Yea, I am looking at the pic; that's as I imagined it would be. That's more than I have to store.......what I have is mostly parts=20 associated with present projects, and then a bunch of stuff that got=20 accumulated during past design cycles and I want to get it organized and=20 inventoried so that I can use it in future projects, test fixtures, etc. I don't have as much space as you do, and no shelving like you have your=20 drawer cabinets set on top of. I think I can get all my stuff into a two-door metal floor cabinet and=20 on a table nearby.....so I am thinking a combo of rack bins and drawer=20 storage boxes. I'm going to the local Harbor Freight this afternoon to get some=20 stuff.......probably will include one of these....... http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/parts-rack-with-rem= ovable-bins-95496.html Which will fit into my metal floor cabinet, and then probably some=20 drawer cabs like yours, or maybe more like these...... http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/24-container-storag= e-box-90243.html ....or this.... http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/19-bin-portable-par= ts-storage-case-93928.html Mark Skeels Engineer Competition Electronics, Inc. TEL: 815-874-8001 FAX: 815-874-8181 www.competitionelectronics.com On 12/23/2010 11:08 AM, Olin Lathrop wrote: >> 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 f= or > 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 cabi= net > 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 exampl= e, > 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 0= 805 > 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 particula= r > 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 yo= u > really want to. The left 2 columns (6 cabinets of 50 drawers each) are a= ll > 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 h= ave > 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 cont= ain > electrolytic capacitors. There is a drawer for each type above, with a f= ew > 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. Th= ere > is a whole set of shelves with boxes on them each containing stuff specif= ic > to a particular customer. Each box is labeled with the customer designat= or. > > Being religious about labeling is very important. > > > ******************************************************************** > Embed Inc, Littleton Massachusetts, http://www.embedinc.com/products > (978) 742-9014. Gold level PIC consultants since 2000. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .