Mendel nearly ready to go but I'm confused!

I see from the Wiki that a 12 volt 5 amp supply is recommended, which seem to be prolific and reasonably priced, but elsewhere I have read the figure of 100 Watts being required?

From my (limited!) knowledge of Physics, power in Watts would be 12 x 5 = 60 Watts...

I know that I could use a hugely overrated 400W ATX supply, but I prefer the suggested alternative of a laptop power brick.

Any advice or experience out there?

Thanks in advance!

60W is plenty for the motors and heater. Where did you read 100W?

If you add a heated bed then you need at least 100W more for a reasonable warm up time. I am currently using a 500W bed driven directly from the mains.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

That's very reassuring!

Incidentally, the Wiki mentions needing 12 volts & 5 Amps here:

[reprap.org]

and later on the same page refers to a 100W power supply being used - hence my confusion!

It is also mentioned that you need cabling for the 12 volt supply to the XLR connector that can handle 8 amps under 'Power Cabling' here:

[reprap.org]

Many thanks for your advice, Nophead - I shall source a 60W unit right now!

I bought a PicoPSU off of Ebay and am using it with an old laptop power supply that lost its laptop long ago.

Here's a link:

[cgi.ebay.com]

Makes for great portability, and no mods required.