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Equipment for A Perfect General Lab?
wdhowellsr asks: "I am currently setting up a lab that will need to provide me with the ability to test equipment for electronic systems from low voltage DC to super high voltage AC. I'm currently getting a Fluke 43b meter to be the primary testing equipment and will be wiring the entire lab to every possible variation of AC and DC voltage. I've tried to find resources on the web that would give me information regarding this but have been unable to find anything. What equipment would you consider for the 'perfect' lab, not just for electronics but for computers, chemistry, and biology?"
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You will need the laboratory equivalent of the machine that goes 'ping'.
I suggest the machine that goes zap, or the machine that goes boom.
Get both if you budget runs to that.
Note: this is assuming that you want to have some fun in your lab also... ... and have water standing by to put out the fire), but Marx generators are the better way to learn about high voltages. You can make a "small one" with parts from your local electronics hobbiest store
Jacobs ladders are fun (make sure you demonstrate the danger by putting something non-conductive in the path of the rising spark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx_generator and http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/marxgen.htm
You can also learn about the problems with scaling... once you get the small one working with 100,000 volts, you WILL get the urge to scale up and try for half a million but you will also learn how off-the-shelf parts can fail when pushed to the limit.
Also, I echo the first poster's comment: get some good safety glasses
when fooling around with high voltages, things explode.
Does anyone know where to get good quality ANALOG meters anymore? Everyone seems to have gone digital and I don't like 'em.
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Basically imagine your school science lab (you did have a science lab at school right?)
.. we could go on all day. A real lab depends on the precise task at hand and unless you are teaching it's unlikely
I'd start with lots of electrical outlets, some at bench level, some at floor level - you don't want trailing cables everywhere.
Then some good benches, something solid without plastic or metal, like a good oak surface. It won't collect static electricity
and unless you're doing work with serious pathogens wood is actualy a good surface to stay safe from bacteria if you look after it.
A fume cupboard - essential for chemistry, but even for destructive electrical tests that may release toxic vapour. And since you
will want cooling water a couple of taps and sinks at each end of the benches is probably important.
HV Electrical
Power supplies. A high current variac transformer, and for high voltages a cockroft-walton tappable multiplier or tesla for very
high voltages. Some very high voltage capacitors or Leyden jars for storing to do discharge tests, and a foil electrometer - because
a normal meter cannot measure such very high voltages. Lots of cable - and you need many types including super flexible braided cores
and probably some high current cable too. A neon field indicator or audiable field warning device (always approach *anything* in the lab holding this out in front of you, rubber gloves etc.
LV Electrical
At least two good bench multimeters, the old red LED digital kind are good to see from a distance. Lots of clips and test probes. A decent breadboarding system. An oscilloscope, dual beam with freeze. Clock source/oscillator or signal gens to cover the ranges you need
0.001Hz - 1GHz probably. If you're doing digital then a logic analyser and PC set up entirely as a high speed bus analysis tool.
An audio amplifier and loudspeaker. Wheatstone bridge and very flexible small voltage preamplifier with high and low impedence.
chemistry
Lots of glassware if you are doing chemistry obviously, plenty of round and conical flasks, some condensers, plenty of
bungs and rubber tubing of various sizes, quick-fit adaptors, test tubes,a very good balance preferably in its own cupboard
for weighing out reagents, a vacuum pump. An optical wavelength spectrometer would be nice but I'm guessing you can't afford
anything fancy like a mass spectrometer. Thermometers and process control thermocouples, a good electrical heater rather than
the old bunsen burners, an agitator (magnetic types are best), a very good freezer for ice, a basic collection of gas cylinders
including hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and two inert ones, one heavy one light neon, helium. Retort stands, clamps, clips and
things to arrange and secure your test rigs.
biology
An autoclave and UV or microwave sterilisation unit, petri dishes, decent microscopes and a good collection of stains.
A chromatography tank, and perhaps a good disecting unit with pinboard, scalples, lancet etc.
safety
goggles, a decent lab coat, that means one flash tested to very high fireproof standards not a nylon fashion accesory, or
consider getting specialised protective clothing suitable for the hazards you face. A gas detector at floor level is a good idea
at least one to pick up alkanes, monoxide and common heavy gas hazards. Your electrical system should be multi fused with earth leakage
circuit breakers.
Im bored now
you need such flexibility.
And if you're building this America? I hope you realise Science is now illegal.
A fume hood. Trust me.
If you're paranoid, you might also want a small closable metal closet to keep chemicals in, maybe fireproof.
Of course, in these days of rampant terrorism, any interest in chemistry will get you flagged on a watchlist, so you might just do without
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
You can't go wrong with a Bitscope, USBee, or DigiView, three computer-based logic analyzers with various extra features.
:)
Consider using genderless Anderson PowerPole connectors in lieu of, or in addition to, banana plugs on your test leads. It's nice to be able to just mix and match 'gator clips, micrograbbers, screw terminals, and what-have-you into custom test leads. You can do this with stacking banana plugs too, but they leave the male plug exposed when you're done. You could cover it with a plastic "screw protector" cover, but PowerPoles are cooler. Powerwerx also sells the "floppy noodle" rubber-insulated test lead wire, if you're like me and prefer to just build your own.
Run a big tinned-copper-braid ground strap across the back of the bench. Get the kind with grommets in it so you have easy attachment points for anything, plus the fine braid means it performs better than a busbar at high frequencies.
I've collected a pile of fun links in http://del.icio.us/myself248/electronics, which might also give you some project ideas. Read the Toolmonger archives if you're bored, and post some of your favorite finds using the "submit a tool" form.
As for test gear, you'll always find a reason to have a PC on the bench, and not just so you can run your bitscope. Hell, you'll probably want to play some tunes in the lab, so include some speakers in the plan. Anyway, look at swing-arm monitor mounts, most of which are modifiable to hold a whole laptop. Getting it up off the bench will save a lot of space and discourage clutter. Get an older machine, or a Toughbook, since you'll want a real hardware parallel port for some projects.
If you do RF work, get a Unidapt kit. Mix and match connectors between BNC, N, SMA, TNC, UHF, and so on. They now offer "wifi" connectors like RP-TNC, MMCX, RP-SMA, etc. Thus proving that the FCC's "nonstandard connector" mandate doesn't really stop anyone, it just forces a proliferation of unnecessary "standards". Bastards.
Whatever you're doing, you'll find a use for a Panavise. You'll want several heads, I'd suggest starting with the standard 303 head and the extra-wide 376. Get two bases instead of swapping heads into one base, it'll give you more versatility.
I can't believe I survived so long on five-dollar pencil soldering irons. I recently picked up a refurbished Edsyn soldering station from EAE Sales and the difference just blew me away. Not only does it work more easily, which I expected, but it warms up in no time flat, since it has a big honkin' heating element that it normally runs at a very low duty cycle. If I'm heating something large, it simply runs more, which means this little featherweight iron is actually capable of much bigger jobs than the clunky Radio Shack unit it replaced. I've relegated the cheapies to toolbox duty, and the Edsyn perches proudly in the center of my workspace.
Speaking of soldering, consider ventilation. Another poster mentioned a fume hood, and that's a fine idea. Look into a flexible-arm fume extractor too. Actually, just get the whole catalog from Lab Safety Supply and order one of everything.
Ergonomics are important if you're spending a lot of time in the lab. Look at rubber floor mats, with whatever level of chemical resistance you feel is appropriate. Jigsaw-style interlockable sections make it easy to replace worn or damaged pieces, though they can allow spills to reach the base layer. Consider sound absorbing walls too, if you'll have blowers or other noise-generating equipment running a l
a refrigerator. Good for lunch and bacterial cultures.
Ummmm, no. Get 2 fridges, one with a lock for the lab for chemicals and/or cultures.
Keep the fridge for the food in a seperate area. Don't mix them up. You don't want to poison yourself, do you?
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