Storing resistors

[bee]

I have an increasing amount of resistors in my workshop,,, Was just wondering how you guys store them so you can access them easily,,They are the 1/4 watt metal film in the small plastic bag 10 off
I have been thinkin about putting them in a loose leaf folder,,, Maybe staple them in
Just lookin for ideas as not convinced about the folder idea yet

Bernie

 

[LTX71CM]

A lot of people seem to like storing them in bins on their bench, closed bins. Knocking the bins over would spoil your night. If you're tight on space, or bins, a method I've seen is to place similar values together like 1,10,100,10k,100k go in one bin, 470,4.7k,47k,470k in another. This allows you to look at the third band (most cases) and easily get the right resistor for your needs using a minimum of space.

 

[RODALCO]

I store my resistors in a metal drawer cabinet which I inherited from work when the old department closed down.
Most values i have put down in E12 - E 24 series.
e.g. 220, 250 and 270 ohm together, 300, 330, 390 ohms etc. to keep all R's accessible in not too many draws.
still 60 draws in use for most values between 1 and 10 Meg Ohms.
The most used values take up most space. ( between 68 ohms and 100k ohms) most values here have their own draw.

 

[MrAl]

Hi,

Another very cheap alternative is "Baggies" which come in a variety of types. The locking sealed type seem best for small parts as they seal shut. You can also include a small card inside the baggie with the contents of the baggie (ie "100 ohm, 1/4 watt") so you can tell at a glance what parts are inside, or you can put the date of the order ("10/04/2010") so you can look up the order sheet you would store on your computer to tell what is inside. It also helps to write where you got the parts from too so you can find the order sheet faster. The baggies then store in a box or drawer. You can also group a bunch of smaller baggies inside a larger baggie so if you buy say 40 different values of resistors from Jameco you can store them each in their own small baggie but put all of the baggies inside a larger gallon size baggie with a card inside that says something like "Jameco 10/03/2010" for example, and the order form you have on your computer in a text file would list the entire contents of that larger baggie.
Index cards work nice for the content cards, but even small strips of paper work ok too.
Ive found that writing on the baggies with a so called permanent marker eventually rubs off so that doesnt work too well.

 

[bee]

Thanks for the replies ,,,,
I am trying to avoid the 10 min delay lookin for a resistor as mine are all in one box and its drivin me crazy
Still not sure what to do yet ,, But cheers for the ideas

Bernie

 

[canadaelk]

I use 3"x5" manilla "coin envelopes" (about $5 for 250 at Saples), stored in 4" cardboard parts-bins. The value of the part is written on the paper bag. The boxes are marked x/xWatt, x%, #1 etc. The value is visible on the first bag so you can see what box you need. 35 bags with about 100 res each will fit into an 18" deep box. 2 boxes should cover all your 1/4 Watt resistors. I do the same with small caps, diodes, transistors etc.
ICs are a topic of their own. Do not get me started!
E

 

[kinarfi]

I tried the envelope route for a while and then order 100 of those electrostatic bags that suppliers send parts in, plus saved those bags, marked them 1/brown, 2/red,3/orange, etc and the put them in a box that is the right width and also keep several parts in the same bags as long as the parts aren't to bulky.
Kinarfi

 

[MrAl]

Thanks for the replies ,,,,
I am trying to avoid the 10 min delay lookin for a resistor as mine are all in one box and its drivin me crazy
Still not sure what to do yet ,, But cheers for the ideas

Bernie

Hi,


That's why i suggested the baggies. What you do is organize your parts and label each bag, even with a simple number like 001, 002, 003, etc. On the computer you make a file that contains all the bag numbers and what is inside. Here's an example:

Bag 001
Resistor, 100 ohms, 1/4 watt, 5 percent (5)
Resistor, 2.2k, 1/4 watt, 5 percent (10)
Resistor, 10k, 1/2 watt, 1 percent (3)

Bag 002
Transistor, 2N2222A (23)

Bag 003
Capacitor, 0.1uf, 25v (50)
Capacitor, 0.01uf, 50v, (25)

Note the quantity of each part is the last thing in the line and enclosed in parentheses so you know how many of each thing you have left. That means you have a record of inventory too. When you need a part, you look at your file where you keep this list and find the part using a text editor (like Notepad) using the "Find" feature and find the part, then you see what bag it is in. If you keep the bags in larger bags you can log that too and it gets really fast to find a part. When you take out a part you can decrease the quantity by 1 so that when you get low you know it right away and can order some more. Alternately, you can show the quantity you bought AND the quantity you used like so:
Resistor, 1k, 5 percent, (25-3)
which would mean you bought 25 but used 3 already (so of course 22 are left). When you get to something like this:
Resistor, 1k, 5 percent, (25-23)
you know you only have two left so you should probably order some more.

If you use drawers too you can number each drawer, Drawer 001, Drawer 002, etc., and use that in your list to find the part also.

 

[bee]

Thanks MrAl
I will look at that method again ,,,Easy to see what you have left in stock instead of rumaging through boxes an bags

Thanks to all

Bernie

 

[MrAl]

Hi again,

Oh ok sure. I thought i would tell you about this because i have been using this method for years now and i have thousands and thousands of parts and would never be able to find anything if i didnt do something like this. There is a down side, and that is that you have to be diligent when you take a part out to make sure to decrement the quantity, otherwise you will loose track of how many you really have left.

I started a Windows program a while back to keep track of inventory, but it seems easier just to list the parts and use a search tool to find the part.

 

[RODALCO]

I make a couple of photo's of my resistor set up, but drawers are the easiest for quick access to certain values.

 

[PatM]

I also use little coin envelopes.
Mark the values on the outside and have them lined up in a small tray.
Easy to find the correct value without sorting through a pile.
A small parts cabinet would also work if you don't like the envelopes.

 

[RODALCO]

sorting resistors

Attached are a couple of photo's

I prefer the drawer system although I also use old glass utility meter covers for storing parts.

As long matters are labelled , quick access is possible.

Regards

Raymond

 

[bee]

The drawers would be good but i will have to start collecting drawers,, Having said that, I have seen them at auctions and never bothered about them
Thanks for the pics Raymond,, You have quite a few parts on stock hey,,Never have to many parts that what i keep tellin the missus

Thanks for all the replies
Bernie

 

[Dean Huster]

I have two stackable cabinets that have plastic drawers. Each is 6 drawers wide and 12 drawers high. When I stack the two cabinets, each column of drawers will hold the 24 standard values for that decade, each column of drawers being a decade.

The left-most column holds the resistors with black multiplier bands: 10 to 91 ohms
The second column from the left holds the resistors with brown multiplier bands: 100 to 910 ohms
The third column from the left holds the resistors with red multiplier bands: 1K to 9.1K ohms
The fourth column from the left holds the resistors with orange multiplier bands: 10K to 91K ohms
The fifth column from the left holds the resistors with yellow multiplier bands: 100K to 910K ohms
The sixth column from the left holds the resistors with green multiplier bands: 1M to 9.1M ohms

The significant digits for each row in each column from top to bottom are:
10 (BRN-BLK)
11 (BRN-BRN)
12 (BRN-RED)
13 (BRN-ORN)
15 (BRN-GRN)
16 (BRN-BLU)
18 (BRN-GRY)
20 (RED-BLK)
22 (RED-RED)
24 (RED-YEL)
27 (RED-VIO)
30 (ORN-BLK)
33 (ORN-ORN)
36 (ORN-BLU)
39 (ORN-WHT)
43 (YEL-ORN)
47 (YEL-VIO)
51 (GRN-BRN)
56 (GRN-BLU)
62 (BLU-RED)
68 (BLU-GRY)
75 (VIO-GRN)
82 (GRY-RED)
91 (WHT-BRN)

It's compact, super-organized storage. All other wattage resistors are in my mass storage system (metal drawers) mixed together by value from a low of 0.1 ohm to a high of 100M ohms. SMT "chip" resistors are stored in 24 plastic parts boxes, six compartments per box, one box being one of the standard 24 values per decade, each box holding six decades, e.g., one box might be 22, 220, 2.2K, 22K, 220K, 2.2M ohms. My precision 1% and better metal film resistors are stored in kraft coin envelopes (available at office supply stores) one value per envelope and stored on-edge index card style in two drawers of my mass storage system.

 

[Mr RB]

Resistors in drawers, sorted by the third band (multiplier) so the drawers go;

silver+gold (0 up)
black (10 up)
brown (100 up etc)
red
orange
yellow
green+blue

There are drawers for larger and smaller sizes, under the same system. I started this system when I had apprentices and assistants etc as it allows them to sort new stocks of parts into the drawers very easily. These days it's a bit more complex with most of the metal films now having 5 bands but I kept the same system.

 

[bee]

Looks like i will be lookin for some drawers in the near future seems like prob the best and easy to find the values

Thanks
Bernie

 

[hanscapp]

I store my resistors by the third collor ring,best way

 

[QuietMan]

Project: Resistor Parts Storage

I store every resistor of the ¼W variety in a one gallon storage bag, organized for really easy access. A impulse sealer is required though, because some of the bags are truly custom.

I have most of the values for this type (about 99%), starting at 1.0Ω going to 10MΩ. I'm sure I was pain picking them out of the shelves 10 at a time from Tanner's (a local electronics shop in Carrolton, suburb of Dallas).

 

[3v0]

At home I use trays with compartments such that each value has its own. One tray per decade. The compartment are large enough that I can have bagged rolled or loose resistors mixed in tray.

It is a bit large. The stack of trays is about 18 inches tall 14 wide and 20 long. Could be off a bit. But I keep it on top of a storage unit so it is not a problem.
When I am stuffing a PCB it rests on the floor next to me.

I may have tried all the methods others are using and for me this is by far the best.

These are multi compartment anti static tray used on the production line when my former employer was still building product in the US. I expect you might find them at surplus outlets all over the western world.

If anyone is interested I can snap a pic.