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PD Portable Bench Power Supply

A DIY, PD powered portable lab-bench power supply with an OLED display

tobychuitobychui
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The PD Adjustable DC Power Supply is a compact, USB-C-powered device designed to provide adjustable voltage output like a traditional lab bench power supply, but using the USB Power Delivery (PD) 60W as power input. This project addresses the need for a small, affordable, and versatile power supply that hobbyists and makers can use for bench work or portable electronics projects. Traditional bench power supplies are often bulky and expensive, while off-the-shelf PD modules lack flexibility or transparency. This inspired me to design a custom solution that combines affordability, portability, and full control over output settings. So instead of needing to navigate multiple layers of menus, now you can have all the classic power supply features like knobs and simple UI while having some modern features like PD powered and UART data logging.

Background

Recently I have been moving to a new city (again) for a new job position. I have been moving home for a few time in my life and since I have no family members living locally, every time I move I have to do all the hard-work myself, including moving my whole electronic workshop to a new location. It is fine for small parts or tools but for heavy, bulky things like my first (full sized) hotplate and DC power supply, I rather just give it to my local friends and buy a new one when I arrive to the new site.

That is why after this move, I have been thinking, would it be faster if I could shrink all my heavy tools in my workshop into something small and lightweight where I can just move them with me with a cardboard box next time I move?

That is why I am constantly replacing my tools with more lightweight, pocket sized options.

Running a small batch production for my friends

When I first started this project, it was just a personal DIY challenge—I wanted to build a compact, adjustable PD power supply that could run off USB-C. The initial design was pretty complex, with high-precision current sensors and a tightly packed layout. It worked, but I quickly ran into problems when I thought about making more of them or sharing the design with others. The cost was high, and it just wasn’t easy to reproduce, especially for hobbyists with limited time & tools.

That’s when I decided to simplify things. I reworked the design to use more accessible components and made it easier to solder by hand. I also teamed up with PCB Way, who kindly sponsored the PCBA process. Their support really helped turn the project from a one-off prototype into something that could be manufactured and shared more widely.

Still, even with PCBA service, there are quite some assembly process that needed to be done manually. In order to make enough of the units so I can give it to my friends in the education and maker fields, I decided to start another collab with HCCLAB, which is a local maker fab community that could help assemble 50% of the boards I plan to build. That finally make a small scale production run possible. 

Now the whole design—hardware and firmware—is open source and up on GitHub. 

case 3d model.zip

x-zip-compressed - 7.34 MB - 06/01/2025 at 09:00

Download

firmware.zip

The firmware that required to flash into the CH552G using Arduino IDE and ch55xduino

x-zip-compressed - 3.72 kB - 06/01/2025 at 08:56

Download

Gerber_PCB_PCB_Lab-bench-Power-Supply_PCB_PCB_Lab-bench-Power-Supply-v5r1_2025-03-13.zip

Gerber file for the v5 PCB design

x-zip-compressed - 303.77 kB - 06/01/2025 at 08:56

Download

schematic.PNG

Overall circuit design

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) - 155.00 kB - 06/01/2025 at 08:56

Preview

  • 1 × CH224K PD triggering IC
  • 1 × XL4015E buck converter IC
  • 1 × CH552G MCU for handling OLED driving
  • 1 × PCBA Service
  • 1 × 3D Printer

View all 7 components

  • Collabs with PCBWay for Small Scale Production

    tobychui • 06/01/2025 at 10:32 • 0 comments

    Why PCBA?

    When I first built the PD power supply, it was purely a DIY build — soldering every component by hand on a bare PCB, figuring out layout issues, and debugging problems one by one. It worked, but building one just cost me a bit more than an hour, reproducing it even just 2 or 3 times felt like a huge task. That’s when I realized: if I wanted to make a few extra units to give away to friends, especially folks in the STEM education and maker communities, I needed a better solution.

    That’s where PCBWay came in.

    Their PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) service completely changed the game for me. Instead of manually ordering parts, placing them on PCBs, and spending hours soldering, I just uploaded my design files—Pick & Place file, BOM, and Gerber files—and they handled everything. That includes sourcing components (though, some might need to be consigned as they do not have all the parts or even if they have them, it might be out of your budget), assembly, and even testing. What’s amazing is that they really got a human in the loop to handle your order. Eventually I got 5 made and it really saved me a few weekend worth of workloads.

    For small-scale makers like me, this is a huge deal. It means I can actually turn a one-off project into a small batch of useful, shareable devices. Whether I’m giving them to fellow hobbyists or educators friends, the PCBA process lets me focus on improving the design and sharing knowledge, instead of worrying about solder joints.

    It’s like going from "Look what I made" to "Hey, here’s one for you too."

    Cost Optimization Hack

    One of the standout features I discovered during the PCBA process with PCBWay was their “source alternative parts from China” option. This turned out to be a game-changer for keeping costs low—especially for a project like mine that wasn’t meant for mass production but still needed to be affordable. Originally, I specified some relatively expensive components, like precision current sensors and brand-name ICs. But by allowing PCBWay to find compatible alternatives locally in China, the total build cost dropped significantly without compromising performance.

    Disclaimer: Who Should You Pick?

    While I personally chose PCBWay for this project—and they worked well for my needs—it’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to small-scale manufacturing. Different platforms offer different strengths: some might specialize in ultra-low-cost prototyping, others might offer better lead times, or a wider variety of parts. Pick the one best fit your project's need and you will eventually find one that best fit with your projects :)

View project log

  • 1
    Introduction

    Recently I have been moving to a new city (again) for a new job position. I have been moving home for a few time in my life and since I have no family members living locally, every time I move I have to do all the hard-work myself, including moving my whole electronic workshop to a new location. It is fine for small parts or tools but for heavy, bulky things like my first (full sized) hotplate and DC power supply, I rather just give it to my local friends and buy a new one when I arrive to the new site.

    That is why after this move, I have been thinking, would it be faster if I could shrink all my heavy tools in my workshop into something small and lightweight where I can just move them with me with a cardboard box next time I move?

    That is why I am constantly replacing my tools with more lightweight, pocket sized options.

    Why build your own?

    I did saw a few great type C powered PD power supply out there, but most of them use fancy buttons and a MCU to control the output voltage. I really like their concept of having a fancy display to show real-time power usage statistic, but when I think about it, when I want to adjust the voltage or current output, instead of a fancy multi-layer menu, what I prefer is a much more simple options of knobs and buttons (lets call it the "Classic" type of power supply).

    Currently on the internet, there are only two options

    1. High tech, fancy PD power supply that every time you want to change something, you need to navigate through layer of menus and apply the new settings
    2. Cheap but bulky AC powered power supply that provide you the classic experience of adjusting voltage and current, but well, it is heavy, large size and hard to move around.

    So I decided to combine the good of both worlds, using the classic user experience design while integrating newer power supply design to use PD powered and make it as light weight and small as possible.

  • 2
    Supplies

    As there are too many parts involved in this build, I would recommend you to use the included source file on my Github repo and open the part list / BOM list from the EasyEDA Editor. But here are a few important parts and supply required for building this power supply. Note this is not the full list of materials.

    Basic Tools & Supplies

    1. 3D Printer
    2. Soldering tools
    3. Reflowing tools (e.g. a hotplate)
    4. Screws and screw drivers (M2 x 10)
    5. A 60W or 65W power supply that can output 20V @ 3A or above
    6. A high quality type C to C cable
    7. Power supply cable (banana plug on one end, and clip on the other end)

    Major ICs and Parts for the PSU

    1. XL4015E (buck converter MOSFET & controller)
    2. ACS712-05B (current sensor)
    3. CH552G (E8051 MCU with Arduino compatibility)
    4. CH224k (20V PD trigger chip)
    5. Some mosfet, LDO, Opamps
    6. A bunch of tiny resistors and LEDs
    7. A PCB (1.6mm, color is optional)

    The full list and PCB files can be found on my Github repo over here

    https://github.com/tobychui/PD-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply

  • 3
    Design & Send PCB to Print

    First, you might want to send the PCB to print. The PCB files can be found over here

    https://github.com/tobychui/PD-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply/tree/main/PCB

    I am printing it with 1.6mm thickness and in white color just to make it easier to debug. But you can pick any color you want.

    Usually, when designing a PCB, people will start with a circuit diagram of some sort, but since this project is quite simple and I am busy unpacking my stuffs, so I just hand drawn the circuit diagram with MS paint (see the last attached screenshot) and start the PCB design. It turns out quite well though?

    Btw, this is what I got after the PCBA done by PCBWay, and I got it installed to the 3D printed base I made in next step.


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