Enclosure for 1.25-35V / 0.3-10A adjustable step-down buck converter / power supply / solar charger

thingiverse

Thx to Heartman for his great customizable thing! The original thing and customizer can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1264391. This is a solid and well-vented enclosure for a 1.25-35V/0.3-10A step-down converter. The way I use it: I have five 18 V lightweight solar panels (see below) connected in parallel to charge my laptop, directly connected to the solar panels. Without sun I connect the laptop (Macbook Air) to my QD 188-ALT 0-24 V power bank (from ebay.com), also recharged by the sun, thanks to the 18-20 V charging input. And I use the solar panels with this step-down converter shown here to connect 5 and 12 V devices like different power banks, a 4x Li-Ion/NiCd battery charger, mobile phones/iPad, flashlights, and so on. This is really a great little converter, even at 36 W (12 V/3 A) it is not getting very warm (can't even feel it). If you plan to use it with 5-10 A consider installing a little fan. I did not use it with more than 3 A yet. On picture one the four screws for the enclosure are missing. I bought 3,5x6,5 mm screws, you better buy smaller ones, smaller than 3,5 mm, the length is ok. The enclosure on the pics is one of my prototypes so please excuse the build quality. You can do it better! ;-) Parts: Step-down converter: https://www.banggood.com/DC-DC-Step-Down-Adjustable-Power-Supply-Module-p-969200.html?p=X314171248723201502R Voltmeter: https://www.banggood.com/0_28-Inch-2_5V-30V-Mini-Digital-Voltmeter-p-974258.html?p=X314171248723201502R Switch: https://www.banggood.com/5Pcs-Black-Push-Button-Mini-Switch-6A-10A-110V-250V-KCD1-101-2Pin-Snap-in-OnOff-Rocker-Switch-p-1096122.html?p=X314171248723201502R Power plug: https://www.banggood.com/5-Pairs-Male-Female-12V-DC-Power-Plug-Jack-Adapter-Connector-for-CCTV-p-1120253.html?p=X314171248723201502R The lightweight solar panels I use. They are really good, I ordered two and another three for an upgrade of my installation since I am using a thermoelectric cooler 24 V@18 V on hot summer days: https://www.banggood.com/100W-18V-Semi-Flexible-Solar-Panel-For-RV-Boat-Home-Camping-Battery-Charger-p-1081459.html?p=X314171248723201502R Front panel 1: - Voltmeter, - on/off-switch, - a hole for cables. Front panel 2: - Voltmeter, - on/off-switch. The enclosure offers enough space (front, top, 2nd plate with limited space) for additional connectors, voltmeter/ammeter, and fuse holder. You can drill one or two holes into the top cover to get access to the two potentiometer. I connected the voltmeter to the output. Depending on your input voltage the voltmeter can also be connected to the input. Take care of the 30 V max. input voltage of the voltmeter! Additional parts: - 4x screw M3x6 or similar, - 4x screw for the enclosure (I had to increase the size of the mounting holes, see above), - file or sharp knife for mounting the voltmeter, if needed (tight fit), - maybe some (hot) glue for the voltmeter. ***I use inline fuses for the input. Don't forget to add an adequate fuse. As always - use this thing at your own risk! ***