Power Block

Hey Everyone what's up!

So this is Power block, a DIY UPS that can be used to power a bunch of 5V Operated things like a raspberry pi, an Arduino project, or even charge devices like a tab or smartphone.

The heart of this project is this Buck Converter Circuit that I got from PCBWAY's Giftshop.

Previously, I've prepared a similar setup that has an onboard buck converter circuit but it can only output 5V 2A and its voltage was not stable, also that project was made for powering 12V things but this Power block is made especially for powering things that operate at 5V Range.

This article will be about the whole build process of this UPS, so let's get started.

Material Required

Following are the materials required in this small built-

• DC-DC Buck Converter Circuit
• Battery Pack 12V 25Ah
• 3D Printed Case
• Rocker Switch SPDT
• DC Barrel Jack
• Wires
• 5mm RED LED

Main Circuit

This is a DC Step-Down Module that takes voltage between 8V to 40V and Provides a Constant 5V 8A Output that can be used to power all sorts of stuff.

It has reverse connection protection, overcurrent protection, and overtemperature protection which is what I needed for this kind of project.

I've connected a 12V 25Ah Battery Pack with this module that I made using Li-ion Cells. You can use a premade battery pack that is available on market, just make sure to buy a battery pack that has an onboard battery management system attached as the buck converter I'm using doesn't have a low cut or high cut feature.

The low cut is important as it turns off the power output of the battery pack whenever cells reach their lowest voltage which is 2.8V for each cell and 8.4V for this battery pack as it has the configuration of 3S 10P.

I got this circuit from PCBWAY's Giftshop.

https://www.pcbway.com/project/gifts_detail/6USB_output_DC_step_down_module_12V24v36V_to_5V_8A.html

PCBWAY gift shop is an online marketplace where you can get a variety of electronics modules and boards for their genuine price or you could use the PCBWAY currency which is called beans.

You get beans after ordering something from PCBWAY as reward points or you can also get them by posting any project in the PCBWAY community.

Check PCBWAY out for getting great PCB service from here- https://www.pcbway.com/

Following are a few of its features

• Fix output voltage.
• High-quality terminal block.
• 6-Channel USB output.
• High current output.
• High conversion efficiency.
• Stable output.
• Dual interface free selection input.
• Support multiple devices to use at the same time.

3D Printed Case

Next, I measure the circuit and prepared its 3D Drawing first and then used the model as a reference to make a thick body that holds PCB Vertically and holds the battery at the center.

I used fusion360 for designing the body and exported 3mf files for the Body and Lid so I could 3D print them both.

As for 3D Printing, I used generic PLA with an 0.5mm Nozzle and 0.28mm layer height with 20% Infill.

Prep Work Before Main Assembly

Before starting the main assembly, I first added wires to SPDT Rocker Switch's both terminal along with DC Jack's Vcc and GND so I could solder them both during the assembly of the circuit.

The main circuit has an SMD 0603 Package status led that turns on whenever we supplied power to the battery side, I removed this SMD led and added a 5mm RED THT LED using two wires. Later I tested the LED by plugging a 12V Power source through DC Jack on the circuit.

After preparing the Switch, DC Jack, and circuit, we move on to the next step which is to assemble everything.

Main Assembly

• First, I added Circuit to its assigned place by sliding it into the grooves, then after this, I added DC Jack, LED, and switch in their place.
• I then connected the DC Jack, Switch, Battery, and circuit together by following the attached wiring diagram.
• After wiring, we place the battery in its place and add hot glue to the circuit, Switch, DC Jack, and battery so they dont move from their place.
• I also added Foam Sheet to step the battery down from both left and right sides so the battery doesn't shake or move from its place, battery pillar is there but there was some gap between the pillar and battery so I had to add a foam sheet to reduce this gap completely.
• After securing everything with glue, I added the lid with help of three M3 Screws, and the assembly is completed.

Result

Here's the result, a big and bulky 5V Power source that has a total of 300Wh of power (12V x 25A, however, we should also keep in mind that no lithium cell can output its total capacity, so there will be some tolerance in capacity and also I'm using a Buck converter that has an efficiency of 90% so there will be 10% Loss so that means 250Wh+ roughly)

Testing the Power Block Out with Real Life stuff

To test this power block, first used a USB Power meter to test the 5V Output which was working quite nicely, so after making sure that the output was stable at 5V, I added my Ipad with it to check if its charging or not and it was charging.

I then plugged my phone and it was charging as well.

I also added one of my Neopixel and Attiny Based projects that uses 5V to run and it was working as well.

At Last, I Powered an HDMI Display with Power Block and it worked as well and this kinda proves that this can be used to power XYZ stuff (5V Stuff), if there's a Blackout and we need to charge our phone, we can use power block to do that.

Or we can use this to power a cluster of Raspberry Pi or any Arduino Project for a long time depending on power usage.

Anyways that's it for today guys, DM me for help regarding this project and ill be back with a new one soon.

Do checkout PCBWAY for getting great PCB Sevice for less cost.

Peace Out.