How do you search for small SMD parts lost to floor, carpet, or working mess?

[fluxcapacitor]

Just pin an old sheet to your bench which you then tuck in around your waist, anything falls while you are working lands onto that and is easily findable.

Learnt this when I first started as a Horologist (watch maker) we had wash leather fixed to the workbench. Don't want to keep scratching about on the floor for for balance staffs and hair springs etc.

Best suggestion so far.  What's "wash leather" ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-5sq-ft-GENUINE-SHEEPSKIN-CHAMOIS-LEATHER-WASH-LEATHER-SHAMMY-/320821638766

[Kjelt]

Or build an anti gravity device for under your desk, if the part falls off the desk it floats around.
Anyway I think most ideas have been given and for me I also take the next part esp. with SMD C's and R's.

[nctnico]

I usually buy excess components so when one flies away I just pick a new one. Most of them are cheap anyway.

[Unixon]

Well, eventually I came up with rearranging the assembly process by using a cache of frequently used components right at the desk. Small SMDs in tape are transferred into the cache in 10-50pcs portions and those are immediately considered as used/lost to the main storage even if they are still available in the cache. This introduces some tolerance to accidental component losses during the assembly process and allows for faster assembly kit preparation since the component cache in refilled independently and asynchronously.

[dannyf]

How do you search for small SMD parts lost to floor, carpet, or working mess?

Make sure they  don't get there.

If they do, don't search for them - it is not worth your time.

[wraper]

How do you search for small SMD parts lost to floor, carpet, or working mess?

Make sure they  don't get there.

If they do, don't search for them - it is not worth your time.

It is worth if you have only one. One time I searched 01005 resistor which flown away while I was repairing a mobile phone. About 1.5 hours passed just to find that bastard on my desk. Size of the dust particle, almost can't distinguish them.

[echen1024]

I just buy em in reels of 4000. They're dirt cheap anyways. Doesn't matter a rats ass if one falls. For DIP conponents, such as ICs, take off your shoes and go for a lab tour. When the 4 letter epletive escapes your mouth, you know you;ve found it.

[SgtRock]

Dear Unixon:

--Consider putting a breadboard edge on your bench ala Norm Abram. You would take a piece of 3/8" to 1/2" lath and make a rabbit on the top edge, so that when it is installed, you are left with a small groove at the edge to catch the smalluns. If you install it just a tad high, it will help reduce roll-offs. If you are installing anti-static matting at the same time, it may be tucked under the breadboard edge. I have this planned for my bench, but I am waiting for my brother to do a complete rehab on the structure, whenever he and his contractor can break loose from other jobs.

"I see, Its a profit deal"
Steve Martin 1945 -

Best Regards
Clear Ether

[Rerouter]

due to buying one of those levitating spinner toys a decade back and then proceeding to loose the top i have a nice wide and strong magnet that i just sweep over the capret and i've even had qpf's stick to it,

[rob77]

I just buy em in reels of 4000. They're dirt cheap anyways. Doesn't matter a rats ass if one falls. For DIP conponents, such as ICs, take off your shoes and go for a lab tour. When the 4 letter epletive escapes your mouth, you know you;ve found it.

that's a hell of a great method !    the best is the detection of the part - unfortunately works only with DIPs in dead-bug position

[Radio Tech]

Hate it when I loose them. But I never look for them. ...Untill 2 weeks ago.
Had a RF amp in a radio that was suspect.  So like I have done for the last decade was grab 2 small irons and remove the amp.  The damn little spec flew accross the bench and landed on the floor. No problem right?

5 US bucks each! 
I now have the proper tool to remove SMD components. Bought a X-Tronic 4040 hot air station and a bunch of tweezers.

[Unixon]

Looks like nobody is reading any posts but the first one.

There was an issue with lost components, but now it is mostly solved by having a small cache of frequently used components at the desk.
Yes, I buy them in tape from 100pcs to 10000pcs, typically it's 300pcs or 500pcs, so the price is not an issue.
But well, they take a lot of place altogether, so I can't hold all of them at the desk, just small cache of about 10-50pcs.

[lapm]

I just buy em in reels of 4000. They're dirt cheap anyways. Doesn't matter a rats ass if one falls. For DIP conponents, such as ICs, take off your shoes and go for a lab tour. When the 4 letter epletive escapes your mouth, you know you;ve found it.

that's a hell of a great method !    the best is the detection of the part - unfortunately works only with DIPs in dead-bug position

After you pull of 40 pin dip package from your leg, you will remember be careful not to drop things to floor again... Been there, done that... 

[rob77]

I just buy em in reels of 4000. They're dirt cheap anyways. Doesn't matter a rats ass if one falls. For DIP conponents, such as ICs, take off your shoes and go for a lab tour. When the 4 letter epletive escapes your mouth, you know you;ve found it.

that's a hell of a great method !    the best is the detection of the part - unfortunately works only with DIPs in dead-bug position

After you pull of 40 pin dip package from your leg, you will remember be careful not to drop things to floor again... Been there, done that... 

been there too not a dip 40, but any size is sufficient in this case 

[edavid]

If you really need to find a small part that fell in carpet, put a piece of nylon mesh (got pantyhose?) over a vacuum cleaner nozzle.

[rob77]

If you really need to find a small part that fell in carpet, put a piece of nylon mesh (got pantyhose?) over a vacuum cleaner nozzle.

that's a great idea ! i assume any fabric would do the job. anyways thanks for the great idea ! 

[SeanB]

Side brazed ceramics have both sharper harder pins and are going to penetrate deeper as the pins are parallel so you get all in together with no chance of some bending.

With the vacuum cleaner you do need a very fine mesh, nylon stockings are the best, and if you do not have any just go out and buy the cheapest pair on sale. then use a heated wire to cut a leg off so that it will not unravel so much.

[SirNick]

One time I searched 01005 resistor which flown away while I was repairing a mobile phone. About 1.5 hours passed just to find that bastard on my desk. Size of the dust particle, almost can't distinguish them.

So it's just as likely your phone was successfully repaired with a tiny speck of bran muffin. 

If you really need to find a small part that fell in carpet, put a piece of nylon mesh (got pantyhose?) over a vacuum cleaner nozzle.

that's a great idea ! i assume any fabric would do the job. anyways thanks for the great idea ! 

Nope, specifically pantyhose.  It's a fabric specifically engineered to keep small parts out.  Badum-tish!

[Zbig]

I deploy my special ops hamster.

[saturation]

A handkerchief and a cordless dustbuster, fast and quick and always nearby.

[Phaedrus]

You're assuming i don't come into your house while you sleep and scatter random SMD components on the floor.

EE torture: a bin full of 1000 0603 10k resistors, and a single 0.01% precision 0603 resistor mixed in, when that resistor is critically needed to finish a project...

[rob77]

You're assuming i don't come into your house while you sleep and scatter random SMD components on the floor.

EE torture: a bin full of 1000 0603 10k resistors, and a single 0.01% precision 0603 resistor mixed in, when that resistor is critically needed to finish a project...

then fire-up your ohm meter with the tweezers probe a find one which fit's your needed tolerance it's not uncommon or rare to find a spot-on resistor within a thousand of 1% ones (and you don't even have to find your original 0.01% one).

[retrolefty]

i found if I walk barefooted on a rug I will find just about anything that is sharp.

[Phaedrus]

You're assuming i don't come into your house while you sleep and scatter random SMD components on the floor.

EE torture: a bin full of 1000 0603 10k resistors, and a single 0.01% precision 0603 resistor mixed in, when that resistor is critically needed to finish a project...

then fire-up your ohm meter with the tweezers probe a find one which fit's your needed tolerance it's not uncommon or rare to find a spot-on resistor within a thousand of 1% ones (and you don't even have to find your original 0.01% one).

But that just gives you the tolerance of your tweezers, which could be 0.2%-1% depending on how expensive they were.

[rob77]

But that just gives you the tolerance of your tweezers, which could be 0.2%-1% depending on how expensive they were.

sorry , but my tweezers probe got a constant resistance - probably you got one with random resistance but mine is constant 0.3 ohm - and one can easily subtract that from the read-out.

and following your logic... what tolerance you got on your regular probes ?