Bridging the Gap Between PLECS and SPICE

Summary

Three years ago, we set out to bring SPICE simulation into PLECS. PLECS Spice is finally here. PLECS Spice brings SPICE device-level simulation directly into PLECS. Available with PLECS 5.0, both system-level and device-level analysis can be performed within a single tool, eliminating the need to maintain duplicate models across separate softwares. Power electronics design has long faced a fundamental trade-off: system-level simulation tools deliver the speed and robustness needed for controller development and overall system analysis, but sacrifice the device-level detail necessary to validate component selection before procurement. For over 20 years, Plexim has promoted a top-down design philosophy, enabling engineers to model complete power electronic systems using ideal switches and behavioral components. By avoiding the computational burden of simulating detailed switching transients, PLECS enables rapid validation of system-level requirements like efficiency, control performance and thermal behavior. Conversely, traditional SPICE simulators embody an inherently bottom-up approach. They excel at validating device-level requirements through detailed semiconductor models, capturing switching losses, voltage overshoots and parasitic effects with high fidelity. This comes at a cost: system-level integration becomes computationally prohibitive. This divide has forced engineers into parallel workflows using separate software platforms with different modeling approaches and incompatible component libraries. Moving from a system-level PLECS model to SPICE for device validation requires recreating the model, an error-prone and time-consuming process. PLECS Spice To solve this problem, Plexim has developed PLECS Spice, an extension that brings SPICE device-level simulation capabilities directly into PLECS. PLECS Spice can simulate hybrid systems containing both standard PLECS and SPICE circuits. This allows a schematic to be progressively refined by replacing the ideal s...