Converting a computer power supply into a bench power supply

Credits

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This is my experience in building this power supply: https://www.instructables.com/ATX-Bench-Power-Supply/

Buying the material

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For the power supply, I used one from an old Acer computer that I had replaced with a newer model. I bought the remaining components on AliExpress to save money. In total, I spent €70, but I bought more components than necessary to use them in future projects.

While building the power supply, I decided to install an LED to indicate when the PSU is powered on. If you’d like to add this feature too, include one LED and a 220K Ohm resistor in your materials. Also, probably because my power supply was faulty, I didn’t need to buy a resistor to connect to the 5V line to prevent it from shutting off automatically

Printing the file

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My power supply had vents on the underside for cooling, so I designed and printed four feet , which I attached using double-sided tape but you can also use hot glue.

The front panel was easy to print, but the rest of the body required a lot of support in any print orientation. A good idea would be to lengthen the body to fit the cables better

Assembling the front panel

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I had to enlarge some holes because they were too small, but if you have a drill and a file, it’s not a big problem. To fit the LED, you’ll need to drill another hole; I decided to place it next to the power switch.

Adding the led

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To add the LED, solder a 220K Ohm resistor to the longer leg of the LED, then solder the gray wire to the resistor and the black wire to the shorter leg of the LED. Add heat shrink tubing to cover the exposed contacts. After soldering, glue the LED down to the front panel.

Conclusion

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The power supply cannot replace a professional bench power supply, but this was a fun and useful project, especially for powering my simple projects. I highly recommend building this if you have an old computer power supply at home.