Charging a Hundred Devices at the Same Time Made Easy with This Custom USB-C Hub

Makers are constantly coming up with fresh and imaginative solutions to address everyday challenges on a large scale. One inventor realized that the normal number of ports found on a charger simply wasn’t going to cut it anymore, with phones, tablets, and other devices all wanting to be charged without anyone having to wait their turn. He set out to build a single unit capable of powering a whole room’s worth of gadgets, and the end result is a unique USB-C station with 100 ports all operating together under one solid frame.

DENKI OTAKU had a clear vision of what he wanted to see happen from the start. Each port needed to provide consistent power without the inconvenience of lengthy interactions between the charger and the device. He chose a straightforward 5-volt output with up to 10 watts per connection, which kept things simple while yet giving enough grunt for most modern phones to charge at a fair speed. Scaling that up to 100 ports required the entire system to be able to handle a lot of current, but he did it with parts you can get online.

He began by designing ten identical circuit boards, each with ten USB-C connectors. Rather than purchasing pre-made modules off the shelf, he chose to put out the traces himself to ensure that the power lines could safely sustain the load. Putting each board together by hand was a meticulous procedure that involved using a stencil to spread solder paste across the tiny pads and then painstakingly installing resistors and controller chips little larger than rice grains using tweezers.

Next came the structure that would keep everything together. He used aluminum extrusion to construct an open frame with rails, corner brackets, and strong handles on the sides. The ten boards were neatly packed inside, like shelves on a tiny rack. Thick wires connected two heavy-duty switching power supply to the back of the stack, each capable of delivering far more current than the system would ever use at once. He doubled up the connections at the terminal blocks for further safety, ensuring that no single location became a weak link under full load. The open design allows air to freely circulate around the boards, removing heat without the use of fans or closed boxes.

When he finished assembling the station, it looked more like a sleek piece of industrial furniture than a tangled mess of cords. Next, he verified the voltage levels on the boards and adjusted the supply to ensure that each port was at a solid 5 volts. Then came the test, as he plugged in a few phones and tablets using conventional USB-C connectors. Each device simply went straight to work and began charging, with no trouble. He did observe that the top row of ports is a little too high due to the frame, but this is easily fixed with a simple trim job on the legs.

Power delivery is rock solid since each group of ten ports has its own regulator on the board. The circuit traces on such boards are far broader than they need to be, and the extra copper parts are simply there to help dissipate the heat that accumulates in the busiest locations. Even when multiple devices begin pulling power at the same time, the system showed no evidence of strain in the early tests.
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