Introduction: Iron Man PSU From HD (and Other) Parts

In tearing apart one supersized 10 mb hard drive (from a dead IBM 8088 computer), I came across an array of interesting parts. This is one of a few things I will be making with those parts.

I FINALLY finished this project....pics interspersed below:

Step 1

My first step was to find some Torx drivers that would take out the odd shaped Torx head crews. I discovered early on, that I would need 3 sizes:
a #6
a #8
and a #10

Taking apart the Hard Drive (HD) was fairly easy. Taking apart the defunct stepper motor required a bit more work.

Caution here: prying, hammering, and sometimes using a punch, is required to disassemble the stepper motor. Please wear eye, and hand protection.

Some of the other tools needed might be:
a small Phillips head screw driver
a small and larger flat head screw driver
pliers
needle nosed pliers
a punch
a soldering iron (and solder etc)
a drill
and in case things don't fit as well as you'd like; a glue gun (with glue, etc)

Caution: soldering irons and glue guns get very hot.

As you take apart the HD, save your screws etc. Some will come in handy later.

Step 2 Getting the Parts

I took a part the hard drive, put the platters aside, and the rest of the parts, and concentrated on disassembling the motor. It was a tough nut to crack, and in fact, I never did get the 8088's motor open. I had to find another HD (a 50 meg) from another dead system. This motor came apart fairly easily.

Step 3: Designing the Way It'd Be Put Together

Then I decided which parts to use, one of the circuit board rings came in handy for wiring in some LED's.

I used a multimeter to determine which solder pad went to which wire.

Then I built the LED array, soldering the LED's in parallel BUT with each LED having it's own resistor.

After forming the basic circuit, I pushed the LED's into place and hot glued them in.

Then I drilled some small holes and attached a back plate to keep it all together.

Step 4 Completion

I tested the LED circuit each time I added an LED, and after it was all finished. It is also best to test it again, after fitting it into the hardware you wish to insert it into.

I also decided to Key, the switch, so I got the old monitor switch off the green screen monitor and wired that into the power supply (in this case, a 9 volt battery).

The fan grill also came in handy as it was perfect for the switch in terms of fit.

I then took the 50 MB case, and attached the switch assembly to it.

This gave me the freedom to locate the switch as close to or as far away as I wanted it.

I show below, the switch and the LED's being tested for their final times, and then how the finished product looks, when it is ready to be attached to the actual "suit".

All told, this took me more then 3 weeks to do, since I waited for tools to arrive and also had some difficulty with the one motor disassembly.

Still it was a fun project.