Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide • Hacker News Board

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#271

Post by timms » Mon, May 15, 2023, 12:31 AM UTC

farkanoid wrote: post #181

sokoloff wrote: post #5

I find "SMD Sample Books" to be a more effective storage/retrieval system for SMD passives than the lidded parts enclosures. I've got some of the latter, but stopped using them for passives (and repurposed them for small 3-6 pin commonly used parts). But I have to admit that that setup is far cleaner and more organized overall than my disaster of a workbench...

For prototype/repair/rework parts, we use cheap folders with business card or CD/DVD inserts at work - Cheap and effective! The labels reflect the location of the item in the folder (Folder x Page y) and also the shelf in Storage (Rack-Bay-Shelf-Place), if it's a part we use also in production. https://i.imgur.com/awt8HMw.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xVguVGn.jpg

What tool generates your inventory labels?

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#272

Post by bjkayani » Mon, May 15, 2023, 6:19 PM UTC

Hi all. I am the author of the article and wanted to address some of the points raised here.

First of all, thank you reading the article and giving feedback. I never thought it would ever reach this many people.

I wanted to address the choices I made and the discussion of the lab being inadequate for real EE work. I wont argue that my choices are a bit over the place with some tools being at the highest end (eg. Knipex Side Cutters) while others being at the very low end (eg. Electronic Load).

The math of cost for my lab doesn't work the same way as a professional lab. I don't make any significant money from it. Hence the way I make choices is purely based on my requirements and on how much I use a particular tool. I use the hand tools most frequently hence I splurge on the expensive stuff. For the equipment (Scope, DMM, PSU), I slowly work my way upwards in price on a as needed basis. The current options work fine for me for the projects I work on and hence I dont see a good reason to invest in the more expensive piece of kit right away. If I need it, I will realize that and then go and buy that.

Compare that to a professional lab where there is a big cost of time and failures. Hence it makes sense to have higher end, more reliable equipment from the get go. And most labs are more purpose driven and will have equipment for that specific purpose anyways.

Moving on, there was good advice on soldering irons. I would admit that my setup might not be the best option for the current times. I have ordered the Pinecil and other similar options and will update the guide with my findings accordingly.

I will also add info about some of the missing stuff like the fume extractor, tweezers (dont know how I missed those), logic analyzer etc.

I will share more details about my component inventory and organization system soon.

My setup is always evolving and improving based on my needs, knowledge and experience. This was just a snapshot in time of how it currently stands with hopes that it would help and inspire other makers and engineers out there. There wont be a singular solution that works for everyone and that is the way it is. I just wanted to share what currently works best for me.

Finally, I apologize for not disclosing the Amazon affiliate links. I added that to the post and will be more transparent about it in the future.

Thank you.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#273

Post by beedeebeedee » Tue, May 16, 2023, 3:59 AM UTC

deepspace wrote: post #248

jacquesm wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get there without a diploma and a degree using time, books (or youtube) and a modest quantity of tools (the setup in TFA would be overkill for establishing a basic knowledge about electronics).

The thing about a diploma or a degree course, is that you get GUIDED knowledge. A good institution will teach you the math and physics background first, and then proceed from basic circuit analysis to advanced circuit design in logical steps. All while separating analogue electronics, digital electronics, RF, and signal processing as appropriate. Self-taught people are almost always too eager to get their hands on a…

> Self-taught people are almost always too eager to get their hands on a soldering iron, and end up with a jumble of information, instead or intuitive understanding.

But if those self-taught people spend enough time, that jumble of information becomes deep empirical knowledge. At the end of the day, developing an understanding of electronics just comes down to how much time you are willing to invest in studying datasheets, working out schematics, fabricating circuits and keenly observing. Understanding the math and physics is deeply valuable and a great gift, but empirical knowledge is just as valuable- if not more. After all, Faraday (and all the others who did the work that eventually led to our mathematical and physical understanding of elecric circuits) did not need theory to do his experiments.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#274

Post by farkanoid » Thu, May 18, 2023, 2:44 AM UTC

timms wrote: post #271

farkanoid wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For prototype/repair/rework parts, we use cheap folders with business card or CD/DVD inserts at work - Cheap and effective! The labels reflect the location of the item in the folder (Folder x Page y) and also the shelf in Storage (Rack-Bay-Shelf-Place), if it's a part we use also in production. https://i.imgur.com/awt8HMw.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xVguVGn.jpg

What tool generates your inventory labels?

Hi,

Sorry about the delay, HN doesn't seem to notify me about comment replies.

I wrote a simple PHP script that generates the labels. It just pulls a bunch of data from our parts database and positions the text/graphical elements on a PDF page using fpdf. The Datamatrix/barcode is generated using Zint.

Once the PDF file is generated, the script passes it to /usr/bin/lp for instant printing to a Dymo LabelWriter, or sent with an attachment disposition for downloading and printing locally.

Hope this helps, please let me know if I may be of further assistance