Bench Power Supply

2018

The Bench Power Supply is a compact and contained digital DC power supply for the electronics bench with adjustable voltage and current settings. It is built using the RD DPS3005 DC-DC regulator module and a 36v 1.4A 50W fixed power supply.

This was the project I made my first Youtube video on. It wasn’t a very technically complicated project and the main focus was on making a good video to show the design and build process. I also didn’t have a lot of money at the time so some design choices were financially motivated.

Background

The way this project started was me looking for a good bench power supply for my electronics bench. My bench space was very limited so the unit had to be small and sleek. I also didn’t have any crazy power requirements since most projects consumed a few hundred milliamps at most.

I found this great module from a Chinese company called Ruideng. The module seemed to have all the power regulation and user interface figured out. I looked for 3D printed cases for it and found that most of the ones online didn’t include a power supply in the main body. I wanted one that is fully self contained and only needs AC power. A lot of the designs were also poorly made and didn’t look good.

Knowing that the project itself wouldn’t be very technically difficult, I challenged myself to make it look very professionally built. I was also toying with the idea of starting a Youtube channel so I figured this is the project to start with.

Part Selection

Here are some of the key parts used in this project.

RD DPS3005 Power Regulator Module – Amazon
36v 1.4A 50W Power Supply – Digikey
Banana Jack Posts – Amazon
IEC Panel Jack – Amazon

Note: I earn a small commission on Amazon purchases made through this post. But rest assured, my recommendations are not influenced by that at all. Any revenue will most likely go straight back into buying some more tools or supplies.

Case Design

The case was designed to be as compact as possible. The interface panel needed to be at an angle since the unit would be place on the bench.

Note that this was one of my early 3D printed designs, and while I still think it is fairly well designed, I would certainly change some parts of it. The main change I would make is to not have an open bottom. I also would change how the interface panel juts out of the main body and somehow integrate them together even if it leads to a slightly larger footprint.

Assembly

I 3D printed the case on my Anet A8 printer. And after a couple of iterations, I got a good case design where everything fits well.

Assembly was fairly straightforward and uneventful. I did, however, have to glue in some nuts on the power supply to secure it in place. That was a poor design choice and if I had to do it again, I would go for a different power supply mounting mechanism.

Testing

I tested the power supply with a variety of loads for long periods of time. I realized that the power supply unit I was using was quiet efficient and didn’t produce much heat so I removed the fan in a subsequent revision.

Even under maximum load, the bench power supply held up great.

Conclusion

I used this bench power supply for 4 years before I retired it for a more fancy version, also made by Ruideng. Let me know if you would want me to upgrade this design and bring it up to my current maker standards. Thank you.