IC Storage

liquids · February 09, 2012, 03:46:55 PM

In short, are there any around-the-house solutions for storage of ICs?

I find it easiest to keep all my chips in storage containers with the labels up so I can tell what's what...but unless I stick them in something like foam or styrofoam, all the chips are 'legs up' and then I can't read what they are very quickly, etc....and then I'm liable to order chips I already have tens of, and assume I have chips that I don't.

Can anyone relate? At this point I must have at least 4 dozen different kinds of ICs and it's getting harder to keep track of them at a glance. dozens of CDxxxx, 13X000, a dozen varieties of op amps, various comparators and other wacky chips, etc.

The only thing I can think of right now is styrofoam - is it relatively safe to store chips/ICs in styrofoam? That conductive foam seems not only easily 'counterfeit' but unnecesary (and hence unnecessarily expensive) since I doubt I've ever fried a chip due to static before...though have fried them due to plenty of other reasons!

.Mike · February 09, 2012, 04:05:30 PM

I ordered some samples from a manufacturer once. It was a total of maybe 16 ICs-- 4 samples of 4 varieties. The company sent them in those IC tubes, the ones that you stick a plug in the end to prevent the IC from falling out. The tube that each IC was sent in was HUGE, like 18" long each. It made no sense why the would ship it that way.

I hacked the tubes into smaller pieces, and use them to store ICs. I stick a piece of foam in the end, put in the ICs, make a little label on a piece of index card, slide it into the tube, and stick another piece of foam in the end. They are easily accessible, easy to organize, and perfectly protected.

Now, to figure out how to get more of the tubes...

Mike

liquids · February 09, 2012, 04:10:30 PM

Jameco sends them that way, and I have a fair number of those myself. Nothing wrong with that method, but I like my storage bins...

defaced · February 09, 2012, 04:54:22 PM

Before I learned to type acronyms properly, I posed this question on a different forum. Many of the guys in that thread are either EEs or seasoned service techs/shop owners. http://music-electronics-forum.com/t22239/

liquids · February 09, 2012, 05:57:39 PM

Good link! This guy echoes my sentiment exactly "When I have a bunch of 4558s in foam, it is not about static, it is just a way to have a neat storage arrangement."

But I'm out of foam =[

defaced · February 09, 2012, 06:44:42 PM

Aluminum foil. All the foam is doing is keeping all of the pins at the same voltage. Anything conductive will work.

DavenPaget · February 09, 2012, 08:14:06 PM

I have a piece of paper stuck up to the back of my bench , i track my stock there , or on my phone .

defaced · February 09, 2012, 10:53:12 PM

Quote from: liquids on February 09, 2012, 05:57:39 PM
Good link! This guy echoes my sentiment exactly "When I have a bunch of 4558s in foam, it is not about static, it is just a way to have a neat storage arrangement."

But I'm out of foam =[

Yea, Enzo's posts are top notch. I have never fixed a SS amp before in my life, but I've read enough of his threads where he's walking people through it, that I bet I could do it without much trouble. I have learned alot from his posts.

liquids · February 10, 2012, 02:04:46 PM

Any solid electronic reason to avoid sticking chips in everyday packing styrofoam?

DavenPaget · February 10, 2012, 02:15:20 PM

Quote from: liquids on February 10, 2012, 02:04:46 PM
Any solid electronic reason to avoid sticking chips in everyday packing styrofoam?

Not a problem , it has to be conductive-type or else static in the air will just kill the chip .

earthtonesaudio · February 10, 2012, 02:23:24 PM

Quote from: DavenPaget on February 10, 2012, 02:15:20 PM
Quote from: liquids on February 10, 2012, 02:04:46 PM
Any solid electronic reason to avoid sticking chips in everyday packing styrofoam?
Not a problem , it has to be conductive-type or else static in the air will just kill the chip .

Regular packing styrofoam is extremely non-conductive and will build up many kV if you even look at it funny. Watch out!

liquids · February 10, 2012, 02:35:46 PM

Quote from: earthtonesaudio on February 10, 2012, 02:23:24 PM
Quote from: DavenPaget on February 10, 2012, 02:15:20 PM
Quote from: liquids on February 10, 2012, 02:04:46 PM
Any solid electronic reason to avoid sticking chips in everyday packing styrofoam?
Not a problem , it has to be conductive-type or else static in the air will just kill the chip .

Regular packing styrofoam is extremely non-conductive and will build up many kV if you even look at it funny. Watch out!

Okay, good to know. How bad is regular 'packing' foamy stuff that's probably not that hard to get?

liquids · February 10, 2012, 03:00:09 PM

Quote from: earthtonesaudio on February 10, 2012, 02:23:24 PM
Regular packing styrofoam is extremely non-conductive and will build up many kV if you even look at it funny. Watch out!

Or, what if I put aluminum foil over the styrofoam, then shove the chip in there?

defaced · February 10, 2012, 04:53:47 PM

I'm sure you could rationalize a way that it would work, but the price for black conductive foam is far less than even a few ICs that you could possibly kill by using packing foam and aluminum. If one pin loses contact with the Al foil, you risk blowing the chip. Conductive foam is relatively inexpensive and can be found through Mouser (in large sheets) or eBay (small quantities).

If you want to do more reading on the topic of materials and static, do some digging on the triboelectric series. Also look for info on electrostatic charge and humidity.

guitarrob · February 10, 2012, 10:07:13 PM

I keep all mine on anti-static foam or leave them in the anti-static envelopes or leave them in the tube also if you are getting them like that from the companies.

liquids · February 11, 2012, 06:32:03 AM

I guess there isn't any around-the-house solutions that does what I want...i ordered this, which all in all isn't overly expensive so long as it does the task...thanks for the suggestions.

http://www.amazon.com/Techni-Stat-Foam-Anti-Static-Pink-12/dp/B000PDJ5CQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1328959767&sr=8-6

StephenGiles · February 11, 2012, 08:32:02 AM

A large spare breadboard might do the trick, or perhaps soldering one leg to a large piece of veroboard.

liquids · February 12, 2012, 06:45:32 PM

Quote from: StephenGiles on February 11, 2012, 08:32:02 AM
A large spare breadboard might do the trick, or perhaps soldering one leg to a large piece of veroboard.

That gave me a great idea for using two cheapo breadboards (futurlec type for example) which I no longer use - they'll make a great place to store the other chips which I leave out regular use on 'real' breadboards. Thank you!

bluebunny · February 13, 2012, 08:05:21 AM

I went mad and splashed out on one of these: http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Conductive-Box-230x130x31mm-87-1950. Lots of room for all my ICs and easy to see what's what when they're all on show together.

pjwhite · February 13, 2012, 08:38:09 AM

Get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10764-64-Drawer-Plastic-Hardware/dp/B000VTSOKS/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1329140020&sr=1-3

Each type of IC can go in its own drawer, and you can sort resistors and capacitors into drawers by same or similar value.

Well worth the money.

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IC Storage