How do you manage "on stock" component on your personal lab?

Hi!
In a design lab where I worked, there were about four main ways to get parts into your hands to build projects! And two important ways were:

(a) Generic parts like connectors, resistors, capacitors, etc., were not tracked, there were just boxes of them, so you could take as many as you like. For a home lab, resistor kit books, capacitor kits and so on are great. I get through loads of pin headers and sockets, so I don't track those either, and have a little plastic container full of pin headers, and a little component drawer full of those too, so I always have them available one way or another. I think I've got every E24 value of resistor, in 0805, and a smaller range in 0603 and wire-ended, and they are not tracked, I just make sure I have many of those since they are low-cost. I've got a few resistor books and capacitor kits, and quite a lot of Coilcraft kits (I like those for RF projects), one or two Wurth kits, and don't track the parts in those.

(b) Semiconductors and all non-generic parts in a warehouse/store, and there was a database to use to check out parts. I've got an Excel spreadsheet that is now inaccurate, but since I usually order from Farnell, I just use e-mail search to see if I have ever ordered the part, to know if I have it or have had it in the past. I have about four boxes (about the size of shoe-boxes) for semiconductors, one containing analog and data conversion parts(in their original Farnell bags), one containing discrete parts, one containing digital parts, and one containing microcontrollers. I don't organize them any deeper than that, and just tip the relevant box out to search for what I want. Some semiconductors come in trays or long plastic tubes that won't fit in the boxes, so they are in effectively a small wastepaper bin type container with no organization, I'll just search through that.

Hi!
In a design lab where I worked, there were about four main ways to get parts into your hands to build projects! And two important ways were:

(a) Generic parts like connectors, resistors, capacitors, etc., were not tracked, there were just boxes of them, so you could take as many as you like. For a home lab, resistor kit books, capacitor kits and so on are great. I get through loads of pin headers and sockets, so I don't track those either, and have a little plastic container full of pin headers, and a little component drawer full of those too, so I always have them available one way or another. I think I've got every E24 value of resistor, in 0805, and a smaller range in 0603 and wire-ended, and they are not tracked, I just make sure I have many of those since they are low-cost. I've got a few resistor books and capacitor kits, and quite a lot of Coilcraft kits (I like those for RF projects), one or two Wurth kits, and don't track the parts in those.

(b) Semiconductors and all non-generic parts in a warehouse/store, and there was a database to use to check out parts. I've got an Excel spreadsheet that is now inaccurate, but since I usually order from Farnell, I just use e-mail search to see if I have ever ordered the part, to know if I have it or have had it in the past. I have about four boxes (about the size of shoe-boxes) for semiconductors, one containing analog and data conversion parts(in their original Farnell bags), one containing discrete parts, one containing digital parts, and one containing microcontrollers. I don't organize them any deeper than that, and just tip the relevant box out to search for what I want. Some semiconductors come in trays or long plastic tubes that won't fit in the boxes, so they are in effectively a small wastepaper bin type container with no organization, I'll just search through that.

Oh, and I treat some generic discrete semiconductors in category (a) too. I've got plastic trays (conductive ones) with little pots, each one can fit quite a lot of (say) SOT-23 parts, which are my favorite size for them. 

shabaz said:

For a home lab, resistor kit books, capacitor kits and so on are great

I don't have any of those, but I think I will buy some in the near future because as you said they are great. Key point is to be sure to always have enough components and to "refill" when runnning low.

Your (a) method is basically a type of kanban system (from JIT manufacturing). Kanban maintains adequate stock with minimal administrative overhead. I use a modified version of kanban for generic parts - mainly overlaying a more complex decision matrix of when to restock. I don't automatically restock when a low stock level is detected, I decide if I will order immediately or wait until I have a need, based on cost, price breaks and probabilities. 

Your (b) method (database) devolves into a bunch of expedient techniques where some documentation is utilized with built-in search methods, some physical hierarchical organization of bins allows visual physical searches and some pure physical search methods of physical bins. I guess I use all of that for various aspects of my stock to try to minimize the administrative overhead.

FYI. Most distributors will save your cart if you are logged in. So anytime I realize I am low on parts, I either highlight the row in my spreadsheet or add them to a cart right away. (I really like when they let you name the carts!)

When I remember, I also use the disty's "custom part number" feature to remind myself it is a "STOCK" part. That way, when it shows up randomly on my next order, I have a reminder of why I bought it.