This is a basic usage guide for the TeslaMap Tesla coil design program.

To use TeslaMap

Enter your input values (NST Input Voltage, NST Input Frequency, etc) into the input boxes. The program will calculate the output values (NST VA, NST Watts, etc) as the required input values are entered.

To start a new design

Click on the New Design icon, or select New Design from the File menu.

To export a design

Click on the Export Design icon, or select Export Design from the File menu. TeslaMap will ask you to specify the desired filename. TeslaMap can write htm, html, txt, and doc files. If no file extension is specified on the desired file name then TeslaMap will write the file as htm format by default. If a htm, html, txt, or doc file extension is specified, then the file will be created in the specified format. For example to export the design summary to a txt file called "test.txt" save the file as "test.txt". To save a file named "test2.htm" save the file as either "test2.htm" or "test2" (if no file extension is specified then TeslaMap will default to htm format).

To save a design

Click on the Save Design icon, or select Save Design from the File menu. You can specify a file extension if you wish, but it is not necessary.

To open a saved design

Click on the Open Design icon or select Open Design from the File menu. TeslaMap will ask you to select a file to open.

Input checking

As you type input values TeslaMap will check the input. If it seems too large or too small the input numbers will turn red. If the input is incorrect the background of the input box will turn red. Incorrect input should be fixed. An example of incorrect input is a secondary coil with a larger diameter than the primary center hole diameter (the secondary coil must sit inside the primary hole).

Verify Design

TeslaMap will check input values and some calculated output values for potential problems by selecting Verify Design from the Options menu. The results of the verification check are based on average Tesla coil parameters. Very large and small Tesla coils often contain parameters that fall outside the boundaries of average coils. Therefore the verification check results are merely suggestions and do not necessarily indicate a problem with the design.

Metric / Standard

All input and output measurements can be converted between metric and standard by selecting Metric in the Options menu. When the Metric menu is checked all measurements have been converted to metric. When the Metric menu is un-checked all measurements are converted to standard.

MMC Designer

the MMC (Multi Mini Capacitor) Designer can be accessed by selecting MMC Designer in the Options menu. Enter the capacitance and voltage of one mini capacitor. The program will calculate the total capacitances of any MMC up to 60 series caps in 8 parallel strings. To use the MMC Designer enter the input values then locate the desired total capacitance in the chart. Be sure there are a significant number of series capacitors to withstand the peak voltage from the power supply. For example if your NST voltage output is 15 kV RMS the peak output voltage is 15 * 1.414 = 21.21 kV. In addition it is generally recommended that your MMC be rated for at least 2 or 3 times the peak voltage. Therefore if your NST peak voltage output is 21 kV and each capacitor in your MMC is rated for 1 kV, you should have a minimum of 20 to 30 capacitors in series (regardless of the number of parallel strings). After locating the desired total capacitance (with a sufficient number of series capacitors) the column with the desired capacitance will represent the number of required parallel strings. The column multiplied by the row will equal the total number of mini capacitors in the MMC array. For example, enter 0.056 uf and 2000 Volts (these are the values for a single capacitor). Assuming your NST peak output voltage is 21 kV and your desired MMC capacitance is 6 nF. You require a total MMC voltage of at least 40 kV. The Volts column shows that a minimum of 20 series capacitors are required to produce a MMC rated for 40 kV. Looking at the MMC capacitance values in the chart, there is a value of 6.22 uF at row 18 and column 2, but row 18 only has a voltage ratting of 36 kV (not enough to meet our requirements of 40 kV). A value of 6 nF is located at row 28 and column 3 with a voltage rating of 56 kV. To construct this array you'll make 3 parallel strings, each having 28 capacitors connected in series, for a total of 84 capacitors.

Calculations

pi = 3.1415926535897932384626433832795
NST VA = NST Output Current * NST Output Voltage
NST Impedance = NST Output Voltage / NST Output Current
NST Watts = ((0.6 / NST VA ^0.5) + 1) * NST VA
PFC Capacitance = (NST VA / (2 * pi * NST Input Frequency * (NST Input Voltage ^2))) * 1000000
Primary Resonate Capacitance = (1 / (2 * pi * NST Impedance * NST Input Frequency)) * 1000
Primary LTR Static Capacitance = Primary Resonate Capacitance * 1.414
Primary LTR Sync Capacitance = Primary Resonate Capacitance * 1.9
Secondary Coil Turns = (1 / (Magnet Wire Diameter + 0.000001)) * Secondary Wire Winding Height * 0.97
Secondary Capacitance = (0.29 * Secondary Wire Winding Height) +(0.41 * (Secondary Form Diameter / 2)) +(1.94 * sqrt(((Secondary Form Diameter / 2) ^3) / Secondary Wire Winding Height))
Secondary Height Width Ratio = Secondary Wire Winding Height / Secondary Form Diameter
Secondary Coil Wire Length = (Secondary Coil Turns * (Secondary Form Diameter * pi)) / 12
Secondary Coil Wire Weight = pi * ((Secondary Bare Wire Diameter / 2) ^2) * Secondary Coil Wire Length * 3.86
Secondary Inductance = ((((Secondary Coil Turns ^2) * ((Secondary Form Diameter / 2) ^2)) / ((9 * (Secondary Form Diameter / 2)) + (10 * Secondary Wire Winding Height))) * 0.001) * Secondary Inductance Adjust
Sphere Capacitance = 2.83915 * (Sphere Diameter / 2)

(For large or small toroids, Ring Diameter < 3" or Ring Diameter > 20")
Toroid Capacitance 1 = ((1 + (0.2781 - Ring Diameter / (Overall Diameter))) * 2.8 * sqrt((pi * (Overall Diameter * Ring Diameter)) / 4))
Toroid Capacitance 2 = (1.28 - Ring Diameter / Overall Diameter) * sqrt(2 * pi * Ring Diameter * (Overall Diameter - Ring Diameter))
Toroid Capacitance 3 = 4.43927641749 * ((0.5 * (Ring Diameter * (Overall Diameter - Ring Diameter))) ^0.5)
Toroid Capacitance = ((Toroid Capacitance 1 + Toroid Capacitance 2 + Toroid Capacitance 3) / 3)

(Ring Diameter is between 3" and 6")
Toroid Capacitance Lower = 1.6079 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8419
Toroid Capacitance Upper = 2.0233 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8085
Toroid Capacitance = (((Ring Diameter - 3) / 3) * (Toroid Capacitance Upper - Toroid Capacitance Lower)) + Toroid Capacitance Lower

(Ring Diameter is between 6" and 12")
Toroid Capacitance Lower = 2.0233 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8085
Toroid Capacitance Upper = 2.0586 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8365
Toroid Capacitance = (((Ring Diameter - 6) / 6) * (Toroid Capacitance Upper - Toroid Capacitance Lower)) + Toroid Capacitance Lower

(Ring Diameter is between 12" and 20")
Toroid Capacitance Lower = 2.0586 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8365
Toroid Capacitance Upper = 2.2628 * Overall Diameter ^ 0.8339
Toroid Capacitance = (((Ring Diameter - 12) / 12) * (Toroid Capacitance Upper - Toroid Capacitance Lower)) + Toroid Capacitance Lower

Top Load Capacitance = (Toroid Capacitance + Sphere Capacitance) * Top Load Adjust
Total Secondary Capacitance = Secondary Capacitance + Top Load Capacitance
Secondary Resonate Frequency = 1 / (2 * pi * sqrt((Secondary Inductance * 0.001) * (Total Secondary Capacitance * 0.000001)))
Needed Primary Inductance = 1 / ((2 * pi * ((Secondary Resonate Frequency * 1000) ^2)) * (Primary Capacitance * 0.00000000000001))
Primary Coil Width = (Primary Coil Turns * (Primary Wire Diameter + Primary Wire Spacing)) - Primary Wire Diameter
Primary Coil Height = (Primary Coil Width * sin(Primary Conical Angle * 0.01745)) + Primary Wire Diameter
Primary Width Side = Primary Coil Width * cos(Primary Conical Angle * 0.01745)
Primary Coil Average Radius = (Primary Hole Diameter / 2) + (Primary Width Side / 2)
Primary Coil Diameter = (Primary Width Side * 2) + Primary Hole Diameter
Primary Wire Length = (pi * Primary Coil Turns * ((Primary Hole Diameter / 2) + (Primary Coil Diameter / 2))) / 12
Primary PL1 = ((Primary Coil Average Radius ^2) * (Primary Coil Turns ^2)) / ((9 * Primary Coil Average Radius) + (10 * Primary Coil Height))
Primary PL2 = ((Primary Coil Average Radius ^2) * (Primary Coil Turns ^2)) / ((8 * Primary Coil Average Radius) + (11 * Primary Width Side))
Primary ARAD1 = Primary PL1 * sin(Primary Conical Angle * 0.01745)
Primary ARAD2 = Primary PL2 * cos(Primary Conical Angle * 0.01745)
Primary Inductance = sqrt(((Primary ARAD1 ^2) + (Primary ARAD2 ^2)) * Primary Inductance Adjust
Convert Inches To Cm = Inches * 2.54
Convert cm To Inches = cm * 0.393700787
Convert Feet To Meters = Feet * 0.3048
Convert Meters To Feet = Meters * 3.2808399