Project: Power House

[SXRguyinMA]

This is going to be a scratch-built PSU mod. Basically I've been using a cheapo Dynex power supply as a bench supply, but with all of it's cords it's rather messy and unorganized. I decided to make it into a table-top modular style power center. I plan to have at least 4 terminals (12v, G, 3.3v, 5v), along with several molex connectors for direct-plugin of devices that use them.

The internals of the PSU will be removed from their casing and mounted to the back panel as shown. The edges are 90º aluminum angle that will be cut to 8" length and cut at a 45º angle on each side, so it will me an 8" cube. The panels will be from 3mm solid black polycarbonate (shown translucent for better effect), and will be riveted to the angled aluminum. There will be two 120mm fans, one intake and one exhaust. I may change the design though, as 2 120mm fans may be overkill. I may just install one 120mm exhaust fan in the top panel, along with some holes in the sides and/or bottom for intake air.

There will be some cutouts of various sizes and whatnot, along with some internal lighting just to give it a little glow.

Anything anyone thinks may be useful for a benchtop power supply let me know. Whether it be different connections, tools, etc.

[pheenix]

Keep both fans, and make them LED fans for good measure :p

[billygoat333]

an led tester is always a good idea

[SXRguyinMA]

Originally Posted by pheenix

Keep both fans, and make them LED fans for good measure :p

Well I'm going to have other lighting effects inside it, so the LEDs in the fans might clash a little. I've got a pair of standard Tt black/red 120mm fans that I'm planning on using

Originally Posted by billygoat333

an led tester is always a good idea

very good idea my friend. I can hook up a pair of female header pins to the 3v supply, so you can just pop them in and test! +rep

[x88x]

Nice, I keep meaning to add proper connectors to mine but just haven't gotten around to it...

One other thing I would recommend is a variable line pulling off the 12V. Put in a nice pot and make a volt-meter to show the current level. That'll be nice if you ever need an odd voltage for something.

[SXRguyinMA]

love the idea! +rep

I was also thinking of getting an inexpensive basic multimeter and building it right into the front panel, with the connections so any standard multimeter leads can be used. This was you never have to find your meter! (well me at least)

[RogueOpportunist]

Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA

love the idea! +rep

I was also thinking of getting an inexpensive basic multimeter and building it right into the front panel, with the connections so any standard multimeter leads can be used. This was you never have to find your meter! (well me at least)

OR rip the cheap multimeter to pieces, mod the heck out of it and make a charging "dock" for it in your PSU.

[BS Mods]

This will be awesome..And handy.

[billygoat333]

I've actually got an idea for a mod for a PSU, using an old car cd player. I don't want to spoil the details in case I actually get the motivation to do it, but it will be sweet.

[SXRguyinMA]

well I've got a Craftsman multimeter that the case is broken, and did some figuring, and I can run it directly off of 5v. I just hook the 5v line and ground to the batter + and - and it works perfectly! The only tough thing will be cutting the opening for it so ti fits perfectly. It's got some weird edges, cut I can get it done!

Hopefully I can get some work done on this thing soon!