Everything you need to know to design
professional magnetic components.
Beginner → Advanced
15 Chapters
100+ Illustrations
Engineering Design Examples
Interactive Calculators
Free
Welcome
Whether you’re designing your first buck converter or developing high-power industrial magnetics, this guide walks through every stage of modern inductor design.
Unlike many textbooks and application notes, this guide combines engineering theory, practical design examples, interactive calculators, CAD-generated models, and real-world manufacturing considerations.
The goal is simple:
To provide the most complete and practical inductor design resource available online.
Each chapter builds upon the previous one, taking you from the fundamentals of inductance and magnetic fields through advanced topics such as saturation, thermal design, core selection, winding optimization, and manufacturability.
Throughout the guide you’ll find:
- SolidMag Engineering Notes
- Engineering Challenges
- Design Examples
- Interactive Calculators
- Links to supporting articles and references
Whether you’re a student, hobbyist, power electronics engineer, or magnetics specialist, this guide was created to help you design better magnetic components.
Part I — Fundamentals
Chapter 1
Introduction to Inductors
Chapter 2
Understanding Inductance
Chapter 3
Understanding Magnetic Flux and Flux Density
Chapter 4
Understanding Magnetic Core Materials
Part II — Core Selection
Chapter 5
Understanding Air Gaps and Energy Storage
Chapter 6
Energy Storage in Magnetic Components
Chapter 7
Understanding Magnetic Saturation
Chapter 8
Selecting the Right Core Geometry
Part III — Winding Design
Chapter 9
Choosing the Correct Wire and Winding Method
Chapter 10
Understanding Core Losses
Chapter 11
Understanding Copper Losses
Chapter 12
Thermal Design of Inductors
Part IV — Performance and Optimization
Chapter 13
Designing Inductors for Switching Power Supplies
Chapter 14
Common Inductor Design Mistakes
Chapter 15
Practical Inductor Design Examples
SOLIDMAG ENGINEERING NOTE
The SolidMag Engineering Philosophy
Many magnetic design resources focus primarily on equations.
Equations are important, but successful magnetic design requires balancing many competing objectives:
- Electrical performance
- Thermal performance
- Manufacturability
- Reliability
- Cost
- Size
- Efficiency
The smallest design is rarely the best design.
The lowest-cost design is rarely the most reliable.
The highest-efficiency design is not always the most practical.
Throughout this guide we focus on real engineering tradeoffs and practical decision-making, not just theory.
Our goal is to help engineers build magnetic components that work not only on paper, but also in production.
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