MRMCD 2024

Designing a power bank inside a can of Volt Cola
05.10, 21:10–22:00 (Europe/Berlin), C120 - Rainbow Warrior
Language: English

No idea how you would build a power bank that speaks USB-C? This talk is for you!

  • Beginner friendly, but with all the technical details!
  • Started from zero in electronics and hardware design
  • I want to motivate you to do a project without prior knowledge for fun and learning!
  • Ended up with a functional 250Wh USB-C PD power bank with a custom circuit board inside a can of Volt Power Cola.

No idea how you would build a power bank that speaks USB-C? This talk is for you!

I started the project with no hardware design experience and close to zero knowledge about electronics.
My main goal was learning something new while having fun, so I picked a project that would be challenging but achievable at the same time.

I want to motivate you to do the same, and I'll share what I've learned along the way.

I had to learn about basic electricity and electronics, batteries, designing circuit boards, different soldering techniques, spot welding, reading chinese datasheets, 3D printing, CNC milling, the USB PowerDelivery protocol, the I²C protocol, shrinkwrapping a design foil onto a soda can, safety measures, and so much more. The electronics are based on an IP5328P chip.

You'll learn about the many challenges and how I solved them. And of course how to build a power bank.

Hacker