Storage BOX for loose LEDs?

[milkyspit]

This might be the oddest post I've yet done around here.

Now that I'm working on my Milky Candle project (there's a thread about it here in the mods section) I find that I'm rapidly accumulating my own little cache of various colors, grades and brands of 5mm LEDs, and it's becoming harder to keep them organized. I know I don't want to do the ziplock bag thing much longer, but would be interested in some sort of bin like those fishing lure holders with all the sections. What do others find works well to keep 5mm LEDs organized and quickly accessible?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I have an old tackle box that I keep bulbs and some LEDs in. Mostly the LEDs are in medicine bottles, one marked useful, and one marked useless!

I haven't got any great loose LEDs anyhow, the good stuff is in turnkey stuff I got from Wayne, Wayne, and Charlie!

 

[Doug Owen]

Scott,

I guess it depends on what you're doing and how many types and how many of each.

For what I assume you're about (a dozen or so types with a few of each?) you might want to consider a piece of foam packing material. For years I kept such parts on one of several sheets of inch thick styrofoam. I drew lines on the foam with a felt tip marker, labeled each box and just stuck the leads of the LED, resistor, IC, transistor, whatever in. Not secure, or well protected, but fast, convenient, and cheap.

Otherwise, for larger numbers of parts, small parts cabinets are the call, IMO. As are small divided plastic boxes (I currently use a lot of 3 by 5 inch 4 compartment boxes that I get at Tap Plastics for a little over a dollar each) Polyethylene is recommended over polystyrene.

Doug Owen

 

[milkyspit]

Well, just to make things interesting I've mostly got the scenario that Doug assumes -- several types with a few of each -- but I've also got 20 white Nichia 6400mcd and just ordered 40 orange something-or-others from Craig's LEDSaurus (at LED Museum).

That foam idea's pretty good, and something I wouldn't have thought of myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif , although it would be nice to have something a little more compact.

Incidentally, Doug, how can I tell the difference between a polyethylene box and a polystyrene one?

 

[markus_i]

Easy - Polyethylene is usually marked PE and Polystyrene as PS ;-)

Seriously: PE is softish, can bend, rip, but doesn't shatter (under normal circumstances) - and can't be glued, either.
PS is hard, shatters easily and can be glued (remember model kits - they're usually PS).
Most fridge boxes ('Tupperware') around here are PE.

HTH, Bye
Markus

 

[DaveT]

Hi Milky - maybe something like this would work for you?
Dave
Watchmaker's Cases

 

[Doug Owen]

[ QUOTE ]
milkyspit said:
Well, just to make things interesting I've mostly got the scenario that Doug assumes -- several types with a few of each -- but I've also got 20 white Nichia 6400mcd and just ordered 40 orange something-or-others from Craig's LEDSaurus (at LED Museum).

That foam idea's pretty good, and something I wouldn't have thought of myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif , although it would be nice to have something a little more compact.


[/ QUOTE ]

Not to worry, once again others have blazed the trail.... For myself, it's 'Tap Plastics to the rescue' again. For larger piles I use a square box about two inches on a side and not quite as tall. Holds about 200 5 mm LEDs. Smaller piles generally go smaller boxes, also 'snap top'. Each box has a small card with the info on the device and the dozen or so various size boxes go in a single fairly small cardboard box. This is 'backup stock', you work everyday with the few devices of each type on the foam sheets (which generally live on top of the gear on the workbench).

Production is, of course, another matter entirely.

The compact version exists for field work (where you might have to live out of your tool kit). It's generally a folded cardboard sheet with a couple of sheets of the dense black conductive foam ICs some come shipped in. Maybe 3/8 inch thick, more than long enough for DIPs to go in from both sides. You stick parts in on both sides and put a 'map' on the cardboard insides for the devices like LEDs that aren't labeled. The cardboard wraps around the stack of such sheets like a book cover (on top, bottom and one side) and is held on with rubber bands or string.

BTW, the real difference betwee PE and PS boxes is found when you drop them (or the airlines/customs guys get your gear), it's the difference between 'oops' and 'Oh, S***!'.

Doug Owen

 

[Xrunner]

I personally like the little Plano storage boxes that you find in the sporting goods section for fishing (around 4x3 inches or smaller). They come in several sizes, some have removable dividers, and they are relatively cheap. One thing I found if you don't like the rattle is you can line them with all kinds of materials. The only bad thing is they don't do anywhere near as well as PE does.

-Mike

 

[php_44]

I prefer those drawer type organizers you can get at walmart. Some units have drawers with multiple sizes for accomodating both small and larger parts nicely. The drawers can be subdivided.

I also confess to purchasing a bunch of PS (hard) clear boxes at a craft store that the sign said were great for organizing beads. They were 99 cents and measure about 8x6x2 inches with 8 various sized bins. These have been great for tiny SMT parts and LEaded LEDs. Though they are hard, the clear plastic makes it easy to see at a glance what's inside.

I'm a parts pack rat. B-i-g T-i-m-e. I have to fight to keep my nose out of those Ebay parts auctions /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RussH]

Just take your pick of these - I use them for such things as flashlight bulbs & gasp! LEDs. Not to mention pills. http://www.healthaccessories.com/pill_boxes/weekly_monthly_medication_organizers.htm

 

[milkyspit]

[ QUOTE ]
RussH said:
Just take your pick of these - I use them for such things as flashlight bulbs & gasp! LEDs. Not to mention pills. http://www.healthaccessories.com/pill_boxes/weekly_monthly_medication_organizers.htm

[/ QUOTE ]

Now let me see... which LED do I use on Wednesday? Hee hee hee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Sorry, RussH, I couldn't resist. They do look like pretty secure storage, though. Thanks.

 

[milkyspit]

markus_i, thanks... now I understand better. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

DaveT, those watchmaker's cases are COOL! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif The only two things I don't understand about them are (1) how you order them, as it's not clear to me whether you're paying for each little container, or entire sets, and whether the outer case comes with the little containers; and (2) whether the lids are really made of glass? I'm thinking there could be a big mess if I dropped a bunch of glass-lidded little containers, and forget about the airport baggage handlers! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif But these will be for home use, anyway, where my own clumsiness would be their biggest enemy. Wonder how durable they are?

Xrunner, I have a little double-sided Plano fishing table box of roughly the dimensions you quote that I've used for years as a little travelling pharmacy: Tylenol, allergy medicine, asthma medicine, some vitamins, etc. They're really handy. My biggest problem with them for LEDs is that some of the compartments, at least in the one I've got, are too short for the leads on the LEDs, and my compartments aren't removable. In general, though, Plano rules. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Doug, Tap Plastics could be my ultimate salvation for component storage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Looks like an interesting place. I'll need to poke around their website a bit and find a good match.

Also, I like your approach in terms of the containers vs. the foam. Guess I'm not just finding some quick storage, but actually reengineering my storage strategy, eh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

php_44, I used to use drawer-type organizers but got away from them for a few reasons. For one, I like the appeal of picking up an entirely clear box and looking at everything I've got, all laid out in front of me. Also, I used to end up stuffing too much in the drawers, and they inevitably would get stuck on something... like an LED lead. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif Also, for now I don't really have a dedicated workshop; I'm kind of a nomadic tinkerer. I have these cool $5 toolboxes from Walmart that have some parts storage built into the outside top of the lid, plus a translucent body (probably polyethylene, as I now know /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and a really comfortable handle. These have become theme boxes for me: one for PC mods, one for flashlight work, etc. Each has parts and some tools specific to the theme. Unfortunately, there aren't nearly enough compartments for all the electronic components, let alone LEDs, that I'm now accumulating. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

But if I were somewhat more conventional (read: less of a freak), those drawer-type units might work great! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

 

[snakebite]

35mm film cannisters.

 

[DaveT]

Hi Milky -
I re-read the page, and it looks like each set of containers comes in a box, which is either a hinged aluminum case or pasteboard (the row/column box at the bottom tells you which set comes which way).
And I'm guessing that they mean glass when they say glass...I ordered some other stuff from them, and their general line of stuff seems to be woodworking/craftsmanship gear, with a bias toward classic materials.
However, I haven't seen one of these in person to give you a word about durability.

Dave

 

[Hemingray]

Basically being a frugal sort (read that "cheapskate", I try to use what is either free, or would otherwise get discarded,
so I use small deli cups (with covers) or the 6 or 8 ounce yogurt cups, for LEDs and small parts. As previously mentioned, 35 mm film canisters are good for smaller quantities, and for the really tiny parts.

If the components are static sensitive, you might want to consider the black cobductive foam, or using the pink or metallized antistatic bags for ICs, blue, green, white or UV LEDs, though I have never zapped any of these by using plastic containers.

If you just have a small number of LEDs, a strip of corrugated cardboard, cut so that the "holes" are along the long edge is a great way to temporarily store LEDs, resistors, and other small components, while building a project.

/ed B in NH