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I am building oneTesla without a kit. I managed to get breakout but I destroyed 6 transistors(HGTP12N60A4) and encountered some problems:
First, Can I use HGTP12N60A4 ? I have a box of it. If the answer is no how about HGTG40N60B3 ?
Second, I found that if my breakout point is too close to the secondary and topload, I will not get breakout. Is this right?
Third,what is the safe BPS/ on time to start with?
Coil specs: resonant frequency 280KHz primary inductance:6.8uH primary capacitance:47nF
Any advice is appreciated
Hsieh,
The fact that you got breakout suggests to me that your driver-side is working fine. As for your questions:
1. Probably not. Those 12N60 should be ok for a smaller coil but the coil in the configuration you have should run between 100 to 200A primary current, which might be a bit too much for the transistors. The 40N60 look like great IGBTs. I'm not sure if you already have reverse diodes, but you need some ultrafast reverse diodes across the IGBTs since those two you linked do not have them. Solder them as close as possible to the leads. Otherwise, I recommend just buying IGBTs with in-built free wheeling diodes inside since their inductance will be much much lower.
2. That's probably because your spark output is too low. You should be able to get sparks from any reasonably pointy object anywhere on the toroid (or in your case, sphere).
3. The BPS probably doesn't matter, but your coil should start oscillating around 40V on the bus and 10us on-time should be enough to make a small spark you can see and hear. I would not exceed 150us pulse widths. The coil should do fine around 70-100us at 100-500bps. If anything, I'd expect at least 15" sparks at 100us with 340VDC on the bus.
It look to me that either your pulse widths are too short, or that your coil is very out of tune. I'd make sure that the primary and secondary are reasonably in tune with each other. If your secondary resonant fres is 280kHz, I'd tune the primary to around 250kHz or so. The reason why your IGBTs died are either because you they overheated or you coil is too out of tune but I can't be sure given the details.
Good luck, and btw good job on the pcb! Your coil looks great!
I find some IRGPS40B120UD ,will this work? This one has internal diode but is slower and it doesn't have a mounting hole.
If I decide to use external diodes, what current rating should I have?
Thanks for your help
Yes they do look a bit slow, but it's a 1200V IGBT and the 1200V ones tend to be slower than the 600V ones. I do think you should try to find IGBTs with internal diodes though. The IRGP50B60 IGBTs from IR are a fantastic choice. Otherwise for diodes, I believe people used to use MUR1560 before; the MUR3040 or 3060 should be good also but I haven't used them before.
Today I found two working IRGP35B60PD in a dead SMPS and use them. I get much longer sparks (maybe 20~30 cm or longer) without killing any IGBT.
I also found that if my breakout point is closer to my coil or BPS is lower I will get much shorter sparks.
The noise annoyed someone and I was blamed. Is there any way to reduce the acoustic noise? Not sure if I can test my coil further.
The xxb60 Warp 2 series are fantastic IGBTs in my experience :) Great to hear your coil working. Unfortunately, no way to make the coil quieter. Perhaps try building a Class E Tesla Coil?
I destroyed my IGBT again when I further increase on time.
I notice that the sparks are not as bright as my SSTC. Is this normal?
Why I should tune my primary to 250KHz if my secondary is 280KHz
I know people have tested the 50b60s to 300A for DRSSTC use; I'd expect the 35b60 to do around 200A or so. What's your primary current looking like? If your frequency mismatch is too great, you'll blow your IGBTs. Also, if you increase the pulse width anything more than 100+us for this coil, you might be in danger of over-rating the IGBTs.
When a spark forms, it increases the capacitance of the secondary and decreases the resonant frequency. Experiment on tuning for best results.
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OneTesla problems
