DIY Inverter

[theoldwizard1]

I have a background in electrical engineering, but I have not done any is about 30 years. The EG8011 IC and associated EGS003 controller/driver board do all of the "heavy lifting". There are schematics that show how to implement and inverter (120V/240V 60 Hz or 220V-240V 50 Hz) with very few additional parts. The key id your choice of a "high frequency (technically, a high voltage input) design or a low frequency (low input voltage) design. Low frequency designs require require a large output transformer. The most efficient low (50 Hz or 60 Hz) transformers should use a toroidal transformer (more efficient than E-core) which requires winding on a silicon steel core. Equations for calculating the winding wire size and number of turns exist.

Where can you buy silicon steel in a long thin strip (about 50-100 mm wide) to wind into a toroid ?

 

[Browneye]

Victron FTW.

 

[Warpspeed]

It will be a lot easier and a lot cheaper to source an existing toroidal transformer, strip off the windings, and rewind it.
Its also possible to stack two similar torodal cores to double the potential power output.

A very similar question to yours was posed at the "EDAboard.com" electronics Forum quite recently.

Forum rules here do not allow me to provide a direct link to that thread, but it should be easy to find.
Google "edaboard.com"
Scroll down to the Power Electronics section.
Scroll down through the posting dates going back to 1 July 2023, you will find a thread titled "Need advice for my toroidal core dimensions" by poster Treemon.
I also post there as Warpspeed.

I guided him through the whole magnetics design process, and the physical winding of a 5Kw+ toroidal inverter transformer that finally ended up with the whole completed inverter having a remarkably low total dc standby idling power of only nine watts !

His 48v inverter also uses one of those Chinese EGS driver boards, but cannot now remember which one.
There is much there that you might find helpful.

You might like to join that Forum and contact poster Treemon, you might find a great many things of mutual interest to discuss.

 

[ampsarus]

I have a background in electrical engineering, but I have not done any is about 30 years. The EG8011 IC and associated EGS003 controller/driver board do all of the "heavy lifting". There are schematics that show how to implement and inverter (120V/240V 60 Hz or 220V-240V 50 Hz) with very few additional parts...
Where can you buy silicon steel in a long thin strip (about 50-100 mm wide) to wind into a toroid ?

I thought all wound toroid power transformers used a mono core of some baked ferrous or semi ferrous goo.

 

[Warpspeed]

I thought all wound toroid power transformers used a mono core of some baked ferrous or semi ferrous goo.

Not the power transformers designed to run at 50/60Hz.
All of those are toroids would from thin, grain oriented silicon steel strip.

 

[tinyt]

I have a background in electrical engineering, but I have not done any is about 30 years. The EG8011 IC and associated EGS003 controller/driver board do all of the "heavy lifting". There are schematics that show how to implement and inverter (120V/240V 60 Hz or 220V-240V 50 Hz) with very few additional parts. The key id your choice of a "high frequency (technically, a high voltage input) design or a low frequency (low input voltage) design. Low frequency designs require require a large output transformer. The most efficient low (50 Hz or 60 Hz) transformers should use a toroidal transformer (more efficient than E-core) which requires winding on a silicon steel core. Equations for calculating the winding wire size and number of turns exist.

Where can you buy silicon steel in a long thin strip (about 50-100 mm wide) to wind into a toroid ?

Found my 2019 post in another forum, here is copy and paste:
'
Out of curiosity, I enquired tcmetals if they sell to private person and they do. But not the TOROID core but the slit coil of any width (from 0.5" thru 36") which we can wind to the TOROID OD and ID that we want.

My enquiry is for 0.27mm thick M4 (C5). Coating generated by chemical and thermal processing plus inorganic filler. I have no idea what it means.

But they have a minimum order per strip width size of 500 lbs at $1.50/lb. FOB. I don't know how much the shipping will be. I don't know how many TOROIDs it will make, probably quite a few.

A lot of money for me, just to make one or two medium power TOROID.'

Also, this DIY video.

 

[mpgmike]

Prem Magnetics offers custom inductor winding. Not sure if they sell just the cores, but here is a link to their site:

High Quality Transformers, Coils and Inductors | Prem Magnetics

Prem Magnetics designs and manufactures power transformers, inductors, and coils. Our products are 100% tested.

www.premmagnetics.com