Whats your Work-Bench/lab look like? Post some pictures of your Lab.

[david77]

As we're in lockdown since 16.12.2020 I finally decided to tidy up my electronics lab and build that new custom bench I had in my mind for a few years. It's finished and I've just put all the gear back in tonight, still need to tidy up though. The bench is 180x90cm but only 60cm depth is usable, due to shelving. Also the height is much more ergonomic - no more back ache when SMD soldering under the microscope I hope. Much better than the old desk I used!

[elekorsi]

I recently moved my electronics workshop into a separate room, as in the old workshop it was to messy (dust) and cold in the winter.
Nothing really special to see, just basic equipment, but i have some space on the shelves to fill in the future 
I need to install the power outlets on the right bench, same as on the left one, hope to find some spare time soon...

That looks very professional - Is there a brand name for that shelving?  I also like the tool hook system...

I ordered aluminium extruded profiles and assembly material at local suplier. They even cut the profiles to the desired lenght in 1mm steps with about 0,2mm tolerance for very little money (i think it is about 0,5€ per cut).
Plywood for the worktop was cut and coated at local carpenter, the shelves are made from MDF board.

Considering the price of such "workstations" im actually thinking about making those and maybe open a new bussines branch 

[SilverSolder]

[...]
Considering the price of such "workstations" im actually thinking about making those and maybe open a new bussines branch 

That's not a bad idea!

[Tom45]

David,

I like your wire storage/dispenser. Did you make that or are they a commercial product?

[david77]

It's a commercial product.

https://www.conrad.de/de/p/kabelabroller-midi-546099-tru-components-1-st-1564017.html

Bloody hell they've nearly doubled the price!

[kripton2035]

conrad is not known to be the cheapiest around ...

[McBryce]

conrad is not known to be the cheapiest around ...

Very true, however in this case that dispenser costs pretty much the same from Voelkner and Amazon.

McBryce.

[david77]

That's because they all come from the same source: Conrad. Conrad sells a lot on Amazon or Ebay, too. And Voelkner is essentially also Conrad. It's in the Conrad Holding Group. Tru Components is a Conrad brand name, too.

[McBryce]

That's because they all come from the same source: Conrad. Conrad sells a lot on Amazon or Ebay, too. And Voelkner is essentially also Conrad. It's in the Conrad Holding Group. Tru Components is a Conrad brand name, too.

Didn't realise that. Kind of sad that the choices are getting ever more limited.

McBryce.

[david77]

Yeah, there are many more electronics companies in Europe that are part of Conrad. Sad but true. I can't say much more, though.

[Howardlong]

Even with my totally crap woodworking skillz I managed to hack together a wire/solder/braid dispenser.

Surprisingly I haven't found a need for eyelet guides to stop the wires getting tangled: I anticipated having to cobble something together but it's proven not to be required.

While it might look crap, being able to tailor solutions for one's precise working environment, especially where space is limited, is strangely satisfying.

[Alex Eisenhut]

I got me a baby bench.

[deadlylover]

My light bulb fixture/luminaire is kind of broken (slightly dangling from the ceiling and cutting out). Well I can't mess with it because I'm not a sparky so I'll just stop using it which means...

Ordered a Mean Well XLG-25-AB 25W LED driver, a Hammond box, a totally-not-overkill Bourns 10 turn wirewound precision pot and a NKK S1F toggle switch. I'll be using some LED strips I have laying around (Nichia Optisolis 5000K/2000K blend)

The Bourns 3500S-2-104L pot is roughly USD60 on mouser/digikey but is 90% off on Arrow so I got 3 extras for future projects, as you do...

Well at least I'll never have to replace a light bulb again. I've been using the Philips LED bulbs you can find at a grocery/hardware store and they seem to keep dying on me every year. I'm thinking of just ceiling bouncing the light instead of mounting the strips up there but that's terribly inefficient....but lovely diffused light....what's a few watts between friends anyway. 

edit: oh god wrong thread, oh well close enough for desk bench lighting plans 

[Rémi]

The bench - constantly evolving !

[Vovk_Z]

Just old enough to be sane enough not to publish let alone pursue people on a public internet forum to this stuff, when uneducated beginners can get lethal injury from ideas like this.

There are a lot of lamp amp circuits that need >200V DC voltage - that is more dangerous than floating scope I think (if beginner knows what it means, and usually it is so). I may wrong, but it is my experience, which I get from being beaten by 230VAC and 230VDC.

[BobBeBob]

Hi there, I see you have a toneohm 950, I am trying to reverse engineer the probe for this unit. I would gladly purchase them if they were priced for earthly budgets.
I called and they are asking over 700 for all 3 sets. I already know there is really nothing special about them.
Already made the current probe and plane stimulate probes,
a ruff looking experimental current probe, it work but it will be redone
I keep hearing the planner probe does not get used really in the repair business. but I want to make it.
so would you please help me with he planer probe by doing some measurement on the end of the DIN connector please. and let me know what is connected ot what and what is the resistance between pins.
if you have some more time on you hand I also have some unanswered questions about the current probe.
I included an attachment of the schematic of the probes. in there are also my finding. but, since I have found that the DIN for the current probe has 1 ohm resister in it. I was wondering is it on the shielding cable?

[Calvin]

Hi,

I built my lab using a similar approach as elekorsi in #4403.
One can get aluminum building system profiles cut to length in online shops or via ebay.
The complete frame is made from these profiles attached together with various binders.
The main workbench features three levels in height 90cm,+60cm,+40cm, and 80cm deep the first, 60cm the second and third.
Over the full length I mounted LED lighting at the underside of the second level, which gives bright and dazzle-free light.
The bench tops are made from 40mm, 28mm and 18mm massive wood (gluelam?) which I routed and finished myself.
There are benches on all four sides of the lab.
The grid supply will be 3-phases all going through a main circuit breaker and FIs, actuated by a nice red emergency button switch. 
The whole wasn´t exactly cheap and its certainly not finished yet, but since it´ll be my final lab I decided to do it right. 

regards
Calvin

[SilverSolder]

Hi,

I built my lab using a similar approach as elekorsi in #4403.
One can get aluminum building system profiles cut to length in online shops or via ebay.
The complete frame is made from these profiles attached together with various binders.
The main workbench features three levels in height 90cm,+60cm,+40cm, and 80cm deep the first, 60cm the second and third.
Over the full length I mounted LED lighting at the underside of the second level, which gives bright and dazzle-free light.
The bench tops are made from 40mm, 28mm and 18mm massive wood (gluelam?) which I routed and finished myself.
There are benches on all four sides of the lab.
The grid supply will be 3-phases all going through a main circuit breaker and FIs, actuated by a nice red emergency button switch. 
The whole wasn´t exactly cheap and its certainly not finished yet, but since it´ll be my final lab I decided to do it right. 

regards
Calvin

I love those aluminum profiles...   Wish I knew what they were called, so I could find a similar system in the US...

[McBryce]

Hi,

I built my lab using a similar approach as elekorsi in #4403.
One can get aluminum building system profiles cut to length in online shops or via ebay.
The complete frame is made from these profiles attached together with various binders.
The main workbench features three levels in height 90cm,+60cm,+40cm, and 80cm deep the first, 60cm the second and third.
Over the full length I mounted LED lighting at the underside of the second level, which gives bright and dazzle-free light.
The bench tops are made from 40mm, 28mm and 18mm massive wood (gluelam?) which I routed and finished myself.
There are benches on all four sides of the lab.
The grid supply will be 3-phases all going through a main circuit breaker and FIs, actuated by a nice red emergency button switch. 
The whole wasn´t exactly cheap and its certainly not finished yet, but since it´ll be my final lab I decided to do it right. 

regards
Calvin

I love those aluminum profiles...   Wish I knew what they were called, so I could find a similar system in the US...

They are called "Bosch Profile" and can be bought in the U.S. from Bosch-Rexroth or any of their distributors. But be warned, they're not cheap.

https://www.aapautomation.com/aap-products/framingextrusion/

https://www13.boschrexroth-us.com/Framing_Shop/Product/Default.aspx?Group=101

McBryce.

[SilverSolder]

Hi,

I built my lab using a similar approach as elekorsi in #4403.
One can get aluminum building system profiles cut to length in online shops or via ebay.
The complete frame is made from these profiles attached together with various binders.
The main workbench features three levels in height 90cm,+60cm,+40cm, and 80cm deep the first, 60cm the second and third.
Over the full length I mounted LED lighting at the underside of the second level, which gives bright and dazzle-free light.
The bench tops are made from 40mm, 28mm and 18mm massive wood (gluelam?) which I routed and finished myself.
There are benches on all four sides of the lab.
The grid supply will be 3-phases all going through a main circuit breaker and FIs, actuated by a nice red emergency button switch. 
The whole wasn´t exactly cheap and its certainly not finished yet, but since it´ll be my final lab I decided to do it right. 

regards
Calvin

I love those aluminum profiles...   Wish I knew what they were called, so I could find a similar system in the US...

They are called "Bosch Profile" and can be bought in the U.S. from Bosch-Rexroth or any of their distributors. But be warned, they're not cheap.

https://www.aapautomation.com/aap-products/framingextrusion/

https://www13.boschrexroth-us.com/Framing_Shop/Product/Default.aspx?Group=101

McBryce.

Looks like these things are known as a "Framing Extrusion" - and yes, they are not cheap.   But nothing is cheap nowadays:  it seems sellers like charging the same for garbage as they do for quality stuff now,  so you might as well buy quality! 

[Cubdriver]

Hi,

I built my lab using a similar approach as elekorsi in #4403.
One can get aluminum building system profiles cut to length in online shops or via ebay.
The complete frame is made from these profiles attached together with various binders.
The main workbench features three levels in height 90cm,+60cm,+40cm, and 80cm deep the first, 60cm the second and third.
Over the full length I mounted LED lighting at the underside of the second level, which gives bright and dazzle-free light.
The bench tops are made from 40mm, 28mm and 18mm massive wood (gluelam?) which I routed and finished myself.
There are benches on all four sides of the lab.
The grid supply will be 3-phases all going through a main circuit breaker and FIs, actuated by a nice red emergency button switch. 
The whole wasn´t exactly cheap and its certainly not finished yet, but since it´ll be my final lab I decided to do it right. 

regards
Calvin

I love those aluminum profiles...   Wish I knew what they were called, so I could find a similar system in the US...

Here in the US, the most common ones I know of are made by a company called 80/20:

https://8020.net/

Not cheap, but strong and very easy to work with.  I've built stuff for work using their materials.

-Pat

[Calvin]

Hi,

I used profiles that very much equal the original Bosch profiles but are slightly lighter in build .... but certainly sufficiently strong for my application.
They also costed less than the Boschs and I also used cheaper binder blocks orginating from china and which I ordered via ebay.
Had to learn that the profile´s inner junctions or stiffeners didn´t exactly match the Bosch in contour, which resulted in that I had to grind down two flanks of each single binder block a few tenths of a mm .... just about 250pcs. 
Well, that didn´t stop me and now the result is a rock solid bench, fitting the room perfectly and it will certainly outlast  me.
Of course did I grind my fingertips at the grinding stone a couple of times.
But then ... I can say: "Bury my heart at Wounded Bench" 

regards
Calvin

[McBryce]

Yes, there's lots of cheaper copies. A lot of the cheaper 3D printers and CNC machines use a Chinese version, but that a world of difference in the quality. I've used the original at work and it's extremely robust. Some of the Chinese stuff I've tried (especially the mating parts) sheered while I was tightening the screws.

McBryce.

[Yansi]

I have recently moved to a flat with my girlfriend, and I have moved including my lab. And I also plan to build a custom bench from the industrial framing.

Seems in our country the standard go-to profile is the 45 series (45x45 mm, with I think 8 mm slot). There's even a company producing the profiles just near where my parents live.

And yes, these profiles are not cheap. I think they are even overpriced to an extreme degree. The company making these locally, offers the 45 series in three strength grades: Standard, light and economy - which is the least strength with almost like paper thin walls. Yet still $15 a meter, VAT not included. Damn expensive stuff, if you ask me.

You need like 20 meters of the profile for a basic bench with a single level on top, for a 200 cm long, 80 cm deep table. Add like 7 meters on top if you need two levels on top, not just one. And you probably don't want to build it from the lightest profile, even though according to the calculations the strength is probably still about usable. The build then can easily go north of $1000 for a bench like that. Don't forget to include the laminated wood boards (or whatever you prefer the surfaces made from), and then other stuff like the bolts, special nuts and fastners, socket power strips, lighting, cabling, etc.

But it is a one time investment for a life time. And the modularity of that kind of system is amazing.

[olkipukki]

Yet still $15 a meter, VAT not included. Damn expensive stuff, if you ask me.

That's cheap for 4040 too

Seems in our country...

Where is it?