A computer-aided design procedure has been developed to determine the minimum weight design solutions, for singly wound EE- and EI-cored inductors that perform the functions of energy storage and transfer in switching DC–DC power converters. Three converter topologies, namely the Buck, the Boost, and the Buck/Boost have been considered in implementing the closed form Lagrange Multiplier-based solution to the design problem.

A notable feature is the interactive use of design graphs to facilitate a trade-off study between the weight of the inductor, the total losses in the inductor and the peak current stress in the switching transistor and diode. Thus useful insight is obtained by bringing aspects of converter design into view. Practical core and magnetic material data from manufacturer's catalogs can be specified and the design optimized for the minimal weight.