This thing scares me just a bit…Okay, maybe more than just a bit.
After a lot of troubleshooting, we finally have a working version of this switching converter. It uses a transformer from a microwave, but I can only run it off 50VAC because if I go any higher, it arcs over the safety gap (this thing is only designed for 2kV) and it spits steel sparks all over the place.
Here is the supply in action:
Here is our circuit:
Here’s what it looks like now:
It took a while to get this up and running. Early on, we used a TV flyback transformer. My inverter seems to have killed the flyback. It seemed like I need a better core (and maybe a transformer without a diode) because this one seems to be saturating (the circuit pulls 25A at its peak). It basically looked like this on a scope.
After switching to the microwave transformer, the waveform now looks like this when shorted. A video of it working can be found here.
A closeup of the transformer and capacitor bank:
Lots of big transistors need lots of big heatsinks:
The small steel rod we put on the output has completely melted after a few minutes of running:
