Keeping all the users in a shared prototyping space safe, while still allowing them to work efficiently, is hard. That’s why keeping things organized, marked and easy to find is so important.
I recently published a post on the Bolt blog about this called Organize to Optimize and I thought it would be helpful to see a simple list of the items I recommended here. I’ve broken them into the categories used in the blog post: Marking, Organization, and PPE.
Marking
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LW-400 Label Maker: you don’t need this one, per say, but do yourself a favor and buy a label maker.
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Adhesive-lined heatshrink: heatshrink is great to have around for all sorts of electronic work and for marking tools.
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Branded heatshrink tubing: I was pleasantly surprised to find that custom-cut, branded heatshrink is not very expensive.
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Label Maker with heatshrink support: If you’re really serious about marking wiring harnesses, print on heatshrink with this fancy label maker.
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Painters Tape: great all-around tape.
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Twin-tip sharpies: the twin-tip style is the only way to go.
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Dry-erase tape: great for marking things with dates and other notes that will change over time.
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Cricut Explore Air 2 Vinyl Cutter: a decent low-cost vinyl cutter.
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Roland Vinyl Cutter: a fantastic, more expensive, vinyl cutter.
Organization
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Foldable cardboard bins: cheap bins that pack flat and are great for storing spare parts.
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Stackable plastic bins: more expensive, stacking plastic bins. Especially great for small parts that would slip through the cracks of fold-up bins.
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Bin-mounting rail: attach this rail to the wall for mounting stackable plastic bins.
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Big storage bins: super robust, nesting bins for deep storage.
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Boltless shelves: strong shelving that can be put together in a variety of configurations with only a hammer.
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Kitchen utensil trays: surprisingly great for separating tools in Ikea drawers.
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Tripp Lite power strip: the best power strip for wall or under-desk mounting. Comes in a variety of lengths.
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Schaller bins: cheap molded plastic bins for storing endmills, cutting inserts, driver bits and other small things.
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Wall-mounted broom hanger: ideal for keeping your mops and brooms off the floor.
PPE
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Ear plug dispenser: wall-mountable dispenser of disposable ear plugs.
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Safety goggles for glasses-wearers: the only good safety goggle option for glasses-wearers.
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Face shield: protect your face!
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Stainless steel hemostats: the length and material makes this ideal for grabbing parts out of a 3d printer support bath.
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Spider strainer: pairs nicely with the hemostats for fishing parts out of the 3d printing support bath.
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Sentry Air System fume extractor: a powerful fume extractor made for welding. Works well for extracting soldering fumes from multiple workstations.
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Locline hose: the well-known vendor of rigid hosing for coolant in machining also makes large-diameter parts that work well for other plumbing jobs.
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Dust extractor: this dust extractor is pretty affordable, considering its power.
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Glove rack: keep your gloves organized!
If you’d like more commentary about why I recommend these items, read the Bolt blog post.
How do you keep your shop safe and organized?
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