Workbench Organization

D

Dave VanHorn

Guest
Finally, a thorny and ON-TOPIC post!

I'm very dis-satisfied with what I currently have, don't need/want to spend
a ton of money on it, but I would like to get to a workspace that dosen't
naturally tend to be a total mess.

I've got some things that work well enough in some areas..

I'm having trouble defining the problem, because interior design and such is
not my "thing".

I'd like to have a nice looking workspace, with a sense of style. (something
like "streamline", or "modern" comes to mind)

There are "tech benches" available, but in my opinion they are way
overpriced, and ugly.
I'd take them for $200-ish, but they are still ugly.

My existing benches are unfinished 6'x3' doors, on top of lowe's "organizer"
cabinets.
Large enough, stable and sturdy, and cheap. No tears if I punch/burn a hole
in the $20 door, other than the PITA to replace it. Naturally anti-static.

Scopes and test equipment sit on stacking organizers at the back of the
bench, with the medusa-mess of cables mostly behind. This section of my
bench "L"s out into the room, so I can walk behind and maintain the cabling.

You guys know the problem, you end up with a morass of test equipment and
cables surrounding your 1' available working area where the prototype sits,
usually on top of the schematics, so that it dosen't short out on the
inevitable bench crud.

I'm looking for the holy grail of course, functional, inexpensive, and with
some sense of style.

I wonder if Ikea would ever take this on?

--
KC6ETE Dave's Engineering Page, www.dvanhorn.org
Microcontroller Consultant, specializing in Atmel AVR
 
On 21 Sep 2004 20:48:06 -0700, the renowned soar2morrow@yahoo.com (Tom
Seim) wrote:

I once had a 4x8 sheet of .062 aluminum bent and welded to form a 1
inch lip around the edges. Took 2 sheets of 4x8 plywood and trimmed 2
inches on 2 sides. Bolted plywood to formed steel legs and placed Al
cover on top of plywood. Viola, tough as nails workbench that is
anti-static! Total cost: $125.

Tom
Click to expand...
I don't think I'd want an electrically conductive surface on the *top*
of a bench. Too many chances to complete circuits, either within a
prototype or between some hapless dude's hand resting on the aluminum
and some electrically 'hot' part. Putting a grounded sheet on the
bottom sounds like a fine idea.

BTW, the word is 'voila' (or 'voilŕ' if you want to be pretentious). A
viola is a musical instrument that looks like a big violin.

http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
 
Joerg wrote:
Hi Dave,

There are "tech benches" available, but in my opinion they are way
overpriced, and ugly.
I'd take them for $200-ish, but they are still ugly.


I bought some professional top notch lab tables. Used, of course, from a
company that shut down a subsidiary. The expense was reasonable but that
way I got something that cost thousands when new.

Scopes and test equipment sit on stacking organizers at the back of
the bench, with the medusa-mess of cables mostly behind. This section
of my bench "L"s out into the room, so I can walk behind and maintain
the cabling.


You can get plastic cable channels, usually gray and with break-out tabs
where you can create entry and exit points in a width that accomodates
the bundle sizes and the flexibility of the cables. That keeps the ugly
cable messes away and also makes it easier to find and exchange cables
without having to untie several sailor's knots. The channels come with
snap-on covers that can be cut to length for an even nicer look. If you
want to be super tidy you could even cut the corners at 45 degree angles
for a snug fit. You'd have to provide for some larger areas where
service loops and excess lengths can be housed.


Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
I have done this in the past. What is really helpful is to have two
Click to expand...
channels, one for signals and the other for power. Quiets things, and
makes it more convenient...
--
Charlie
--
Edmondson Engineering
Unique Solutions to Unusual Problems
 
Dave VanHorn <dvanhorn@cedar.net> says...
I don't like the common practice of having the rear of the benches
against the walls. I like to cover the walls with floor-to-ceiling
whiteboard and to be able to walk behind the benches so as to be
able to plug and unplug cables. I also like to cover one wall with
floor-to-ceiling multi-drawer organizers, and to have a big rolling
tool cabinet and a big steelcase file cabinet.

We're pretty much in tune.
Floor to ceiling seems overkill, since the upper and lower parts
are hard to use.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought until I set up my lab that way. Have you
ever had something on your whiteboard that you didn't want to
erase? Have you ever had several such items start taking away
your usable space? With floor-to-ceiling whiteboard you just
rewrite the item up high or down low.

BTW, a good automotive carnauba wax (the real stuff, not the fake
stuff with a deceptive "Carnauba Wax" label) on a whiteboard
makes it so that the marks clean off without ghosting. For small
whiteboards a ceramic surface is ideal, but floor-to-ceiling only
comes in plastic.

My existing layour is an L, with the desk/programming side
against the wall, and the hardware/prototyping side out into
the room, with about 4' clear behind it.
Click to expand...
Good layout. That gives you the all-important rear access where
you really need it, and needs lesss floor space than my "access
to the rear of everything" layout.

One wall, above my A-E plotter, is covered with parts in cabinets.
Click to expand...
What kind of cabinets have you found to work well?
 
"Spehro Pefhany" <speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> a écrit dans le message
de news:rns2l0hmk1h33o6jtvkbgn9s2djruio8n3@4ax.com...
On 21 Sep 2004 20:48:06 -0700, the renowned soar2morrow@yahoo.com (Tom
Seim) wrote:


BTW, the word is 'voila' (or 'voilŕ' if you want to be pretentious).
Click to expand...
No,no. "Voilŕ" with its accent is not pretentious at all.
Well, at least here :)


A
viola is a musical instrument that looks like a big violin.

http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html
Click to expand...
These jokes look like a bit 'sexist', don't you find ?

BTW, here we call the 'viola' an 'alto' and the 'viole' word more
specifically refers to the viola da gamba.


--
Thanks,
Fred.
 
"Fred Bartoli"
<fred._canxxxel_this_bartoli@RemoveThatAlso_free.fr_AndThisToo> wrote
in message news:41527625$0$32725$626a14ce@news.free.fr
These jokes look like a bit 'sexist', don't you find ?
Click to expand...
I didn't notice that.


BTW, here we call the 'viola' an 'alto' and the 'viole' word more
specifically refers to the viola da gamba.
Click to expand...
Speaking of viola da gamba jokes, my local classical station had a
comedy hour many years ago, and one punchline stuck with me. "Not with
MY viola da gamba you don't!" Unfortunately I only heard that and never
heard the rest of the joke, so I've been trying to imagine what it might
have been. Maybe somebody else can make up something that fits the
puchline. :)
 
"John Woodgate" <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote in message
news:CZfFAsG6vqUBFwfp@jmwa.demon.co.uk
One of those Victorian 'Helpful Phrase-book' gags, a change from the
poor postillion who keeps getting zapped.

'Excuse me, do you have a blunt instrument with which to despatch my
injured terrapin?'
Click to expand...
That's very good! In fact that should be the punchline -- question
last, like on Jeopardy.
 
Another nice thing to do is to make a workbench top out of a thick slab
of teflon.
 
On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 07:44:55 -0700, Guy Macon
<http://www.guymacon.com> wrote:

Another nice thing to do is to make a workbench top out of a thick slab
of teflon.
Click to expand...
But when I stand on it to change a lightbulb or something, I'd slip
off.

John
 
Teflon can entrap static charges, plus it would cost a mint.


--
KC6ETE Dave's Engineering Page, www.dvanhorn.org
Microcontroller Consultant, specializing in Atmel AVR
 
John Larkin says...
Guy Macon <http://www.guymacon.com> wrote:

Another nice thing to do is to make a workbench top out
of a thick slab of teflon.

But when I stand on it to change a lightbulb or something,
I'd slip off.
Click to expand...
Crampons.
 
Dave VanHorn <dvanhorn@cedar.net> says...

Teflon can entrap static charges,
Click to expand...
Yes, but it doesn't transfer the charge very well, so ESD isn't
a big problem. The way I do it is to have bench covered with
staticplas, and a sheet of teflon, a sheet of stainless steel
and a sheet of wood on the side, ready to be put on the bench
to meet various needs.

plus it would cost a mint.

Not too bad; $750 for a 36" x 48" x 1/4" sheet.
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Guy Macon <http@?.guymacon.com>
wrote (in <10l5oe4f90u466b@news.supernews.com>) about 'Workbench
Organization', on Thu, 23 Sep 2004:

Another nice thing to do is to make a workbench top out of a thick slab
of teflon.
Click to expand...
With a 16 g sheet of gold underneath to act as a ground plane.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
 
"Bob Stephens" <stephensyomamadigital@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1n3rvo7994175$.1wcqm4t3z1vsz.dlg@40tude.net...
On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:43:53 -0700, Guy Macon wrote:

Crampons.

Sounds like just the thing for monthly feminine distress...
Click to expand...
That jogged my memory, you also need a first aid case on the wall in plain
sight. The JIC type supplies.
 
Hi Dave,

Weeell. It's a bit tricky if you want to have four probes with time delays
equal within a couple nS, or gigasample capture..


That would be done with a sync signal transmitted by the scope. A nsec
Click to expand...
isn't a problem.

I think it's possible, but still beyond the state of the art.


I guess you are right. It is possible but requires big time ASIC
Click to expand...
investment, mostly in NRE. So the probes would cost a bundle since they
aren't sold by the gazillion like cell phones are.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
 
"Dave VanHorn" <dvanhorn@cedar.net> wrote in message
news:tqKdnZR09Jdow83cRVn-uw@comcast.com...
Finally, a thorny and ON-TOPIC post!

I'm very dis-satisfied with what I currently have, don't need/want to
spend
a ton of money on it, but I would like to get to a workspace that dosen't
naturally tend to be a total mess.

I've got some things that work well enough in some areas..

I'm having trouble defining the problem, because interior design and such
is
not my "thing".

I'd like to have a nice looking workspace, with a sense of style.
(something
like "streamline", or "modern" comes to mind)

There are "tech benches" available, but in my opinion they are way
overpriced, and ugly.
I'd take them for $200-ish, but they are still ugly.

My existing benches are unfinished 6'x3' doors, on top of lowe's
"organizer"
cabinets.
Large enough, stable and sturdy, and cheap. No tears if I punch/burn a
hole
in the $20 door, other than the PITA to replace it. Naturally anti-static.

Scopes and test equipment sit on stacking organizers at the back of the
bench, with the medusa-mess of cables mostly behind. This section of my
bench "L"s out into the room, so I can walk behind and maintain the
cabling.

You guys know the problem, you end up with a morass of test equipment and
cables surrounding your 1' available working area where the prototype
sits,
usually on top of the schematics, so that it dosen't short out on the
inevitable bench crud.

I'm looking for the holy grail of course, functional, inexpensive, and
with
some sense of style.

I wonder if Ikea would ever take this on?

--
KC6ETE Dave's Engineering Page, www.dvanhorn.org
Microcontroller Consultant, specializing in Atmel AVR


Ikea already carry some very chic and inexpensive bench/desk and storage
Click to expand...
racking designs. Set test gear to sit on a wide surface stepped up at a
higher level (say 10cm) than the bench. Sources to the left, measurements to
the right. Only fixed item at bench level should be the soldering iron and
PC/keyboard.
I'd go with the rear access idea, or at the very least multiple power points
behind the bench up at shoulder height where they can be got at from the
bench front. Edge front edge of bench with earthed 1cm alloy "L" section to
prevent any static build ups etc . Use rubber, car footwell mat to sit kit
on and stop it sliding about (not 'pretend' rubber as the stuff melts) .
Bench surface needs to be smooth and shiny to allow a single forearm
cleaning sweep onto the floor. Lay floor as a single large sheet of laquered
chipboard. Sit on a good quality Ikea office chair. Keep components in
racking opposite bench and just swivel or roll chair to access.
regards
john
 
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