I have also thought about pursuing such a project.
It's AC-DC brick. Generally concerning safety factors, an external brick is expected to have more safety features. For example, the Meanwell bricks are fully sealed and thus double insulated (physically and electrically isolated). So the expectation is that it's a highly safe device. I think the DIY community has an expectation of higher risk but it's something to think about.
The other is that you'll have to properly spec a high current 12V wire assembly. In such low quantities it's fairly expensive. The XT60/90 is very popular but dual contacts leaves no room for a safety factor. A couple users have experienced a melted connector housing, likely to a bad contact. The lack of positive lock doesn't help each other. The solution is to use an 8-12 pin connector assembly, like GX-16 12 pin or Mini Fit Jr. Low quantity assemblage is expensive, and you'll need to have good quality control.
Finally, external bricks are less and less popular nowadays. When I originally designed the Distro 400, many people were considering using a brick. With the release of the HDPLEX 400W AC-DC, external powered builds have dropped off a cliff. You do need to reach a critical quantity of buyers before it makes sense.
So it is a bit of uphill factor. If you're willing to finance it and have enough buyers, I can work with you with my PicoPSU design. The M2427 picopsu is actually compatible with the MW without additional costs for higher wattage units. Customized picopsu would be around $40 and fully compatible with up to 500W. You will need a secondary filter board for the 500W version due to the high ripple. Up to 400W you need wire assembly or a breakout board to supply all the mini fit jr connectors, but otherwise, it is much cheaper than a $100 HDPLEX 400W.
It's AC-DC brick. Generally concerning safety factors, an external brick is expected to have more safety features. For example, the Meanwell bricks are fully sealed and thus double insulated (physically and electrically isolated). So the expectation is that it's a highly safe device. I think the DIY community has an expectation of higher risk but it's something to think about.
The other is that you'll have to properly spec a high current 12V wire assembly. In such low quantities it's fairly expensive. The XT60/90 is very popular but dual contacts leaves no room for a safety factor. A couple users have experienced a melted connector housing, likely to a bad contact. The lack of positive lock doesn't help each other. The solution is to use an 8-12 pin connector assembly, like GX-16 12 pin or Mini Fit Jr. Low quantity assemblage is expensive, and you'll need to have good quality control.
Finally, external bricks are less and less popular nowadays. When I originally designed the Distro 400, many people were considering using a brick. With the release of the HDPLEX 400W AC-DC, external powered builds have dropped off a cliff. You do need to reach a critical quantity of buyers before it makes sense.
So it is a bit of uphill factor. If you're willing to finance it and have enough buyers, I can work with you with my PicoPSU design. The M2427 picopsu is actually compatible with the MW without additional costs for higher wattage units. Customized picopsu would be around $40 and fully compatible with up to 500W. You will need a secondary filter board for the 500W version due to the high ripple. Up to 400W you need wire assembly or a breakout board to supply all the mini fit jr connectors, but otherwise, it is much cheaper than a $100 HDPLEX 400W.
