DIY Eurorack-Case, the Busboards

The prototype of the power supply is almost done. Just a few parts missing. Once it is completed it will be tested and the output voltages will be adjusted. I am curious to see if it works as expected. Some notes about the PCB. Before I ordered the boards, I send an email to Doepfer asking if it would be allowed to sell the superfluous boards. Dieter Doepfer answered me, yes I can sell the boards if I make sure that the boards are not from Doepfer and any warranty is covered by myself. He also answered some questions about the boards, which was very helpful. I think I will send him one of my PSUs to ask for permission again. I don’t want to get in trouble because I am copying his intellectual property.

ClicksClocks Eurorack Power Supply, almost done.

Time to focus on the next steps: The Busboard. My case will need eight Busboards. The PCB layout is finished for quite a while. It is a double layer board. The top layer is used as ground and the bottom layer has the traces for +12 V, -12 V, +5 V, Gate and CV. The layers are a bit thicker than usually, just to be on the save side. As some Eurorack modules need +5 V I decided to add a 7805 circuit to the board to be able to power them. The boards will be ordered soon.
ClicksClocks Eurorack Layout Busboard Detail

The rails and other parts for the case were ordered today at Gie-Tec. The four rows of the case are double 19 inch which adds up to a total 672 HP. The case should have wooden side-wings and an aluminium housing, which should be powder coated. This is the rough plan. More in short.

DIY Eurorack-Case, the Power Supply Boards arrived

The Eurorack Power Supply Board

Today the PCBs arrived and I had to start soldering one immediately. You will notice that the layout is similar to the Doepfer PSU. I tried to develop a complete own board but I have to admit that the design is compelling. The circuit uses the LM 317 and 337 adjustable regulators, they deliver the +12V and -12V, a ringcore transformer, a bridge rectifier and a few other parts. I tried several layouts with this parts, but the Doepfer layout is the best. I think they perfected it over the years. I know that my board is a copy though but it was still a lot of research needed to get all the parts together and finally create the layout. As I will need at least four PSUs, I decided to let the boards be produced by a company. But this only makes sense if you order more than 10 or 20 pieces. So I might have some “in stock”…
First I have to finish my prototype to see if everything works as expected. Then I will order the parts for the “serial” production.
Assembling the Eurorack Power Supply

DIY: Creating a Eurorack-Case from scratch

This post was about the beginning of my DIY case journey. The next steps can be found in a more recent post as the journey continues.

Eurorack console case Sketchup drawing
Currently I am working on my own Eurorack case for my modular synth. The idea is to have a console like housing with four rows. I create everything from scratch. At the moment I am working on the PSU. The case will need four of them. The PCB layout is finished and I am waiting for the boards to arrive. The boards are based on the Doepfer PSU. I was lucky to get the original transformer, and all the other components. So I am quite confident to create a PSU which is as good as the Doepfer PSU. I will try to share all my experiences.
PCB Layout for ClicksClocks Eurorack PSU
Most of the parts were ordered at Distrelec. The transformer is from Top Print Electronic GmbH
Clicks & Clocks Eurorack PSU Parts

If you want to read the full story, here are all the posts: