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Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

badar.tech

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Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#11

Post by johnwalkr »

tpmx wrote: post #4

24 inches (60 cm) is not deep enough, IMO. It's incredibly irritating that IKEA stopped selling reasonably priced 75+ cm deep bench tops (except for in a few markets, like Germany, maybe IKEA thinks they still use CRTs there?). Also: I see that your photos include a proper solder fume extractor, but the BOM doesn't. I think it makes sense to include one. I did some research a few months ago for a suitable model avail…

That series has a corner piece which is very deep. I got rid of it in all an international move, but I made a workbench with two of those desks one wall, a corner piece and then one more desk on the adjacent wall. It was nice to have enough space for keeping multiple projects out and felt deep enough in the corner for a PC and monitor. I like that it's very configurable too, you can put legs instead of storage units where you want more legroom.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#12

Post by zackmorris »

This is just a fantastic page, why aren't more on the internet like this, with specific parts lists and sources? Very similar to the stations we had when I was doing computer repair a decade ago (no, I will not fix your computer.™) and out of everything on there, be sure to get a good ESD mat, or else you'll never stop chasing random glitches.

I just want to add that the best way to get over starting friction is to have everything ready to go like this. IMHO it's much easier to take care of the low-hanging fruit of arranging and cleaning, than it is to have to do that and THEN work. I struggle with organization though, so I treat that as an active exercise and devote 15 minutes at a time to the chore, rewarding myself with a cup of coffee or whatever afterwards.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#14

Post by johnwalkr »

Hakko FX-888D is great and appropriate with the other stuff mentioned (although I prefer the older version with an analogue knob for temperature control), but it's $115 and for most new hobbyists a $25 pinecil or a $25 knockoff Hakko T12 is perfectly adequate and miles ahead of anything you'd find in a home depot for the same price.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#15

Post by johnwalkr »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #6

This is great. My own setup would benefit a lot from some of these ideas. Glad to see the omnifixo in there! It’s one of my favourite things I keep on hand. I’ve never found the need to keep heaps of components on hand, but I guess I’m not an electrical engineer or anything remotely like it. I just fix stuff and make junk when I’m inspired. What kind of situation would justify having so much stuff on hand? Maybe if y…

Yes, if you design and prototype PCBs you find pretty quickly that you don't need that many standard components. It's nice then to think about what you need again and again, and then organize it somehow. You can also just collect it over time, but then you end up with large digikey bags filled with smaller digikey bags of components, and it becomes easier to just order everything you need each time instead of sorting through it all.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#16

Post by proee »

Love this article.

Regarding bench design, if the budget allows, it's nice to make the desktop height adjustable via a motor drive. Depending on mood and project, I prefer to set a specific height for working.

For additional test hardware, I like to have an IR thermometer handy to measure critical thermal components. Also nice to have a sound level meter available to calibrate any audio projects.

For soldering, nice to have a diverse set of tweezers to hold SMD components and wires.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#20

Post by CamperBob2 »

tpmx wrote: post #4

24 inches (60 cm) is not deep enough, IMO. It's incredibly irritating that IKEA stopped selling reasonably priced 75+ cm deep bench tops (except for in a few markets, like Germany, maybe IKEA thinks they still use CRTs there?). Also: I see that your photos include a proper solder fume extractor, but the BOM doesn't. I think it makes sense to include one. I did some research a few months ago for a suitable model avail…

What works surprisingly well are ordinary folding tables from Staples/OfficeMax, bolted together with brackets for stability. You can create a workbench of any desired shape, size, and depth that way. Once you keep them from swaying side-to-side by fastening them together, the effective load capacity goes way up. Best of all you don't have to feel bad about drilling into them.

Trouble is, I don't think they sell anything but the plastic ones now. Working with anything more ESD-sensitive than 6L6s is a bad idea with those.

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