Storage bins for disassembled laptops?

[Larry Sabo]

What do you recommend for storing disassembled laptops that are waiting on parts?

 

[compnet]

For me, screws go in heatsink trays, small parts and the heatsinks go in a motherboard box. I'll "reassemble" the laptop without any small parts or screws, and throw it on top of the motherboard box, then that goes on to a rack

 

[Kitten Kong]

I too, use motherboard boxes, or even laptop screen boxes.

Screws are usually inserted within pieces of paper. (A tip I read on here once).
Draw out the shape of the ie motherboard, then I punch a very small hole where each screw came out of. Then I push the screw through the hole, and selotape the screws to the paper.

Yes there are plenty of pieces of paper at the end of the job, but least I know where each screw came from, and where it goes back into place. Little bit time consuming when you first start, but a god send of a idea.

 

[NYJimbo]

I have been using those cardboard boxes you can buy from places like staples or officemax that are used for paper files. The ones I use are called "Bankers Box" that are about a foot high, a foot wide and about 15-16" long. They come in packs of like 10-12, you get bottoms and tops and you fold and shape them so you get a box bottom and a heavy duty cardboard lid. They have built in handles for easy carry.

I layer the stuff in the box, usually heavy crap first (battery, charger, clunky plastic parts) then I lay down a white terry cloth towel (I buy them in packs of 24 from places like Home Depot) that pretty much fits the width and length of the box and then put the next layer of lighter stuff, then another towel and then the LCD and lightest stuff like papers with screws, keyboards, etc. Its usually 3 layers, you just have to get a feel for what belongs where. The terry cloth towels are great to keep stuff from moving around and to prevent scratches. I really cant tell you how important those layers with the white cloth towels in between help. It must be real "terry cloth" so it has volume, not just "rags" you get for cleaning as they are more like defects from T-shirt factories.

When I close the box with the top I tape the customer paperwork to it and put it on a shelf.

Been doing it for years and it really helps protect the parts and makes it easy to review the paperwork on the box for whats going on inside the box.

I suppose I could photograph one of them, but its really quite simple, cheap and really works well. You can reuse the terry cloth towels over and over and when a box is empty I just toss the towels inside, close the box and put them in a corner for the next patient.

 

[PCX]

Tons and tons of these

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6-Qt-Shoe-Box-White-Set-of-36/15442432

We use those for most laptops. Most laptops do not require the whole thing to be torn apart, so we just put the small parts and screens in these containers.

For laptops that do need to be completely torn apart, we use bigger containers just like these and then layer the parts with cushion packaging film (the same kind you see wrapped around some screens or delicate parts).

Been doing it like this for years without any issues. After doing a few hundred laptops, you will pretty much see the pattern and know where everything goes and as long as you use common sense, you should not have issues with the screws either.

 

[16k_zx81]

Tons and tons of these

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6-Qt-Shoe-Box-White-Set-of-36/15442432

Similar thing here. Except mine are a different color

I use rectangles of a kind of packing foam - its sorta like soft plastic - between layers to stop screens / palmrests from getting scratched

Screws go into 4-section pillboxes.

.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Thanks for the ideas. I have some bankers boxes and will give them a try, although they are rather tall. Maybe I'll trim them to half-height. I was hoping to find something like those "shoe boxes" but a little larger. Fitting a 17" laptop into one might be a problem. It would be great if they were made of anti-static material, too. I'll keep looking for something "perfect."

 

[PCX]

Thanks for the ideas. I have some bankers boxes and will give them a try, although they are rather tall. Maybe I'll trim them to half-height. I was hoping to find something like those "shoe boxes" but a little larger. Fitting a 17" laptop into one might be a problem. It would be great if they were made of anti-static material, too. I'll keep looking for something "perfect."

This is what we use for the bigger laptops or for the laptops that have to be completely torn apart

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Set-of-6-20-Quart-Storage-Box-White/8282895

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-28-Qt-Storage-Box-White-Set-of-10/15442447

 

[Larry Sabo]

Thanks, PCX. That second one looks perfect, as do these, if I could find a local supply.

 

[16k_zx81]

Thanks for the ideas. I have some bankers boxes and will give them a try, although they are rather tall. Maybe I'll trim them to half-height. I was hoping to find something like those "shoe boxes" but a little larger. Fitting a 17" laptop into one might be a problem. It would be great if they were made of anti-static material, too. I'll keep looking for something "perfect."

Yeah, I was always wary of plastic bins because of static, but I did a stint at Asus Laptop Warranty Dept earlier this year and thats what they were using, so grabbed some myself. Does the job and havent had any issues.

 

[PCX]

Thanks, PCX. That second one looks perfect, as do these, if I could find a local supply.

Those look kinda flimsy . . . I think those are meant for light weight items.

Looks like you should be able to get these bins on Amazon and ebay if you do not have a local store that carries them.

 

[skdmaster]

We have several of these bins stacked in my shop which hold up to a 17" laptop. I also found some adhesive backed slip in business card holders that we put on the drawers so we can slip a card in to identify the client quickly without opening each bin. I also went to the fishing department and picked up some of the small compartment boxes for holding screws, memory, etc.

 

[Larry Sabo]

That looks perfect, thanks! Now, I just have to wait for Target to open one of their new stores in Ottawa, or track down another supplier. I cannot believe how difficult and expensive it is to buy these items in Canada, and even find them here.

 

[dgast]

Laptop Repair boxes

Try this, Uline sells every kind of box imagineable.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1404/Literature-Mailers-White-Tab-Lock

 

[Larry Sabo]

Thanks, dgast. Their minimum quantity on the box of interest is 25 (which I suspect translates into a minimum order value of $100), but they sure have a broad range of box sizes. Not sure what I would do with so many boxes though so will keep this for reference.

 

[300DDR]

We use these for hard drives. They come in different sizes too - perhaps one that will fit laptops. The great thing about these is they can stack and nest. They also make anti-static ones, but we haven't had any static issue with these ones (though we do wipe down with staticide occasionally).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00027FEJI/ref=wms_ohs_product

*note: the pics on amazon don't necessarily depict the actual dimensions of bin.

P.S. I used to use a dish rack/pan holder for finished laptops, something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I1YBLK/ref=wms_ohs_product

 

[nightkingdoms]

We use several of these boxes in different configurations:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQPZDK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Each divided area is uniquely marked as well as each box. Each storage section/box used is added to the clients' ticket with the unique marking (e.g. Box 22, Sections M-R), ticket marked as awaiting part, laptop chassis stored. Part comes in, ticket marked in-progress, parts used from boxes to reassemble laptop. Never lost a screw yet. lol

 

[ITGroup]

We use similar bins as mentioned above, bought from a local DIY store. I think we have 20-30 of them knocking about with 2-3 spare at any one time. They're lined with bubble wrap and have 2-3 antistatic bags of varying sizes in them at all time.
The front has a documents enclosed envelope stuck on so we can drop in a piece of paper with the customer name and work order reference. Couldn't live without these boxes.