Hi guys, I am trying to modify a case for a friend but I am stuck into a problem. I have to build an "hot swappable PSU unit", something you can attach/detach in a single click, but to get the best result I need to converge all the power-output cables into one single male connector. The female connector brings power to the rest of the components (Mobo, VGA, SATA etc..). I made a sample image: I know that there are some hot-swap PSUs (stuff like this: http://thumbs4.picclick.com/d/l400/...PowerEdge-R710-T610-570W-Power-Supply-PSU.jpg) but they don't fit my needs because they are not a standard for a gaming PC. I can't find anything on internet that already exists, can you help me find a solution? Thank you very much.
You have found what already exists, the only hot-swap PSU's (correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never run across one) are for enterprise systems, not our puny domestic market. This gives you (obvious) two options: First, mod the case to accept whichever hot-swap PSU type you decide upon, and enjoy. Second mod a standard domestic PSU to be hot-swappable - there are a few ways of doing this depending on what you want to achieve, and whether it's a single rail or multi-rail PSU. Whatever you do it'll involve some level of hacking a PSU about, confident enough for this? The simplest method is a 1:1 approach, each wire currently exiting the PSU gets its own pin - in the image above that looks like 48, though it could be more it just isn't clear something like this should do the trick. Take all the molex connectors off, wire up your multi-pin plug, affix it rigidly to your PSU, make a custom enclosure, lather on loads of epoxy putty, whatever. Using a matching socket, break out to the corresponding molex connectors - you can even use the ones you removed earlier and affix the socket in the position where it mates exactly (we're talking +/- 0.1mm here) with the plug. Next most complex is merging many wires to few or single pins, be sure that everything you use is rated for the additive current through the pin(s), otherwise you'll short/melt/burn something out/down. Replacing many thin existing wires with fewer/single thicker wire's is even more complex. Custom enclosure for the PSU with only one socket connecting to plug inside the case. You've just re-invented the enterprise but without the designed in safety features. Dells hot swap procedure here Long post short? Get a couple of enterprise PSUs and a cheep enclosure, scavenge the mounting and break-out from the enclosure and re-use in chosen case.
The bigger question is why you would want to do this. If your PC is mission critical enough to require PSU redundancy then you're building a server-grade box anyway, so would be better served by a rig with dual PSUs built in. Imo of course.
If you mean something like this: http://sergeantmerrell.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-11-05_1037.png, this is not the case. My friend doesn't need more power, he needs to hotswap one PSU with another, for a reason I don't really understand clearly. He just asked me if it's possible. In the beginning I thought: "Maybe there is a single connector for all the PSU cables, just plug it in and we are done", but after a search on internet I found out that this connector doesn't exist at all. I have to build it by myself, but I don't have enough confidence with electric parts, so I'll go around to ask some friend of mine on how to modify a PSU. I got good ideas from your answers, thank you.
Just to clarify, what do you mean when you say 'hot swappable'? Hot swappable implies that you want to be able to change power supplies while the system is still running (i.e. redundant power supplies). Is this correct? If so then you need enterprise equipment as suggested above. If you just want to be able to remove/change the PSU without disconnecting all the individual devices then perhaps a standard modular PSU would do the job?
Ok, I got an explanation from my friend. He doesn't need to change the PSU while the system is running. He simply wants a connector that can hold all the cables in one single output. Tha modular PSU is something similar to what he needs, but it misses the "hot swap" connector, because in fact you have to unplug all the cables from the PSU one by one. He wants a connector that, everytime you unplug it, all the cables are unplugged at the same time, like the image before more or less.
Is it really worth all of the effort, for the sake of unplugging 1 plug only from the PSU instead of 5? You can still easily swap it over, without the need to re route cables and unplug them from every component in the case... ?
Well, a lot of things in the world are not worth the effort to be invented. Would you invent something like this? http://i.ebayimg.com/t/NEW-TOILET-BATHROOM-MINI-GOLF-SET-FUNNY-POTTY-PUTTER-TRAINER-FUN-NOVELTY-GIFT-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/z/p84AAOxyHIlTboCW/$_35.JPG Personally, I don't believe this thing exists, but it does. Anaway, I need this ALL-in-ONE connector, and the best suggestion until now has been the post of user "asura". If someone knows anything about a similar connector or how to build it in a simple way (I don't have electronic's knowledge), I will be grateful if you can help me. Thank you very much.
You're essentially asking to build a PSU though. Your PSU that you change if the first breaks will also need building/making whatever it is classed as... All of which are going to take more time, effort, thinking, manpower, money and anything else which you are trying to save on. I am really struggling to understand why it would even be wanted. The bathroom putter makes sense, you build it to sell to keep people entertained at the toilet. It then becomes a production item. You're talking about some one off things for one person who wants to save 5 seconds by making something that will take weeks of designing and making?
Buy two identical modular PSUs. Install one, and then use coloured stickers to label the sockets on the PSU and the corresponding cable ends. Label the replacement PSU with the same colours. If the original PSU fails, all your friend needs to do is unplug half a dozen or so cables, swap the PSUs over and plug the colour-coded wires back in to the new PSU. Done.
But he won't unplug half a doezen cables because that takes 4 seconds and not one. Instead, he wants to spend hours researching, building, designing etc something which.. well quite frankly will probably never be needed unless he buys a cheap power supply... Unless I am seriously missing something in this?
Is the OP wanting to mod a PSU so it's plug and play or mod a case so it's easily interchangeable? If it's p&p then you'd have to mod the next PSU aswell, seems like a lot of work, work I'd want paying for. If it's interchangeable you'd still have to unplug all the cables from the modded part and plug in the new PSU's connectors, which is essentially the same as plugging them into the drives and mobo etc. Personally I like the idea of a dockable PSU but how often is it going to be used?
could you not buy a pair of modular PSU's ? then cast all the connectors into that set pattern using Epoxy ? that way you will end up with one MASSIVE connector made up of the many smaller connectors ( with all the pins perfectly aligned ) that will only fit that model of PSU ? you would likely have to remove the locking lugs as there would be no way to unclip them once the epoxy hardens seems like a fair bit of work though to avoid unplugging 3/4 connectors
It's guaranteed that once you try and faf on unplugging it and plugging it back in, lining it up and pushing into place you'll break away the Epoxy. if you REALLY wanted to do it (Baring in mind you have said you have no electrical knowledge, which leaves me more confused as why you're trying to do this) you could get a plate of metal and build into it the female connectors from the modular PSU the same as what is on the PSU. Then get a set of the female connectors and join them at the other side of that plate so they are in a fixed position, then box around it so that one big plug will fix into the PSU. This has got me thinking though... I plug in the power cable into my monitor once when I first set up my desk, but also the HDMI cable. I never unplug it, maybe once a year in a big spring clean or a room move so I will look to make the same thing for the back of my monitor so I don't need to unplug two wires, I can just do one plug. My PC also has an Ethernet cable, 4 USB cables, a power cable, a HDMI cable and some other things, so I will make the same for that. Just in case, I do need to take them out at one point. Seriously, ask your friend.. How often does he plan to unplug his PSU? If this is more than only when it blows up, then why is it more often than that? How much effort and time does he expect to save from unplugging only 1 cable and not 5? The cables are all on the back of the PSU, so it is still pretty quick swappable.
I suppose you could have male>female extension cables coming off all the power inputs on the system. Then mount the female ends into a single easily accessible custom I/O plate. That way you could quickly change PSUs without opening up the case or directly unplugging hardware. Not one big plug, but should work with any PSU.
Ok... Assuming you're going for a Corsair VS650 just 'cause I've got a similar sort of thing whirring away in the background, it has; 1of24pin ATX, 1of8pin ESP, 2of4pin floppy, 4of4pin molex, 2of6pin PCI and 4of4pin SATA. That's 84 pins! However, the floppy, molex, and SATA look to be two connectors per set of wires, so that drops us down to 64 wires. For a 1:1 re-wire we'll need something like this connector type - here's their data sheet and the precise code is "19-35 66 #22D M" that's assuming 22ga wire at 5A - if the current draw on any single wire will be higher than that, then you' need a higher rated (and therefore more expensive) connector. Find a matching socket. Take all the wires out of all the ATX/Molex/etcetera plugs on the PSU and wire them up to the über plug. buy some more wire - and wire up the über socket to the ATX/Molex/etcetera plugs you removed earlier. Mount über socket on an internal bulkhead at the appropriate point - this may be before or after wiring. If we eliminate duplication (wire all the 12V+ lines together etcetera) then we need fewer pins, but a much higher power rating. 3.3V, 5V, 12V+, 12V-, 5Vsb, Ground, PWR_OK, PS_ON, and theoretically/optionally 5V-. So we're down to just eight pins, sound's great! However one of them has to take 50A(!!!) that's excessive... this plug can do 20A per pin (if I'm reading its data sheet properly... it *might* be 20A for the whole plug). In which case you'd need a "DDC-10-A-A-Q-L-6-... DAMN! The highest number of 20A pins is 7! And their hybrid sockets (3of20A, 9of5A) is one 5A pin too few! Ohhhh that's frustrating!!!Here's a link to 8,861 eight pin connecters find one with a current rating of more than 50A per pin or more likely set the pin count higher and find a suitable balance of current/pins and you're golden at a guess 20-25 pins might be your sweet-spot.. I've already spent about three hours looking at plugs/sockets... enough's enough.
I asked more about the project, let me explain. He wants to recicle two old cases and build two different PCs, but he wants also to swap between two different PC configurations without having to buy 2 PSUs and 6 HDDs instead of 3. So he basically wants to cut the cases in half and: 1) Half of the case is built with 3 HDDs inside, 1 DVD, and 1 PSU, which has a male connector to the ouside. We call it "Dock-station Case" 2) The other half is built with MOBOa and VGAa, we call it "Configuration A", with a female connector to receive power. 3) Another half-case is built with MOBOb and VGAb, we call it "Configuration B", with a female connector to receive power. He want to plug-unplug, on the same "Dock-station Case", the Configuration A or the Configuration B computer as needed, exactly as you do when you use a dockstation for the hard disks, but in this case the hard disk is the case itself. With this mod, you don't need to open the case and take off all the cables along with the PSU and all the HDDs to transfer them into another PC, if you need to change just your MOBO and VGA. Please, don't comment if this is useful or not, that is not of interest to me. Cutting and modding the case to build the so called "configurations" is easy, I just can't figure out this quick "hotswap" connector. Thanks again for your suggestions. Well, now that i've read your post with some technical informations I can understand how difficult it is to build this damned connector. I really didn't know it should have been such a problematic task. Thank you very much for your time.
It's not actually that big a problem, the biggest hurdle is finding the right connector, after that it's just tedious wiring&unwiring. There's a better way... let me mull it over for an hour or two. p.s. Shirty, I presume your edit was trimming my wall of text quote, the approved notation is [...] just sayin'
