It’s been bothering me that all my designs are tethered. I do use USB-C PD battery packs occasionally, but I’d like to be able to build things that are self contained and house their own rechargeable batteries. I decided I wanted to design a simple board for an 18650 Li-Ion, test it, and then drop the design into future projects.
I whipped something up quickly over the weekend and posted a picture of it on Twitter. It got a lot more attention than I expected it would 
However, I did get some valuable insights from others, such as the benefits of batteries that include protection ICs, the danger that metal battery clips can pose, etc.
https://twitter.com/RangenMichael/status/1564137354188959744?s=20&t=khUiUnlWyFLi6UNcuzl3yQ
I’ve since watched a great video from MicroType Engineering and adjusted my design.
Some changes since the original Tweet:
- Switched to a battery that has in-built protection and UN38.3 certification
- Switched to a battery holder that has less potential for shorting out the battery
- Added Buck/Boost converter
- Added additional protection circuitry
I still need to layout the board but if anyone would like to review my design I’d love some feedback, this is entirely new territory for me.
