Powerpole Distribution

From SUWS-wiki
Powerpole Distribution Box Project
Powerpole Distribution Box Project
Status Completed
Project Lead User:TylerWard

Powerpole Distribution Box Project

A DC power distribution board using Anderson powerpole connectors


Status

Completed, designs are available at Github

Design files and production output links

Feature List

  • 6 powerpole connectors
  • Individually fused connections with indicators
  • 30A capacity (limited by current rating of the fuse holders)

Costings

Costings below are for individual orders the main club order will be cheaper

Type Item Cost Link
connector 12*45A pcb contacts £9.90 for 15 [1]
connector 6* red 45A housings £2.65 for 10 [2]
connector 6* black 45A housings £2.65 for 10 [3]
Fuseholder Keystone 3522 £6.56 for 100 [4]
Resistor 330ohm though hole 0.25w £0.23 for 10 [5]
LED 3mm red/yellow £0.24 for each [6]
PCB 5*10cm 2oz blue $40.95 for ~10 or (£3 each) [7]

Build Instructions

Components

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 1.jpg
  • 1 x Powerpole Distribution PCB
  • 4 x Acrylic layers with various cut-outs (3 x 6mm layers, 1 x 3mm layer)
  • 4 x 25mm M4 steel bolts
  • 4 x M4 steel nuts
  • 6 x 45A Powerpole contact pairs
  • 6 x Black plastic powerpole housings
  • 6 x Red plastic powerpole housings
  • 6 x Fuse holder contact pairs
  • 6 x ATO fuses
  • 6 x 0.1uF capacitors
  • 6 x 330ohm resistors
  • 6 x 3mm red/yellow LEDs

Tools Required

  • Soldering iron - high power (45W+) with a large tip as there are a large thermal masses to solder.
  • Sidecutters
  • (Recommended) Helping hands or other PCB support tool.


Assembly

1. Solder resistors, capacitors and LEDs onto the PCB.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 2.jpg


2. Push fuse holder contacts through the holes in the PCB.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 3.jpg


3. Solder fuse holder contacts. These will suck up the heat, so may take a while to get up to temperature.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 4.jpg


4. Assemble the to top two acrylic layers and attach the partly-populated PCB using the nuts and bolts provided. (The exploded view in the mechanical drawing shows how the layers stack up)

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 5.jpg


5. Assemble the powerpole contacts by joining them together and inserting the contacts into their housings.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 6.jpg


6. Place the powerpole contacts onto the PCB. To ensure correct placement, the top acrylic layers should be fitted first, otherwise the spring of the powerpoles will cause these layers to be offset.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 7.jpg


7. Solder the powerpole contacts onto the PCB. The most straightforward way found to do this is to push the PCB and powerpole contacts down onto a hard heatproof surface, so that they sit in the correct place whilst they are soldered. They should be soldered as quickly as possible to avoid the powerpole housings melting due to too much residual heat.

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 8.jpg


8. Check for any solder bridges across both the fuses and powerpoles.


9. Remove the nuts used whilst assembling the top two acrylic layers and PCB in step 4. Then assemble the remaining two acrylic layers and attach to the previously assemble layers, before reattaching the nuts. (The exploded view in the mechanical drawing shows how the layers stack up)

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 9.jpg


10. Insert the fuses and then you're ready to use your Distro!

Powerpole Assembly Instructions 10.jpg

Notes