> I am assuming, Olin, that you do not inventory any production qtys,
> but are always dealing with parts for prototypes, as I mostly am.

We do have production quantities of some parts, but mostly our stock is for
lab use.

> Can you store typical small qty. antistatic bags of parts, such as
> would arrive if you order say 10 pcs of a typical semi from DigiKey?

I would generally remove them from the bag first, but yes, that's exactly
the point.  Each type of part in its own drawer with a label, in the cabine=
t
for that category, sorted by the first parameter on the label.

> Do you have a drawer for each value/size smt passive, like caps and
> resistors, say 0604? In my experience, that is a lot of drawers....

Sortof, yes it is.  It is and always will be a ongoing process.  When you
first get a new part and have two package variants, you might put them in
the same drawer.  If you later get more variants or they are hard to
distinguish, you might split the single drawer into multiple.  For example,
1/4 Watt thru hole and 0805 resistors are easily distinguished, so mostly
the two are in the same drawer for that value resistor.  Sometimes if the
quantities are large or there are also 0603 or other packages, then there
are multiple drawers.  For example, it can be surprisingly hard to tell 080=
5
from 0603 when you're not seeing the two next to each other.  Capacitors
probably get split up more, since there are more variants for a particular
capacitance.  I just checked, and we have 7 drawers of 10uF capacitors of
different voltage ratings, packages, and technologies.

> About how many different items would be in this section of your
> inventory?

I took a picture of the lab stock and put it at
http://www.embedinc.com/elec/parts.jpg.  You can count for yourself if you
really want to.  The left 2 columns (6 cabinets of 50 drawers each) are all
resistors, the next column (3 of the 10164 cabinets) are all capacitors.
The third column from the right (2x 10164) are all PICs.

There is always something lying around in front that hasn't been given a
place to go.  Even if you make more labels and put the parts away, more hav=
e
a way of appearing very quickly.  As I said, it's a never ending process.

You can also see some of the bulk stock in this picture.  There are some
large reals visible on a shelf underneat the table.  Those happen to contai=
n
electrolytic capacitors.  There is a drawer for each type above, with a few
in the drawer and a note that says "Extras below".  There are also other
shelves and cabinets with additional stock not shown in the picture.  The
shelf above the reals holds more bulk stock in various packing, including
bags, boxes, and tubes.

> Do you have any particular system for accumulating/storing parts for
> individual projects, or do you just expand your existing area when you
> add new parts to a design?

The parts themselves become generic and eventually end up filed in this
system.  Most projects do have specific harware associated with them.  Ther=
e
is a whole set of shelves with boxes on them each containing stuff specific
to a particular customer.  Each box is labeled with the customer designator=
..

Being religious about labeling is very important.


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