Design Engineer Track

A structured pathway covering transformer-design topics typically developed over several years of engineering practice: four levels, ~400 guided hours, and five capstone design projects graded against real acceptance criteria — from your first 1000 kVA hand calculation to power transformers and specials. Each level now points at the matching book volumes (0–19) as well as the design course.

Learn

Every lesson, 3D model and calculator on this track — mapped from the TransformerPath design course, tutorial and tools in the exact order a design office would teach them. included with 12 months access.

Design

Each level gates on a capstone: a realistic customer specification you must design to, by hand and with the calculator, exactly like a work assignment.

Check your work

Each capstone has a published model answer. TransformerPath does not personally review submissions. Completing a capstone leaves a written record on this device.

Honest note: this pathway covers the transformer-design knowledge that typically takes years of engineering practice to build — it is not a substitute for that practice. The judgment still comes from doing. That's why every level here ends in design work, not a quiz. Pair this track with time on a factory floor and a test bay whenever you can get it.
Your progress (saved on this device)0%

Checked sections stay on this device. When you are signed in, a published Level 1 section is also saved to your account. Levels 2–4 have no published section list, so those checks are not saved. The Skills Passport lists only saved completions. It is not a certificate.

1

Foundations

~80 hoursequiv. months 1–6 on the job
The physics and vocabulary of every transformer ever built — Volumes 0, 1, 7, 8 and 9 sit beside the design-core chapters.
How a transformer works— Ch.1 Fundamentals + Vol. 0 (planned) / Vol. 1 · Edition 1 + 3D Explorer8 h
Classification & specification— Ch.2 + Ch.12 + Vol. 1 · Edition 1 / Vol. 168 h
Core design & CRGO— Ch.3 + Vol. 1 · Edition 1 + Core Topology 3D10 h
Windings & current density— Ch.4 + Vol. 6 + Coil Assembly 3D10 h
Insulation system— Ch.5 + Vol. 78 h
Cooling & temperature rise— Ch.6 + Vol. 86 h
Losses, impedance & efficiency— Ch.10 + Vol. 98 h
Tank & accessories— Ch.7 + Vol. 8 + Construction Guide8 h

🏁 Capstone F — Your first complete design

Spec: 1000 kVA, 11/0.433 kV, Dyn11, ONAN, 50 Hz, Z = 5%, IEC 60076, outdoor 50°C ambient. Design it entirely by hand — core area and flux density, turns, conductor sizes, winding arrangement, window check — then verify against the design calculator and explain every deviation over 5%.

Acceptance criteria
  • EMF equation applied correctly; V/turn justified against the 0.4–0.5·√kVA rule.
  • Flux density 1.55–1.70 T with the chosen CRGO grade named and its loss curve cited.
  • Current density within 2.5–3.5 A/mm² (Cu) and window space factor demonstrated ≥ fit.
  • Estimated no-load and load losses within IEC tolerance of the calculator result.
  • One page explaining what you would change if the customer capitalized losses at $5,000/kW.

Unlock Levels 2–4 + published model answers

Distribution, Power Transformer, Specials — plus capstone projects and published model answers.

See Plans — from $199 →

12 months of access. See the plan page for billing terms.

2

Distribution Transformer Designer

Prereq: Level 1 Foundations
~120 hoursequiv. months 6–18 on the job
Fast, cheap iterations — Volume 1 (Edition 1), Volume 3 (planned), and Volumes 9 and 12. Oil-immersed and cast resin, plus the commercial reality of tenders.

The Level 2 module list and Capstone D brief are not on this public page. They unlock with 12-month access.

See plans → Start free chapters
3

Power Transformer Designer

Prereq: Level 2 Distribution
~120 hoursequiv. years 2–3 on the job
New physics enters: Volume 2 (Edition 1) and Volumes 8, 10 and 11 — short-circuit forces, impulse, hot-spot control, OLTC. This is where designers are made.

The Level 3 module list and Capstone P brief are not on this public page. They unlock with 12-month access.

See plans → Start free chapters
4

Specials & Mastery

Prereq: Level 3 Power
~80 hoursequiv. years 3–5 on the job
Volumes 5 and 12–19 — failures, specials, site, loading, repair, asset management, the handbook and HVDC.

The Level 4 module list and Capstone S brief are not on this public page. They unlock with 12-month access.

See plans → Start free chapters
Unlock Levels 2–4

published model answers and model answers

Level 1 (Foundations) is free forever. Three paid plans from $199 unlock Levels 2–4, full model answers for every project, and the Level-3 pack.

See Plans — from $199 →

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