In this video I challenge myself to design a complete Tesla Coil in 10 minutes! The overall design limits include: DRSSTC topology, less than 1 meter tall and must use as many easy to obtain parts as possible. This is part 1 of a series of videos and articles on the Kaizer DRSSTC VII.
As a preparation for this task, I had prior to recording, opened tabs with different websites, tools and shops. Some optimization was needed in order to not waste time on researching from scratch, and make the video full of boring google searches. Focus in this video is, by following the above requirements, to conceive a design that many can use and afford. If a part is readily made, and its price matches complexity, it will be prioritized over making it myself from scratch.
The DRSSTC design guide is a cornerstone of vital and quickly accessed design suggestions. I will take full advantage of my own prior and published work.
JavaTC is an invaluable tool and is basically the “industry” standard for Tesla coil simulation, calculation and tuning.
Tools like MMC calculator, spiral coil calculator, helical coil calculator and topload capacitance calculator fill out some of the gaps in the DRSSTC design guide or JavaTC. Some of these parts are simply just too complex or dynamic to have in the design guide as multiple choice options.
highvoltageshop.com is one of the very few online shops, with specific Tesla coil parts in stock, that is based in Europe. I have no affiliation with this shop.
Highvoltageforum.net DRSSTC Driver and inverter bridge PCB pack from profdc9.
Tesla Coil Design Summary
Printed circuit boards were ordered as prototype order, 5$ for 10 pieces, for each of the 3 needed boards (29$ shipping) . The listed prices for bridge, driver and interrupter, are boards + a guess of component costs.
| Description | Amount | Cost in € | |
| Supply voltage | 230 VAC ~ 320 VDC | na | |
| Bridge topology | Full-bridge 2x parallel PCB | 1 | 10 |
| IGBTs | TO-247, 40N60, 600 V, 80/120 A | 8 | free |
| Rectifier | 25 A full-bridge | 1 | free |
| Driver | UD2.9 pulse skip PCB | 1 | 30 |
| Interrupter | 555 timer based PCB | 1 | 20 |
| Secondary coil | 230 x 75 mm, 1000 windings, 0.2 mm | 1 | 25 |
| Topload | 300 mm major, 75 mm minor diameter | 1 | 45 |
| Resonant frequency | Around 300 kHz | na | |
| Primary coil | 4-5 turns of 5 mm copper brake line | 1 | 20 |
| MMC | CJE 0.1 uF, 3000 VAC, 80 A MKP capacitor | 1 | 24 |
| DC bus capacitors | 1500 uF, 450 VDC, electrolytic capacitor | 6 | free |
| Snubber capacitor | 2.2 uF, 275 VAC / 450 VDC, MKP capacitor | 1 | free |
| Total cost | 174 € |
The components listed as free, are ones that I had from salvaging old motor drives, welding inverters, solar inverters or UPS systems. Especially IGBTs and electrolytic capacitors would add a lot to the total price, if bought from new.