We’ve seen lots of power supply projects that start with an ATX PC power supply. Why not? They are cheap and readily available. Generally, they perform well and have a good deal of possible output. [Maco2229’s] design, though, looks a lot different. First, it is in a handsome 3D-printed enclosure. But besides that, it uses a TFX power supply — the kind of supply made for very small PCs as you’d find in a point of sale terminal or a set-top box.
Like normal PC supplies, these are inexpensive and plentiful. Unlike a regular supply, though, they are long and skinny. A typical supply will be about 85x65x175mm, although the depth (175mm) will often be a little shorter. Compare this to a standard ATX supply at 150x86x140mm, although many are shorter in depth. Volume-wise, that’s nearly 967 cubic centimeters versus over 1,800. That allows the project to be more compact than a similar one based on ATX.
The project is nicely documented and has features including colorful meters and USB ports. An import buck converter module give you a lot of options on output voltage.
The original build had a top and bottom plate made from plywood, but the current design files have STL files for those parts, in case you prefer to print them. Be prepared for a long print though. [Maco2229] says that even though he prints between 100 and 120 millimeters per second, printing at 0.28 layer height took about 14 hours.
We’ve seen plenty of ATX builds. Some modify the power supply while others don’t.
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