circuit. It is much faster > and better than using any of the genetic algorithms available or the > Simplex method. Anyway I have provided a free trial usable until 5 > August with a 3000 iteration limit. I am thinking about providing a 3 > month trial with an iteration limit of about 500 afterwards. You can > try it here: http://www.evospice.site88.net/evospice/evospice.html > Best Regards, > Sean O'ConnorIs this the same one you annnounced in the LTspice forum last Saturday? If so, Helmut says it is slow, cannot optimize multiple variables, and is at least 10 times over-prized. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LTspice/message/59190?l=1
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
On Tue, 24 Jul 2012 01:17:17 GMT, Mike <spam@me.not> wrote:>bitterlemon40@yahoo.ie wrote: > >> I have written a numerical optimizer (solver) for LTSpice. It >> automatically adjusts component values to meet circuit performance >> targets you set. For example maximum power output and minimum supply >> current. It uses a fast evolutionary algorithm to get good results >> quickly. You can get good results in anything from 5 minutes to a few >> hours depending on the complexity of the circuit. It is much faster >> and better than using any of the genetic algorithms available or the >> Simplex method. Anyway I have provided a free trial usable until 5 >> August with a 3000 iteration limit. I am thinking about providing a 3 >> month trial with an iteration limit of about 500 afterwards. You can >> try it here: http://www.evospice.site88.net/evospice/evospice.html >> Best Regards, >> Sean O'Connor > >Is this the same one you annnounced in the LTspice forum last Saturday? > >If so, Helmut says it is slow, cannot optimize multiple variables, and is >at least 10 times over-prized. > >http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LTspice/message/59190?l=1Sounds to me like fast evolutionary algorithmic bullshit :-) Plus I feel any circuit subject to such a tool wouldn't qualify as having been properly designed in the first place. ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
Worried? While I agree that AI has been a big flop in general I think you h= ad better know that Evolutionary Algorithms are starting to show human comp= etitive results. There is a lot of 'Robot' trading on the financial market= s for example. There are human competitive results in engineering (antennas= for example) and science (drug design). Do some of your designers spend e= ntire days playing around component values trying to find some elusive swee= t-spot? That time wasting can be stopped, the number of designers can be re= duced. If you equate evolutionary algorithms to animal droppings then your = company will be left behind while others take your business.
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
Hi Mike, Yes that is right. Unfortunately he could not get it to work right. I have= updated the documentation to make it easier to understand. It is very simp= le to set up. I will provide some example files in the next few weeks whic= h will make it even easier to understand. Best Regards, Sean O'Connor
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
bitterlemon40@yahoo.ie wrote:> > I have written a numerical optimizer (solver) for LTSpice. It automatically adjusts component values to meet circuit performance targets you set. For example maximum power output and minimum supply current. It uses a fast evolutionary algorithm to get good results quickly. You can get good results in anything from 5 minutes to a few hours depending on the complexity of the circuit. It is much faster and better than using any of the genetic algorithms available or the Simplex method. > Anyway I have provided a free trial usable until 5 August with a 3000 iteration limit. I am thinking about providing a 3 month trial with an iteration limit of about 500 afterwards. > You can try it here: > http://www.evospice.site88.net/evospice/evospice.html > Best Regards, > Sean O'ConnorIs there a manual for it? If it's any good, $50 is a gift. If not, it's too expensive. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 845-480-2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
Reply by ●July 23, 20122012-07-23
There is only the short built-in help file at the moment. Most of the compl= exity is in setting up the measurements (.measure, .meas) you require withi= n LTSpice itself. The LTSpice help file is a bit Spartan in words about how= exactly to do measurements but you can figure it out anyway. =20 Regards, Sean O'Connor
Reply by ●July 24, 20122012-07-24
bitterlemon40@yahoo.ie wrote:> Hi Mike, > Yes that is right. Unfortunately he could not get it to work right. I > have updated the documentation to make it easier to understand. It is > very simple to set up. I will provide some example files in the next > few weeks which will make it even easier to understand. Best Regards, > Sean O'ConnorCan you run some time comparisons on different circuit complexity between your program and the solver Helmut referred to? Any differences in the results should be resolved. Also include on a BandGap as suggested by Jim.
Reply by ●July 24, 20122012-07-24
On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:24:19 -0700, Jim Thompson <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote:>Plus I feel any circuit subject to such a tool wouldn't qualify as >having been properly designed in the first place. > ...Jim ThompsonI don't know about circuit design, but in the area of antenna design, the optimizer is a key part of the design process. With circuit design, there may be a few parts that affect each other. In antenna design, everything affects everything else, making every length, spacing, and value a compromise between the various parameters (gain, bandwidth, vswr, pattern, etc). For example, in 4NEC2, I set the target values, establish weighing factors for the lengths and spacings that will change, and let the program grind most of the night trying to find an optimal compromise. I could probably get close doing all this manually, but it's so much better and easier using an optimizer. At the least, it allows mediocre antenna designers (like me) to do better than mediocre work. I suspect that might also apply to optimizers in circuit design. "Antenna simulation tutorial 3 - 4NEC2 optimizer and impedance matching" <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYy6Yur127A> Examples of some of my antennas (not all are mine), most of which were fed to an optimizer for the final tweaks: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/index2.html> -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
Reply by ●July 24, 20122012-07-24
On 7/23/2012 8:59 PM, bitterlemon40@yahoo.ie wrote:> I have written a numerical optimizer (solver) for LTSpice. It automatically adjusts component values to meet circuit performance targets you set. For example maximum power output and minimum supply current. It uses a fast evolutionary algorithm to get good results quickly. You can get good results in anything from 5 minutes to a few hours depending on the complexity of the circuit. It is much faster and better than using any of the genetic algorithms available or the Simplex method. > Anyway I have provided a free trial usable until 5 August with a 3000 iteration limit. I am thinking about providing a 3 month trial with an iteration limit of about 500 afterwards. > You can try it here: > http://www.evospice.site88.net/evospice/evospice.html > Best Regards, > Sean O'Connor >Looks interesting - I have been playing with similar ideas, though not via LTSpice. I'm a bit more interested in topology evolution than parameter optimization, though it seems to be a somewhat more difficult problem to adapt to GA methods. Do you have plans for your software to be able to match AC analysis parameters as well? I'll certainly give it a try.
