Introduction: ATX Bench Power Supply Hack
This is my very first instructable :) so let´s begin!
- Do you have a ATX Power Supply from an old PC laying arround? Do you want to have a almost free Power Supply for your electronics?
SO YOU NEED TO CHECK THIS INSTRUCTABLE!!
I had my ATX on my working bench serving as a power supply, but with a lot of messy wires comming out, so i decided to mod it to have 5 output only:
GND, 3.3V, 5V, 12V and -12V
I also wanted to turn it on and off when necessary so I need a power switch
And of course a LED for Power-on and a LED for Stand-by.
So let´s see...
Step 1: What You Need!
2x 220ohm or 270ohm resitor
2x LED lights (you choose the color) (1.5v)
5x Male Connectors (Bullet, Banana or other of your choice)
5x Respective Female Connectors
1x Metal Drill
1x Switch button (i used a old pc rocker button)
Hot Glue gun
Soldering Iron and solder
Something to sand off excess metal bits
Step 2: Cutt the Case and Choose Wires
1- Now you need to open the power supply just unscrewing the top plate.
2- Then draw what you need to cut in the places you want
3- Cut the box with the metal drill bit as in the image
4- Sand sharp edges and excess metal bits
5- Select the wires you will need for the outputs, if you want GND, 3.3V, 5V, 12V and -12V select this:
GND: Black wire
3.3V: Orange Wire
5V: Red Wire
12V: Yellow Wire
-12V: Blue Wire
Power LED: red Wire for anode and black Wire for catode
Stand-by LED: purple Wire for anode and black wire for catode
Switch: Green Wire and black Wire for Switch ends
Note: if you want to use more than 2A on each output, I recommend to use for example, 2 red wires to make sure the wires don´t melt! (I did it to black, red and yellow).
Step 3: Solder and Glue
Now it is the tricky part!
1- Gather all the remaining wires, cut them and hot glue the tips like in the picture 1
2- For the LED Lights:
Power LED: Red Wire for anode and black Wire for catode
Stand-by LED: Purple Wire for anode and black wire for catode
Switch: Green Wire and black Wire for Switch ends
For the LED´s you need to put a resistor to drop tension from 5v to 1.5v (soder it to positive of the led, as in the 3rd image)
3- Put the LED´s and the switch in place.
4- Soder all the wires to the female connectors and put them in place
5- Hot glue everything thight in place
Step 4: Mount, Label and Test
1- Mount the top plate in place
2- Label the outputs, switch and LED´s
3- Plug it to the wall socket and hope it doesn´t blow up (kidding :p)
4- Test the outputs with your multimeter or voltimeter
5- Wire the male connectors as tou want! ( I made an external dock to plug the wires from the male connectors so I can extend the capacity of wiring external things)