Fused Powerpole Distribution Block

A 3D-printed, 7-position fused Anderson Powerpole block: one position brings power in, and the other six share it out to ham radio gear, each through its own blade fuse.

A small red LiFePO4 battery connected by Powerpole leads to a gray 3D-printed block of Powerpole connectors and blade fuses, with a Yaesu FT5D handheld plugged into one port showing Now Charging — The final test: a 5 Ah LiFePO4 battery feeding the block, charging a Yaesu FT5D from one of the ports

The front of the gray 3D-printed block: seven red and black Powerpole pairs, each beside a pair of spade terminals for a blade fuse, with the cover beside it — The front: seven Powerpole pairs, each with its own fuse holder

Most ham radio gear runs on 12 volts, and a lot of it uses Anderson Powerpole connectors. When one battery or power supply has to feed several radios and accessories at once, a distribution block keeps things tidy and safe. This one has seven positions, each a Powerpole pair with its own standard blade (ATO) fuse. I use one position to bring power in, and the other six feed radios, chargers and other gear. It's small enough to go anywhere, from the bench to a portable setup.

The case is "Fused Anderson Powerpole supply block" by NikDFish on Thingiverse. It's two pieces, the block and a cover, and the Powerpole connectors and fuse terminals snap into place in it.

7positions: 1 in, 6 out

ATOblade fuse on every port

45 APowerpole contacts

14 AWGsolid copper wiring

PETG3D-printed case

How it's wired

All the Powerpole negatives are joined together. On the positive side, one terminal of every fuse holder is joined into a common bus, and the other terminal goes to that position's Powerpole positive. Power coming in passes through its position's fuse to the bus, and goes out through each output's own fuse, so a short in one piece of gear only blows that port's fuse.

Fuses

What's in it right now, from the top. The input fuse protects the whole block; each output's fuse is sized for the gear on that port.

Position	Use	Fuse
1 (top)	Power in	30 A (green)
2	Output	25 A (clear)
3 and 4	Outputs	5 A (tan)
5	Output	3 A (violet)
6 and 7	Outputs	2 A (gray)

The build

Printing the case. I printed the block and cover in PETG on my Flashforge Adventurer 3, with no supports.
Fuse terminals. The fuses plug into ¼-inch female spade terminals (quick disconnects). I cut short lengths of 14-gauge solid copper wire, then crimped and soldered them onto the spade terminals.
Powerpoles. More lengths of the copper wire are crimped onto 45-amp Powerpole contacts, which then go into red and black housings.
Assembly. The Powerpole pairs and spade terminals snap into the block. The Powerpoles may need a light tap from the back to sit flush.
Wiring. Inside the block, the copper leads are soldered together into the negative and fuse buses, and the cover closes it up.

The gray block being printed inside an enclosed Flashforge 3D printer — Printing the block on the Flashforge Adventurer 3

The printed gray block with seven rows of openings, next to its flat cover, on a cutting mat — The printed block and cover

The block standing on end with a few spade terminals pressed into their slots — Test-fitting the spade terminals

Loose spade terminals and short lengths of copper wire laid out on a cutting mat — ¼-inch spade terminals and 14-gauge solid copper leads

Close-up of two spade terminals with copper wire crimped and soldered into them, held in a vise — Crimped and soldered

A Powerpole crimping tool, a bag of Powerpole contacts, red and black housings and copper leads on the bench — Powerpole housings, 45 A contacts and the crimper

Copper leads held in helping hands for soldering, with a bottle of flux and Powerpole housings on the bench — Soldering the contacts

Seven red and black Powerpole pairs, each with two copper leads sticking out of the back — All seven Powerpole pairs, ready to go in

Inside of the block from the back: Powerpole pairs and fuse terminals joined by soldered copper bus wires — Inside: the soldered copper buses

Another view of the wiring inside the block, with the cover alongside — Another view of the wiring, ready for the cover

Parts

3D-printed case (block and cover) in PETG: Fused Anderson Powerpole supply block by NikDFish
7 Anderson Powerpole pairs (red and black housings) with 45-amp contacts
14 ¼-inch female spade terminals (quick disconnects) for the fuse holders
14-gauge solid copper wire
Standard ATO blade fuses: 30 A for the input, and 25, 5, 5, 3, 2 and 2 A for the outputs

Links

The case on Thingiverse My DIY Power Station

Credits

The case design is by NikDFish, shared on Thingiverse under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike license. NikDFish also has a Fusion 360 version on Printables where you can set the number of circuits.