Introduction: Fumes Extractor and Power Supply Combo

By Taste The Code
About: Part software developer, part maker.

In this Instructable, I'll be making a fumes extractor with a bench power supply combo. The entire project is housed in a wooden base made out of some construction scrap that I had.

The power for the fan and the supply module is provided from an external power adapter that is plugged in the wall outlet.

On the front, there are breakouts for the input 12V, 5V, 3.3V, and ground terminals.

Supplies

Tools and materials needed to make this project:

Step 1: Prepare the Base Wood Blank

Cut out about 170mm long wood piece with at least 40mm height and 60mm width. You can choose any type of wood or even some layered plywood so use what you have on hand.

Since my piece was rough sawn, before starting any preparation work on the piece, I've used some 60 grit sandpaper to smoothen the piece enough so I can work with it.

Step 2: Mark Out the Hollow Part

In the finished piece, we want to have all of the electronics and wires hidden, so I've marked out an area on the bottom to hollow out.

When planning what to hollow out, I measured the supply module so it's plugging port can sit perfectly in the middle of the backside.

Additionally, I had some iron pieces and I wanted to use them as weights for stability, so I also planned to hollow out enough material so they can also fit in the bottom.

Step 3: Hollow Out the Wood Block

To remove most of the material, I've used a 30mm Forstner bit in my drill and made holes about halfway in the wood block.

Once the center part was removed, I used a 10mm drill bit to remove the bulk of the material on the center where the supply module will be housed and finished of the removal of material with a chisel.

The power connector of the module needs to be accessible from the outside on the back, so I've used my coping saw to cut out a notch for it.

The inside does not need to be perfect as it won't be seen but make sure that there is a tight fit on the module and correct any small imperfections with a file.

Step 4: Make Holes for the Voltage Terminals

In order to be able to use the voltages provided from the module, we need to add some sort of terminals to the front so we can connect to them.

I had these banana plugs from a previous project so I decided to use them as they will be easy to connect to with alligator clips or other banana plugs because off the holes on the front.

To sit them in the wooden block, I've marked out the location where I wanted them and drilled 8.5mm wide holes for a perfect fit.

These holes connect to the cavity on the back where later we will pass all the wires to.

Step 5: Apply Finish to the Wood Base

Before starting assembly, I gave the wood base a good sanding to remove any of the leftovers saw marks on my drum sander with rougher sandpaper, and then I've used my hand sanding block to smoothen all of the surfaces with 240 grit sandpaper.

For the finish, I've applied two coats of linseed oil that really brought life to the wooden block and accented the beautiful lines from inside.

Step 6: Prepare and Mount the Fan Assembly

I wanted to have the fan to be able to tilt front and back so I can position it better while soldering so I've used some pieces from a construction toy set to make a bracket that will attach to the corner of the fan and attach to the wooden base through an angled bracket.

The two are held in place with 3mm screw and nut with washers so they don't slip when moving the fan, and the entire assembly is screwed to the wood base.

To protect my fingers, I've also added two metal grills on the front and back of the fan so I don't accidentally stick my fingers inside.

Step 7: Prepare the Voltage Terminals

The banana plugs have holes in the back where I've added pieces of wire and secured it with the provided screw.

I did this for the 4 terminals, where I used 3 red ones for the different voltage terminals and one black for the common ground terminal.

Step 8: Connect the Power Supply Module

To provide the 3 different voltage outputs, I've connected the first banana plug to the positive terminal of the input jack and ground to the ground terminal.

The module has two different voltage regulators on it, and they can be configured to output either 5V or 3.3V independently so the rest two terminals were connected to them accordingly.

You can connect the fan directly to the 12V input, but it was running too fast for me so I've added two high power resistors in parallel and connected them on the 12V input for the fan in order to slow it down. It is important to use high power resistors here as otherwise they will get extremely hot and burn up.

With everything soldered, I connected the module to the power adapter, and with my multimeter, I've tested all of the outputs to verify my circuit before assembly.

Step 9: Final Assembly

To hide all of the wires and the module, I've pushed them inside the enclosure and then used two metal weights that had holes inside to hold all the wires in place.

These weights are salvaged fro a broken toy and will give nice stability to the fumes extractor when the fan is set to an awkward position while soldering.

As a final measure, I've hot glued the power supply module in place and I also added some silicon feet to the base to prevent it from slipping on my desk.

Step 10: Test Fumes Extraction

Since I've slowed down the fan, I was worried that it will not suck enough air to remove the fumes when soldering so I gave it a test and I was surprised how well it worked.

At times I had the fan at about 20cm from the soldering iron and it still pulled all the smoke to it without any issues.

Step 11: Enjoy!

I hope that you liked this project and if you did, I'll encourage you to check my other Instructables and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

This fumes extractor was a much-needed piece of tech on my bench and I couldn't be happier with how it turned up.

A nice add-on for it will be to add an activated carbon filter but I couldn't source one locally for the time of this Instructable so it will be a later upgrade. With it, most of the fumes will be neutralized and that will improve the condition of your workshop air.

Thanks!