“A bench Power supply is a very important piece of equipment that every electronics hobbyist can own. It helps to limit the voltage and current. That is mandatory when were testing circuits, charging batteries, and testing components, as well as gadgets but the problem, is these power supplies arent so cheap and a beginner doesnt want to invest such a lot of money in a piece of equipment.
Here, we will design a bench power supply that is very cost-effective and fully modular so everyone can DIY it with some basic knowledge about electronics.
There are quite a few components you will need. The most important one we need, a module that can control all the voltages and current limiting stuff. I used the LTC3780 step up – step down converter which is a really powerful buck and a boost converter that can handle up to 130W and with a proper heat distribution system, it can go beyond that.
Next, we need a power source that can provide anywhere between 5 to 30V. So, I have used my old PC power supply which you may know has 3.3V, 5V, 12V, and -12V rails. I have only used 12V rails and the -12V rails.
Also, we need 2 Voltage & Current Meters, 6 Binding Posts, 4 Multiturn Potentiometers. 2 DPST Switches, 1 SPST Switch, AC Socket, Fuse, 12V Fan & Fan Grill.”