What types of storage do you use? Are you subscribed to an organizational philosophy? Do you sort your resistors by resistance?
Please and thank you ~
- a good supply of passive SMT books from the usual suppliers (mainly the "notebook" style ones with cut tape in the pages)
- various larger SMT & PTH parts, connectors, switches, etc in modular parts boxes (Eclipse Tools #900-041 mainly; larger in #900-039). These boxes stack nicely, are adjustable, are pretty cheap, and can be found at Microcenter (though ordering direct from Eclipse Tools is cheaper in quantity). I keep things in them in ESD or small zip bags, with those labeled as they get allocated. I try to keep each box assigned to a type of component then label the front of them ("Toggle Switches", "Motor+Stepper Ctrl", "Gaskets & O-Rings").
- even larger parts end up in plastic boxes from IRIS or IKEA, in 3 standardized sizes.
Key to this plan was buying bins in bulk (qty 10 or 20 pcs minimum) since they store well empty, can be used as replacements when lids/bases break, and inventory always tends to grow. Plus, wire shelving is easy when everything is standardized... "buy once, cry once" and you can't count on the same cheap bin being available in 10 years when current extras are out.
Starting to look into setting up a database tool to keep track of stock - partsbox, inventree, google form+sheet, ??? - but not there yet.
Pre made resistor and capacitor kits are a nice way to keep a selection on hand that's pre-organized for you.
Lots of people are suggesting 3D printed bins but I'd recommend something anti-static, for example:
https://www.techni-tool.com/product/429BE9038-554-4ESD?srslt...
My default organizational philosophy for all things is YAGNI. Search is often more efficient than developing, enforcing and maintaining a taxonomy because documentation.
If that doesn't work, I organize a little at a time as I go along and usually a little differently every time. The things I use more often become more organized -- the things I merely hoard not so much.
Caveat, my organization is personal not shared. Shared organization is a different animal...it must be negotiated.
https://www.printables.com/model/49785-allit-varioplus-drawe...
Larger items go into various sized stackable Rako or Euro style boxes.
https://www.utzgroup.ch/stackable-containers-euro-containers...
SMD components I keep in these small trays for which I print small labels.
I read some reactions in the style of 'toss most of it and buy it when you need it' but those strike me as odd; one of the big advantages of having a comprehensive parts supply is that you can repair most equipment when needed without being dependent on external suppliers. The mere fact that parts are 'cheap' does not make them 'worthless', the cheap transistor in your drawer is worth a lot more than the one in the warehouse when you need it.
I have a couple of drawer boxes with a resistor assortment and some other parts. I really should consolidate them down to one. Maybe none - I don’t do much (i.e. any) tinkering or through-hole rough prototyping anymore. You need very few actual resistor values in each decade for typical tinkering and straightforward design. I could probably live with 1.0, 1.50, 2.21, 3.31, 4.64, and 6.81; and not even all of those in every decade. Other values, if for example you’re designing a filter or something, order them as needed.
For typical microcontroller and similar digital stuff you will want to have a stock of 10K resistors and 0.1 uF capacitors.
Don’t stock electrolytics if your time has value - they have a shelf life of about ten years Spools of wire I keep in shoebox-sized plastic boxes from Rubbermaid or Sterilite.
Ridiculously cheap Arduino doodads I keep in the compartment boxes they came in.
Harbor freight has a lot of things like plastic drawer boxes and compartment boxes for good prices.
A good label maker is nice to have, or you can print on Avery label sheets.
I've tried many different strategies over the years, but this one fits me better than any other because it's the most flexible and extendable. I have half of a wall in my lab covered with them now.
I color-code the drawers to indicate general type (capacitor, resistor, inductor, IC, etc.), and sort them in the drawers according to value (for passive components) and part # (for active ones).
For large parts, I use commercial parts drawers in a similar fashion.
I also have a registry of everything I have. When I buy or use something, I update the registry.
Also wrote an app to track what I have in stock https://f-droid.org/packages/com.codelv.inventory/
For fixing IFR stuff[1,2], he's got a few dedicated under the desk roll out clear plastic drawers with all the spares, etc.
All the Tubes are in boxes in trays in the closet, in random order.
Resistors, are sorted, in drawers by value, clearly marked.
Capacitors are separated by type and voltage. He's got a few boxes of 450 volt electrolytics for all the tube gear.
All the semiconductors are in a few drawers with the IFR parts.
Then there's the shelving with parts radios, etc.
├── C drawers
│ ├── C11.md
│ ├── C12 empty.md
│ ├── C13 dev interface.md
│ ├── C14 wifi boards.md
│ ├── C21 switches.md
The nice things about these is that you can see what is inside them before you have to open them.
I love to grab a few of them (eg: 'Soldering', 'MCU's', 'Resistors'), bring them to my workbench and start doing stuff while the components stay neatly sorted within the organizer instead of spreading around my bench. When done, close the lid, shove them back in the rack and I'm done.
Extra tackle tray drawers are all of $6 or so, so for example, I have an extra that is just my digital oscilloscope and probes/cables, and if I think that the task I am going to do might involve careful troubleshooting of signals, I can simply swap a tray out and be ready.
Used food containers may not be so sexy, but not all has to be a 1Mio. Dollar Youtube boutique.
This system does require more cubic space than alternatives. Often groups that fit together in tool bags, crates, or better concealed boxes.
I have dremmeled out repurposed power tool boxes (nice clasps.) this go well for kits (sic., soldering kit, circuit building kit)
Could be different size, or some non-standard shape, but idea of cash box is in all cases.
Very big components packed in transparent plastic bag, each have qr-code and id of component placed in database in some ERP system.
1. Cheap components (most probably you will use such in 99% cases) are +-5% from claimed parameters (sometimes appear batches with more than +-10% difference). Also, unfortunately, cheap components parameters changed very large with temperature and when high voltage applied (100V is enough). And yes, I all time have ready measurement tool near, and always first check component parameters when something not working.
2. Experienced developers when considering batches, trying to make designs, which tolerate more than 10% difference of parameters, and just buy few reels with near to magnitudes numbers which fit in all circuit. For example, 1KOhm, 5KOhm, 10KOkm, 100KOhm, 500KOhm.
3. Just few times in my whole life, I seen very expensive precision components, like 0.5Ohm 5W for high-end audio. This one resistor costs somewhere about 5$, but it is only one in whole circuit.
What types of storage do you use?
Are you subscribed to an organizational philosophy?
Do you sort your resistors by resistance?
I will say this, however, after several moves an the economic crashes we went through, it became not my first source of income, and I slowed down a lot, to the point that it is more of a hobby. At this point, I had no room for the bins, and so now I have the following: I purchased a bazillion ziploc bags, perhaps 2"x3" with a white writable area on the outside. I put the resistors in them in the same way as I describe above (e.g. start at 47ohms and move up with metal film, then carbon comp, then power) and I put them standing up in cardboard boxes that allow two of the bags to sit side by side. This has saved a ton of room, although obviously it is slower.
On the "keep finding spare parts between my toes and under pillows", yeah, if you want to get rid of that, you need to have iron-clad will power to find that one you dropped just a moment ago.