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Building an electronics workbench
shponglefan:
I've been looking to get into electronics and I figured the first step will to build a bench to accomdate this. While I already built myself a woodworking bench, I find I'd like something cleaner (i.e. less prone to dust and flying wood chips) for electronics.
I have a basic design in mind: 7.5 feet long, 40 inches high (so can be used standing or sitting), 30 inches deep (from the wall), plus plans to build a shelving/pegboard hutch for storage.
One thing I was wondering about was surface material. I was thinking nice, smooth birch. Looking at other bench examples, it seems most don't have special considerations for surfaces. Although some seem to have special pads (anti-static pads?) on them.
Anything else I should take into consideration? Granted it's just a workbench and not particularly complicated or anything, but I want to build something proper.
Ond:
My woodworking bench is my electronics bench, but you're right, I have to keep it clean to use it for both. Maybe a laminate surface? I once saw a pro's workbench, this guy who built custom amplifiers (He built me a 1000w digital Subby amp), he had a cutout in his bench with a bin beneath it for his rubbish. This was a brilliant idea, any bits of wire etc he'd just drop in there, kept his surface clean even when working all day. Just a thought.
Generic Eric:
You will want power outlets for your Solder iron, odor eating fan, florescent light bar, illuminated magnifiying glass and also for your test equipment.
Depending on how thorough you are, you will want to take in account ESD. In that case, you'll want an earth ground and an ESD mat. If nothing else, be sure your work space is non conductive.
It really depends on your goals. You might google for examples. I worked at a place that had the Tennscos.
SavannahLion:
I have a laminate surface. Similar to a cheap countertop type of thing. But none of it really matters. There's so much crap on top that I really can't remember what color it is. When I get around to clearing the surface (Visualize trying to find 200 SMD components in a box so small that the box the wedding ring came in is bigger) and creating a new workspace somewhere I intend to cover it with an anti-static work mat. I would really like to get the same thing David Jones uses.
http://www.eevblog.com/2012/03/01/eevblog-250-anti-static-mat-myth/
http://www.eevblog.com/2012/02/25/eevblog-247-anti-static-bag-myth-revisted/
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/esd-mat/
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/your-benchtop-material/
Note: If there's a group buy on the roll of the same stuff, I'll seriously consider jumping in.
MonMotha:
Laminate or butcher block are generally standard. If you do laminate, you can look at putting a foil sheet or mesh/grid underneath it and attaching that to ground to make it reasonably anti-static. Other option is to just chuck a good anti-static mat on top of it.
A hutch or similar elevated structure is really handy for stashing equipment on either while out of use or in secondary roles (like power supplies, signal generators, etc.) so you have more room on the bench for the device under test/development/smoking and test equipment you need to actively interact with like scopes, meters, soldering irons and other hand tools, computers, etc.
For power, many benches are set up to be fed two circuits. One is usually used for sensitive equipment or dedicated to the device under test while the other is used for noisy stuff. Of course, this also splits up the load in case you need more juice than one circuit can handle for all the stuff on the bench. There's usually a power strip mounted either along the back of the main surface or along the bottom of the overhead surface for "permanently installed" equipment, and then there will be some outlets - often standard duplex receptacles - on either side, often embedded in the support structure for the overhead surface, for powering equipment that moves around. Many benches have integrated breakers so that they can be more easily reset if tripped due to testing without a trip to the service panel (in a commercial environment, these are often locked and require a trained serviceperson to access).
Many electronics benches are set at a height suitable for working either on a stool or standing up but lower than a typical woodworking bench, though I've seen them as low as standard computer desk height and as high as e.g. a kitchen bar might be.
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