Suggestions for a 10-20k electronics lab setup

[johofz]

Dear EEVblog Community,

I have the honor of compiling a list of equipment for our electronics laboratory in our company, which recently ventured into electronic development. This equipment is intended to enable us to carry out our development work. The budget ranges from €10,000 to €20,000.

We already have a 4-channel oscilloscope from Rigol (MSO5000 series), an electronic load from Siglent, a laboratory power supply from Rigol, excellent multimeters (GMC Metrahit 29S), and two soldering stations from JBC.

We specialize in developing hub dynamos and bicycle lighting systems, operating in power ranges up to a maximum of 20W. Occasionally, there are special applications that require higher power, but I won't consider those here.

Recently, our electronic development has become much more complex, and therefore, we need better equipment. I was thinking of adding a logic analyzer to the oscilloscope, although a standalone logic analyzer could also be interesting. Additionally, we need a reflow oven, a thermal imaging camera, a solder paste printer, a function generator, and a power amplifier for the function generator.

Generally, we don't require high-end devices that would quickly eat up our budget. Solid options from the mid-price range would be sufficient. Unfortunately, I don't have experience in the field of thermal imaging cameras and reflow ovens. There are certainly function generators with integrated power amplifiers, but they are likely to be expensive.

I would greatly appreciate your suggestions and recommendations! I may have forgotten a few things, and I will add them if necessary.

Best regards,
johofz

PS: I forgot to mention that we are currently 2 EEs at our company and have a decent amount of space.

[dobsonr741]

What did the other 2EEs ask for? It would be the primary driver of my thought process. Given the work you describe, measurement automation capability would be important. (Only SCPI capable devices). Also matters what strategic direction the company goes - don’t expect you to disclose here.

[coromonadalix]

dont forget that the gossen is slow on refresh rates 2 or 2.5 measurements / sec

if you do precision stuff, get it calibrated

Or find some good ol  34401a  or 34410a 34411a,   some recent models or slightly older ones have some fpga who dies
or other known bench brands ?


function gen :   i would go on siglent sdg1000 xseries, hackable "cough" to 60mhz or more ... depend of the chosen series
logic analyser : i would go with dslogic or kingst ones
thermal imager : the known  Flir (expensives)  or some uni-t  ones,    dont touch the ones who goes on cell phones or usb ones, they have very low resolutions

Sadly  Rigol  misses  a few labview examples if you want to do some automation in it,  Siglent is more developped...

reflow oven:  you have chineesium ones on infrared  Aliexpress ,  who sit on a table top, was good for 12" by 12" pcb,  but we had to check the heater elements connections, they where not tighten enough,  costed around 1k$ usd

same for solder print table   Aliexpress or  check some auction websites or company closures ??

[thm_w]

Or find some good ol  34401a  or 34410a 34411a,   some recent models or slightly older ones have some fpga who dies
or other known bench brands ?

DMM6500 IMO, def don't get a 34401A, since you'll have to pay to get it cal'd and it has no ethernet or USB.