Abstract

When designing any end product, it is not uncommon for engineers of multiple disciplines to work together to create the final design. Often a mechanical engineer might set aside an area where electronic components can reside and provide area constraints that must fit the PCB within. Simulation tools exist to assist electrical engineers with layout and circuit design to optimize performance for most devices. However, this is not typically the case for magnetic position sensors. The challenge for these devices is that SPICE modelers cannot determine the input magnetic field provided the shape, material, and position of the magnet. However, this information is critical to understand when defining sensor placement and when selecting the magnet to use in the final product. Without these details, the total design cycle time can be lengthened by repeated prototype and verification test builds.

The purpose and function of the Magnetic Sensing Enhanced Proximity Tool is to provide an easy access simulation platform which is able to quickly provide simulated magnetic field and device output data. Guess work in prototype builds can be greatly reduced by modeling the complete electro-mechanical response. This is accomplished using the open-source python library MagPyLib.