How To Use a PC Power Supply With Your Printer!

thingiverse

# DO NOT WORK ON ANY ELECTRICAL WHEN IT IS PLUGGED INTO MAIN POWER! IT'S NOT WORTH BEING DEAD! DON'T DIE, UNPLUG THE SUPPLY! With that out of the way, this is a quick guide on how to modify a PC power supply to use with your printer. I use an EVGA supply, it's got 360 watts / 30 amps at 12VDC and 17 amps at 5VDC. This is plenty for most printers. It runs my Anet A8 and my Creality CR10 S5. # Why? - These supplies are safe. They have over and under voltage protection, Surge, short circuit, overheat and overload protections as well as a fuse on the mains connections. - These supplies run cool and quiet with a nice big fan. - They can provide 12v and 5v, perfect for Octoprint. - They really aren't too expensive. I get mine for about $35 delivered from amazon.com in the USA. # Cons - You gotta rewire it. - No 24v options. # SAFETY! - Unplug the supply from the wall and wait 30 min before working on it for capacitors to fully discharge. - Never open any electrical appliance when it is plugged it! - We are removing all the existing low voltage wires in the supply because on this size unit it's normally about 18AWG wire. This cannot handle the 30 amps of 12v on it's own. # Tools - Soldering Iron - Solder - Wire cutters - Wire strippers - XT-60 connectors - XT-30 connectors - 12AWG silicone wire for 12v, I like the silicone because it is flexible and can be bent without breaking. - 18 AWG wire for 5V. # How to Do It 1. Unplug the power supply from the wall and wait 30 minutes before working on it. 2. Remove the plastic shield under the PCB and disconnect the fan. 3. Locate the pads for the 12V+ and GND wires. These will be on the top side of the board, near the front. 4. Strip back about 1/4 inch of the end of the 12AWG wire to solder to the 12V+ pad. 5. Solder the new wire into place! Make sure it is securely attached and not shorting anything around it. 6. Repeat steps 4-5 for the GND wire. 7. Now, strip back about 1/4 inch of the end of the 18 AWG wire to solder to the 5V pad. 8. Solder the new wire into place! Make sure it is securely attached and not shorting anything around it. 9. Connect the green wire from PSON to GND. This tells the power supply to turn on the moment it is plugged in. 10. Optionally, you can connect the green wire to GND through a switch to give you an easy way to turn off the power supply. 11. Reassemble the power supply, be sure to plug the fan back in and replace the plastic shield under the PCB. # Test It Out Before you connect it to the printer verify polarity and voltage with a meter. Just to be sure, also make sure it has output. If anything is shorted the supply will not output and will wait in protection mode. To reset the supply unplug it from main power for 2 min then re plug it in. # Thank You and be safe, please. Electricity should always be respected.