Z-AXIS simulates electronic circuits with SPICE. This graphical software lets us create schematics and quickly see voltage, current, power dissipation, and other results without physically building, probing, and scoping a circuit.
The process begins by creating a schematic and starting a new design. We don’t SPICE every circuit, and we usually just simulate the section of the circuit where we want to analyze unknowns.
In this example, we’ll add a voltage source, a resistors, capacitor, inductor, and ground. The SPICE button bar lets us add these elements quickly, and we can use our mouse to move and place components where we want them.
For the voltage source, we’ll enter a pulsed voltage. We’ll also add a range of time to simulate. The information you see on the screen is a graphics-based representation of the output.
Next, we’ll configure the resistors. It’s important to note that there isn’t a power dissipation rating. SPICE treats all components as indestructible, but that’s not the case in the real-world because heat is a factor.
After we add our elements, we’ll join them together with lines the represent electrical connections. We’ll also name these nodes, or connection points, so that we can refer to them.
Now it’s time to run a simulation. We can vary the input voltage and timings, see changes in the waveform, and observe the voltage differences across nodes. We can also see the time and frequency between them.
SPICE does more than let us predict the circuit’s turn-on characteristics. After a simulation, we can also hover over the lines and nodes and probe them.
Without a tool like SPICE, engineers would have to build a board, solder the components, probe the connections, and use an oscilloscope to diagnose and isolate errors. Instead, SPICE makes it easy to run simulations.
SPICE isn’t an electronics tester, and simulations are just representations of how a circuit could exist in the real world. But the way that SPICE lets us create schematics and run various simulations is a time-saver.