Building the ULTIMATE (kind of) Electronics Workbench!

This project has taken much more time than I hoped, and didn't turn out exactly like I wanted. But without anymore delays, here's us building our new electronics test bench that will be used for the upcoming EMC series.
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MicroType Engineering is a full service electronics and mechanical product design firm. We offer turnkey support no matter how far along in the design process you are. We have full schematic capture, PCB design, firmware, mechanical design, and prototype/small-batch assembly services. Please reach out to learn more! microtype.io/

[@Buzzhumma]

You made a meal out of an entrée. Use form plywood as bench tops and sides . Just an upside down big box. Use 60 mm screws and glue together with liquid nails . Cheap and strong.

[@MicroTypeEngineering]

"You made a meal out of an entrée." LOL, I like that saying! Yeah, I'm definitely thinking there will be a part two to this!

[@DucBanal]

So I am super shocked that nobody in the comments mentioned simply simply buying V-slot extrusions (just Google this and you will find plenty of vendors). I work in a research lab (to give you an idea of their environment) and they are used for *everything*. And so for good reasons : - they are modular ; you can cut them to any size you see fit - you can join them using nuts that slide in the V groove allowing you to position them according to your needs - you can find plenty of accessories for them ; rubberized feet, wheels, brackets - they are really sturdy ; if you cut them correctly they are just rock solid and really light - you can relatively dismantle them easily - upgrade is just adding more nuts in the groove Hope this helps! Have a good one!

[@Asyss_Complex]

Thanks for the tip! Modularity is the selling point for me. When it comes to plastic storage containers, do you know of similar products that are modular?

[@DucBanal]

@@Asyss_Complex my answer would really depend on the usage, number of plastic containers you would need but you can look up Alexandre Chappel on KZbin for a modular system of containers. The problem with that solution is that it is 3d printed so if you need a lot of them in my opinion that is not the way to go. Unless you have access to injection molding.

[@MicroTypeEngineering]

So yeah, we use those extrusions for a lot of things, including our functional testers. Two reasons why we didn't use them for this (I originally wanted to): They would have been over double the price as the steel struts. I also assumed that they, being aluminum, would have been less strong and rigid than the struts. That clearly wasn't the case!

[@DucBanal]

@@MicroTypeEngineering My bad then! I did not know the price difference! Glad to know that you heard and considered that option too!

[@andybrice2711]

That stuff is way more expensive than steel channel though. Like triple the price for comparable rigidity. It's better for precision structures like CNC machines.

[@navadeep025]

Supercool bench. Great work building one!

[@mikegraham7078]

That 'superstrut' is known in the electrical industry as uni-strut. There are many, many different fittings available, and they are used extensively in the electrical trade. Not so much in electronics. :) Strut can be had with pierced holes, pierced slots, or plain. Guess which kind are the worst ones to use with spring nuts? The slotted ones like you have. You can get the nuts without springs on them, which is way cheaper and not really much worse to deal with when using slotted channel. You can get tees that take two fasteners per leg instead of one, and they are much more sturdy. You really should go through a catalogue of available fittings before starting a project using uni-strut because there is a startlingly large number of pieces available. Electricians routinely make large structures out of strut to support cable setups. As to how to make a bench... there are many options. I have scads of strut and fittings at work, and I really don't think that I would bother using it to make a bench. One of the problems with making an electronics bench is that you don't want the bench top to be too thick because you will be sitting at it, and you will need to be a reasonable height above the surface to be able to use a binocular microscope and solder under it. One option that can be fantastic is commercial kitchen prep tables. They are stainless steel and can routinely be found cheap due to the continual foundering of small restaurants. Since they are a welded stainless steel construction they are corrosion resistant, sturdy as all hell, and they are conductive so you can ground a leg and your ESD mat is magically tied into the system. Another option that's popular is extruded aluminum, but sturdiness isn't its forte. Looks pretty stylish, though.

[@MicroTypeEngineering]

Thanks a lot for the notes! That's funny about the spring fastners, which I knew that at the start..

[@Janamejaya.Channegowda]

Great work, can you please link the ESD mat you used?, thanks.

[@MicroTypeEngineering]

bertech.com/product/2-ft-x-20-ft-esd-high-temperature-mat-roll-gray-color/

[@jimmycake7143]

Just buy a U line packing table with shelves