This post is sponsored by PCBWay, who provided the PCBs used in this project at no cost to me. All opinions and design choices are my own.
PCBWay reached out to me about collaborating on a project, and it got me thinking about how MYOG doesn’t have to stop at 3D printing, sewing, or whatever else you can pull off on your kitchen table. Companies like PCBWay open up a whole other set of possibilities. They offer 3D printing in materials that are hard or flat out impossible to print at home, along with PCB fabrication and more. If you’ve got a project brewing that could use custom electronics or materials outside the usual home setup, it’s worth checking them out to see if they fit.
For this project, I decided to design a power distribution block for a ham radio setup, partly as its own useful thing, and partly to go with a bigger potential project I’ve got planned down the road. I won’t get into the details of that larger project yet, but this distribution block was a good excuse to learn some new skills and get something functional built in the process.
Teaching Myself KiCad
I’d never really done PCB design before this, so I had to teach myself the basics of KiCad along the way. I’ll be honest, I leveraged AI for some help here. I leaned on both ChatGPT and Claude to help me work through the process. AI has real potential as a tool for MYOG projects, but it’s not a substitute for actually understanding what you’re building. You still have to catch the gaps yourself, since training data can be out of date or just plain wrong on specifics, especially with something like component footprints or fab-specific requirements. Treat it as a very patient tutor, not an autopilot.
The electrical design itself is straightforward: one ground, with a fused positive side. One input feeds six outputs, each fused can be customized for different amperages depending on what’s expected to draw from that output. In retrospect, I probably should have fused the input as well. When I was designing this, I assumed the source would already have its own protection, like a battery with a BMS and short circuit protection, or a power supply with fused leads. That’s a reasonable assumption in a lot of cases, but it’s not a guarantee, and it’s a cheap bit of insurance I’d add next time.
One thing to keep in mind if you’re doing something similar: make sure your input fuse is rated large enough to handle your highest combined amp draw across all outputs. It’s an easy thing to overlook if you’re only thinking about each output individually.
Finding Footprints
This ended up being one of the more annoying parts of the whole process. Anderson PowerPoles are extremely common in ham radio and 12V setups, but they’re not included in KiCad’s default libraries. I couldn’t find a clean, ready to import library that had them, so I ended up pulling the footprint out of a specific commit in the KiCad footprints repository and doing some manual file manipulation to get it into my project. The footprint can be found here.
If you’re working with PowerPoles in KiCad, that link will save you some searching.
Distribution Block PCB Layout
The whole board had to be contained within 1U of space, the standard sizing unit used for rack mounted equipment. In this case that meant 1.75 inches (44.45mm) tall by 10 inches (254mm) wide, since I built to the 10 inch rack standard rather than the more common 19 inch rack. 10 inch racks have been gaining popularity with hobbyists lately, and that sizing was a hard constraint.
I’m not an electrical or computer engineer, so I can’t speak to whether there were deeper layout tradeoffs I should have considered, but I did run the DRC and ERC checks in KiCad before finalizing anything, and everything came back clean.
Ordering from PCBWay
Once the design was done, ordering was simple. I uploaded my gerbers and went through the settings. One thing that stood out to me was just how many color options are available for the boards. It’s a small detail, but it’s a nice way to customize a project to fit your needs or match a larger build. I ended up going with black boards and white text, since that’s what looked best to me in the renderings.
After that, it was just a matter of watching the status bar update and waiting for the boards to show up. From uploading the gerber files to having the finished PCBs in hand took about two weeks. Not having any prior experience with ordering custom PCBs, this seemed really quick.
Ordering Components
For components, I used Digikey. There are plenty of other suppliers out there, but Digikey is the one that came to mind first.
I ordered individual PowerPole parts rather than pre-assembled ones. I did manage to goof up my count somewhere along the way, so now I’ve got extras sitting around. Not the worst problem to have. More projects, I guess.
I also picked up my fuses through Digikey rather than sourcing them locally or online through Amazon. It was easier to get exactly what I needed, and there’s a reasonable argument that parts from a supplier like Digikey are more trustworthy than random listings from third party Amazon sellers. On top of that, auto parts store prices for fuses are honestly kind of nuts for the quantity you actually get.
Assembly
Assembly took more heat than I expected to get the solder to actually take, so if you’re doing something similar, don’t be shy with your iron.
I used my Omnifixo helping hands to hold everything in place. My process was to put all the fuse blocks in first, since they’re all the same height, which made things easier to keep level. Then I set the Omnifixo baseplate on top before flipping the whole thing over, using one of the hands to hold the board down during soldering. Then I used the helping hands to position the PowerPoles. I did this because I didnt want the PowerPoles to sit flush on the PCB.
The PowerPoles were trickier since they’re not quite as consistent in height, and ended up a bit more crooked than I’d have liked. To assemble them, I slid the housings together first, then inserted the solderable inserts afterward.
Testing
Testing was simple: I populated the fuses, plugged in a battery, and checked each output with a multimeter. Everything worked on the first try, which was a nice way to close out the project.
Lessons Learned
A few things I’d do differently next time:
- Fuse the input too. Even if the source is supposed to have its own protection, it’s cheap insurance and shouldn’t be skipped.
- I got lucky on footprints, mostly. Most common components are already available in KiCad’s libraries, so the PowerPole situation was more the exception than the rule. Still, worth checking early rather than assuming everything you need is already there.
- Mounting hole placement needs more thought. I’d spend more time next time making sure the holes land in consistent locations across designs, so fitting the board into a printed case isn’t as much of a guessing game.
I’m looking forward to using what I learned here as well as on the bigger project this will likely support. More on that when the time comes.
Thanks again to PCBWay for helping make this project happen. If you’ve got a project that could use custom PCBs or 3D printing in materials you can’t easily work with at home, check them out: https://www.pcbway.com
