Electronics Space

Uses

Equipment

See the sub-pages for more info on the electronics equipment available at Makespace.

Orange equipment

• Hot Air Rework Station

• Reflow Oven 

• PCB Stencil Printer

• Thermal Imager

Green equipment 

• Oscilloscope

• Power Supplies

• Soldering Iron

Training 

Green equipment
Online training material is available on the Equipment pages. 

Orange equipment
Users are required to read through the online training material on the Equipment pages and familiarise themselves with the health and safety information.

It may be possible to arrange ad-hoc training by contacting the Owners.  

Red Equipment 

If you want to work on any  voltages over 50 V AC RMS or 120 V ripple free DC you must pass training and a practical. 

Read the Electrical Working Policy. 

Take the Electrical Working quiz

Contact electronics-owners@makespace.org to arrange a practical.  YOU MUST BE AUTHORISED BY AN OWNER PRIOR TO STARTING WORK, 

Health & Safety 

Key risks 

• Electrocution / fire / burns due to faulty equipment.

• Burns / fire risk when soldering.l

• Poisoning from fumes when soldering.

Some general guidance to reduce these risks is given below but members should read the relevant training materials. 

Electrical equipment 

• Visually check equipment for faults before use, including missing parts and melted insulation. If in doubt: switch off the unit. Dangerous faults should be reported to the group and Management and the item labelled ‘Faulty: Do not use’.

• Switch equipment off after use.  

Soldering 

• Goggles and fume extraction should be used when soldering and the handpieces returned to the stands after each operation - not left running on the bench! 

• Work on the fire resistant silicone mats provided. 

• Allow time for the tools to cool and use the silicone pads when changing soldering iron tips. 

• The PCB stand should be used when using the hot air rework station to avoid burning the bench. 

Live working 

• Live working is considered working with voltage supplies with exposed terminals capable of delivering more than 50 Vac RMS or 120 V DC. and also working with equipment having live voltages exceeding these limits where the electrical safety protection has been compromised e.g. a protective case removed. 

• Live voltage working should only be done as a last resort and has to be approved by the Management. 

Batteries

• Unattended charging of batteries is not permitted and no lithium batteries are to be stored in the space, unless in Makespace tools CE / UKAS certified equipment like laptops.  

Consumables 

A limited supply of consumables is available including solder wire, equipment wire, resistors / capacitors and heat shrink. Users should consider purchasing their own consumables if using in volume. Contact the Owners if you think something is missing. 

Cleaning up

After finishing work: 

• Remove any components etc. from the bench. 

• Use the brush to sweep the bench.

• Use cleaning agent to remove any residue from the bench. 

• Switch off all equipment and return any borrowed items. 

• Remember, the bench owners are volunteers not paid cleaners!

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