Batch execution of LTSpice simulation jobs

LTSpice capture

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated neither with Linear Technology nor with the author of “Simulation Queue Manager for LTSpice”. I encourage you to always read the EULA or other applicable Licenses (if any) before using any piece of software.


Download now LTSpiceQueue for Windows

If you’re a Hardware electronics engineer you may be familiar with LTSpice, a free simulation software based on the SPICE modeling system. It is provided by Linear Technology and is designed to evaluate the behavior of analog and power electronic systems. I don’t want this article to be a LTSpice tutorial so I let you search the web if you want to go further.

LTSpice capture

What I want to introduce to you is a software called “Simulation Queue Manager for LTSpice” (which I prefer to replace by “LTSpiceQueue”), the perfect companion for LTSpice to run many simulations in batch mode i.e. sequentially. It’s a portable tool for MS Windows that was developed by T.S. Shankar, provided for free on the Yahoo Groups. Because it isn’t available to the general public any more I decided to share it on my side: download LTSpiceQueueV1.0.

When you want to explore many different parameter sets on a single design, it’s really convenient to be able to start the many simulations once.
When you have simulations which last long times, you would rather plan them for the night than staying in front of the screen waiting for them to finish.
When you have a dedicated (preferably high performance) computer for simulation, it’s nice to continue working freely and concentrate on other things than the simulation results.

Those situations are ideal cases where LTSpiceQueue can be used in order to gain some time.

LTSpice simulation queue manager

Main features:

  • Build a simulation queue
  • Add to queue while already running
  • Get the execution time of each simulations
  • Save the queue log

LTSpiceQueue_scad3_error
Important compatibility notice:

Since LTSpice XVII, the “scad3.exe” program which used to be installed by LTSpice III & IV has gone, but this program is necessary for LTSpiceQueue to run! I personally have LTSpice XVII installed on Windows 10 and when I hit “Start Simulations” I have the following error message: “Windows cannot find ‘C:\Program Files\LTC\SwCADIII\scad3.exe’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.”

To fix this I have created the folder “SwCADIII” inside which I dropped the file scad3.exe that I have previously extracted from an LTSpice IV installation. And tadaaa! It works.
And you know what? Everything may work even without LTSpice installed! Just download LTSpiceQueue and the scad3 file, then place the ‘scad3.exe’ program in the right directory and you should be OK.

Download LTSpiceQueue for Windows

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