Storage System for parts

[JanJansen]

Hi, i need to store some parts, i was looking to this system :
http://www.somultishop.com/Opbergsysteem?utm_source=marktplaats&utm_medium=cpc-marktplaats&utm_campaign=marktplaats

What system do you use ?
How do you call such a system in english, then i can look on ebay also ?
You have any advice for me ?

thanks.

[PTR_1275]

I would call them storage bins. They usually clip onto a louvered panel that is mounted onto a wall.

Search for louvered storage bin and it should bring up some results.

[stmdude]

They may work, but if you work with SMD components, you won't be able to fit many pieces of "cut-tape" in there. They take up more room than one would expect.

Personally, I bought a few of these: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/small-storage-organisers/storage-boxes-baskets/samla-box-transparent-art-70102972/

I planned on it being temporary, but I've just stuck with it. Each bin holds a good selection of bags with cut-tape in them. I use one bin for resistors, one for caps, one for discreet logic, one for active, etc.

I store them upright in the bin, and I can quickly flip through the bags to find the one I'm looking for.

When I'm done soldering, they store away quite quickly and neatly. I'm quite pleased with my <$10 investment.

[jmelson]

Hi, i need to store some parts, i was looking to this system :
http://www.somultishop.com/Opbergsysteem?utm_source=marktplaats&utm_medium=cpc-marktplaats&utm_campaign=marktplaats

Those are quite big.  For small parts (resistors, capacitors, ICs, etc.) there are parts bins.  In the US, one maker is Akro-Mills.  I got about 6 of these with little clear drawers in a grey plastic frame, and label them with a Brother tape label machine.  For static-sensitive parts, you might line the drawers with cut-up static dissipative bags.

Jon

[bd139]

I just use ziplock bags. I keep those inside bigger ones and those inside boxes. Least amount of "dead space".

[FlyingHacker]

After trying a number of physical bins with little drawers, etc. I found that they typically were too small to hold many common parts (e.g.1k resistors), and then too big for rare parts (15 Meg resistors). They were also a big pain when you wanted to insert a new value. You would have to move all the other drawers after the current value down one slot.

I ended up going with small coin envelopes in a "shoebox" (there are nice boxes available at office stores). This approach allows me to sort the parts and also add multiple envelopes for the same value it needed. I label each envelope so it is kind of like an old card catalog at a library (anybody even know what that is  ??) This makes it very easy to insert another envelope in order when I acquires parts with a new value. The fact that the envelopes are made of paper means I can easily label them with a Sharpie or other pen. No need to hassle with label-makers, etc.

There are so many values these days that trying to pre-label a set of drawers for every conceivable value is futile. A sparse array in a shoebox is much easier to deal with than pre-allocating a gigantic array of drawers for every possible value. 

[jpanhalt]

+1 (ziplocks)
Just use shoe boxes and ziplock bags.   It is not what I do, but it is simple.

Once you really get into the hobby/neurosis/preoccupation, I use anti-static sleeves bought in a huge roll and heat sealed in 2" to 3" lengths and then organized into Plato-like tackle boxes. 

Do your first few projects first.  Then worry about organizing parts.

[bd139]

And then when you get older and decide to buy some raaco drawers and then have kids and they knock the whole E24 resistor cabinet on the floor, you go back to ziplocks 

[FlyingHacker]

I use a label printer to print out values and then stick the sticker on cut tapes*. I then put labelled cut tapes in a normal drawer.

*: Seemingly easy, but BLOODY time consuming.

Yeah, that's why I went with writing the values on the little coin envelopes. It takes only a second to write "100K" on an envelope.

[FlyingHacker]

The envelopes I use are about 4x3 inches. They are coin collection numismatic envelopes.

[Vtile]

+1 for shoebox and ziplock bags. I use a big outer bag of ie. marked Diodes and it contains then multiple smaller bags. I have also one "Shoebox" for resistors where I have E12 numbered big bags holding every decade in different small bag. There is also one big bag for E48 values which do not fit for E12 values. One shoebox for transistors and ICs and one shoebox for connectors and other misc parts like veroboards and relays etc. ..But I try to avoid smd parts.

[bd139]

Also if you are married, at least in my case, the shoe boxes are numerous and free (the shoes that they come wrapped around aren't however)...

[Kjelt]

Shoebox?
The transparent plastick boxes made in China sold at the Action, with clamps are these days so cheap, I mean €1-€4  from the smallest to the largest.
 Advantage you see what is in them, stackable up to the  ceiling and bugproof (silverfish) and looks good (WAF)

[tooki]

And then when you get older and decide to buy some raaco drawers and then have kids and they knock the whole E24 resistor cabinet on the floor, you go back to ziplocks 

You know, this got me thinking.

I bought some all-plastic component drawers a few months ago, but have yet to move anything into them, and the drawers-falling-out thing is one aspect of that.

So I got to thinking: what would it take to prevent that?

My mind immediately went to one thing: magnets!

Some experimenting with the very few magnet sizes I have does show promise. An 8x4mm disc magnet on the outside, with another identical one in the drawer, holds nicely but releases with reasonable force. So one option would be to glue (well, I'd use thin double-stick tape) a magnet onto the outside of the unit, and one inside the drawer. (That is, there is the thickness of the two layers of plastic and an air gap between the magnets.) Because the magnetic attraction would compress the adhesive (i.e. it's just so the magnet doesn't fall off), mounting is easy. But the downside is having a magnet in the drawer, which could end up with components stuck to it.

So I thought, OK, what about a non-magnetic steel insert in the drawer, and a stronger magnet on the storage unit? Brief experiments show it would work, but with the distance involved, would need very strong magnets. Nonetheless, this does remain an option.

The other thing I considered was using a steel insert on the drawer, and a weaker magnet on the unit, but installed such that they are actually in direct contact. But that means gluing probably won't work, so it'd probably mean getting magnets with countersunk holes and bolting them onto the unit, and probably just some very flat-headed screws bolted to the drawers. That's a LOT of work. But it also opens up an intriguing possibility: electrical continuity for ESD safety. I could put a conductive lining in each drawer that's tied to the screw, which in turn makes contact with the magnet in the back, which in turn is connected to a bus bar that's tied to the ESD ground of the bench.

I also noticed in experimenting that it'd probably be best to use two magnets per drawer, so that the drawers align symmetrically in the unit. But that is gilding the lilly, admittedly!

What do you guys think?

[Kjelt]

I would probably use a thin iron plate and screw the drawerhousing to it. One magnet per drawer will be sufficient.

[tooki]

I would probably use a thin iron plate and screw the drawerhousing to it. One magnet per drawer will be sufficient.

Well, that would require strong magnets in the drawers, which would cause some components to stick to them, which is why I was leaning towards having the magnets in the drawer housing only.

[Kjelt]

I have to see a picture of the housing, mine has empty space behind each drawer making that solution harder.

[rdl]

Plastic storage boxes with clamp on lids. Leave the parts in whatever packaging they were supplied in.

[bd139]

I would probably use a thin iron plate and screw the drawerhousing to it. One magnet per drawer will be sufficient.

Well, that would require strong magnets in the drawers, which would cause some components to stick to them, which is why I was leaning towards having the magnets in the drawer housing only.

My kids would still manage to destroy it.

[Vtile]

I think the term shoebox were used in figurative sense. Atleast I did. 

[bd139]

I actually use shoe boxes

[rdl]

Nearly all of my boxes are the Sterilite ClearVue Latch (1700 series) 15 quart size, but I do have a few 6 quart also.

http://www.sterilite.com/productcategory.html?productcategory=17&section=1

The 1400 series is okay, I have a few, but the latch design is a little better on the ClearView.

[KL27x]

They may work, but if you work with SMD components, you won't be able to fit many pieces of "cut-tape" in there. They take up more room than one would expect.

I'm not claiming I invented this. I think I got the idea from someone on the forum. And I just started doing this fairly recently. And it's pretty great, so far.

For small quantities of SMD on cut tape, I use antistatic bags. With a heat sealer, I make a small open-ended tube on the bottom of the bag, just large enough to slip the cut tape thru. Then a much larger "tube" for holding the label on the top. Admittedly, putting the label IN the bag makes reading the label harder than it could be, but this eliminates any exposed tape or label to peel or to wear away with handling/solvents, or to have adhesive residue get exposed around the edges.

if necessary, I use end of a Q tip to push the tape out from one end to the other. But once you have used the first few, you can just leave a little of the cut tape protruding. After you take the parts you need, you can slide the tape back in. Even if you opened up too much tape and/or otherwise want to put parts back, you can put them back in the tape and slide it in, and they will not fall out or mix up. In case I feel need for extra security for specific parts, I can dab the open end with a solder iron to lock the tape it, but friction is enough for most types of cut tape.

In this way, the label is very large and the package is easy to handle without losing, but it is extremely thin and takes up very little volume.

In a pinch, if I don't have an IC tube for SMD chips, I will just make similar package and slide the chips into the "bag-tube."

For some types of parts, you may need only one large label and you can store several several parts in the bag. For instance, different packages of same IC, etc.  Sometimes I put entire IC tube into a sleeve, sometimes loose chips. It is a very flexible system.

The most annoying part is getting the tiny slot to open after you section it with the heat sealer. A pointy knife or carbide scribe is helpful. Sometimes I seal a wooden Q tip stick in sleeve, then withdraw it as I inert the tape/parts.

My standard size of bag is w/e the width of the bags that Mouser/Digikey send me. If the cut tape is longer, I just make multiple sleeves and cut the tape up to fit. You can file them in a rolodex of sorts, if you want. I use steel boxes.

*The main reasons for antistatic foil bag is that
1. Heat seal in this type of bag is indestructible
2. The bag holds its shape well
3. polyethylene bags crinkle and become more opaque over time, quickly turning your parts inventory into something that looks like a junk pile.

[JanJansen]

Dont forget : shoe boxes are food for those silver bugs, especially with glue.