During the past 30 years, I have used like 100 different ways to store parts. From plastic drawers, plastic carrying cases, small bags, ikea boxes, etc. The thing got out of hand as the collection grew. Most of the time the parts remained in their shipping bags, were difficult to find, and more than once I ended up ordering more.
So what works for me after all those years?
The one thing that seemed to work nicely were the small carton boxes that Vishay / Dale use for their resistors.
They are nice, easy to write to, and the size seems perfect from small to moderate quantities. So after all those years, I decided to open up kicad and draw some templates. Here is what I ended up with
The boxes come in 3 sizes: 100x40x40 mm, 100x20x40 mm, 100x10x40 mm
The templates come as pdf that should be printed on some heavier A4 paper at 100%. They follow the traditional paper craft rules. You cut on straight lines, and you lightly score the dotted ones. And you can use some tape or glue to keep them together.
I have already move some of my collection into these, and I have to say they save so much space in comparison to plain plastic bags. They also fit nicely to samla boxes by ikea, making things super easy to keep out of the way, but also to search through.
I hope you will find these useful
So what works for me after all those years?
The one thing that seemed to work nicely were the small carton boxes that Vishay / Dale use for their resistors.
They are nice, easy to write to, and the size seems perfect from small to moderate quantities. So after all those years, I decided to open up kicad and draw some templates. Here is what I ended up with
The boxes come in 3 sizes: 100x40x40 mm, 100x20x40 mm, 100x10x40 mm
The templates come as pdf that should be printed on some heavier A4 paper at 100%. They follow the traditional paper craft rules. You cut on straight lines, and you lightly score the dotted ones. And you can use some tape or glue to keep them together.
I have already move some of my collection into these, and I have to say they save so much space in comparison to plain plastic bags. They also fit nicely to samla boxes by ikea, making things super easy to keep out of the way, but also to search through.
I hope you will find these useful
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Looks like these can be stacked at random between vertical partitions, as only the height differs.
Or placed on horizontal shelves, if turned on their sides.
Or placed on horizontal shelves, if turned on their sides.
Papa's way.... buy in thousands, you get boxes for free
If you were really ambitious, you could make pigeonholes for each box, allowing easier replacement of the box back to its particular hole.
When I use the plastic drawers, I end up dividing them in half which allows more values to be placed in the drawer. Works better than I expected all of these years, but I could always use a few more.
When I use the plastic drawers, I end up dividing them in half which allows more values to be placed in the drawer. Works better than I expected all of these years, but I could always use a few more.
Yeah this makes sense, but it's more suitable for a dedicated lab environment. In a home setup you really need to be able to hide everything. These days I am using shallow samla boxes from IKEA. I fit the paper boxes vertically to see the label. And when I don't need them they live in their shelves or below a bed, out of the way.
Yep sharing space definitely makes things easier and saves lots of space. But you don't even need to divide them. My initial instinct was to group similar things together. But after all, it's easier to work with items that look quite different. for example if you put 50pF caps along with 100pF ones, they would probably look very similar, and you would have to measure to be sure. But if you group 50pF caps with 10uF ones, you don't even have to wonder. You just trust the box label and the part's shape.
Small update, I created a new larger 100x80x40mm box. Useful for larger parts like capacitors. The large sides make it a bit wobbly, but it gets the job done.
Can a moderator please move the pdf to the first post along with the other files?
And here is a photo of how they look in the samla boxes
Can a moderator please move the pdf to the first post along with the other files?
And here is a photo of how they look in the samla boxes
Very nice! Have you thought about adding a cut to each of the smallest sides and a 90 degree 'hook' to the glue flaps on the long sides, so that the open box would hold together without glue or tape? It wouldn't make the template and the cutting all that more complicated.
For those of you with a 3d printer... I would look into Gridfinity as a potential storage solution. I like the boxes however... nice work!
https://gridfinitygenerator.com/en
https://gridfinitygenerator.com/en
I noticed those boxes. They look to be sized like old tube boxes so they would fit in a standard tube caddy. I don't use em for that but they would fit nicely...
Here are a couple of nice ideas:
IKEA ALEX drawers as seen here, about 2 minutes in. I got one and it's pretty nice.
For organizing parts, I've been tempted to try this binner thing, but have not done so yet.
IKEA ALEX drawers as seen here, about 2 minutes in. I got one and it's pretty nice.
For organizing parts, I've been tempted to try this binner thing, but have not done so yet.
Yep I have a wheeled Alex for a many years. It has been a DIYer's goto for more than a decade. Not really heavy duty, but sturdy enough to get the job done nicely. And moving it below my every-day desk has been the best decision for my "leaving the tool where I used it" brain
"Not really heavy duty..." 🙂
Indeed! The IKEA pressed wood seems too porous even to withstand assembly. Yet it works, looks good, and the drawers still somehow have a fairly precision feel.
Indeed! The IKEA pressed wood seems too porous even to withstand assembly. Yet it works, looks good, and the drawers still somehow have a fairly precision feel.
I use those $13 side tables for different things. One is a large bird stand with a log that is 5" round and 5' high with branches attached to it. It has been in service for about a year with no visible signs of breaking. Ikea depends a lot on their engineering to make their products tough enough to actually work...
Funny enough, the birds even spill water on the table yet it doesn't even have water damage...
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/lack-side-table-white-30449908/
Funny enough, the birds even spill water on the table yet it doesn't even have water damage...
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/lack-side-table-white-30449908/
