Equipping a Small Hackerspace?

andy writes "After gentle prodding for about a year, my company actually agreed to include an electronics/robotics lab in the current build-out of our new office space. As I never really expected this to happen, I was at a bit of a loss when they asked me what sort of workbenches, equipment, etc. I wanted for the lab. The lab will only be approximately 9'x15' but there is a decent amount of vertical space to work with. I was thinking of having 2 workbenches side-by-side, one for 'hardware' and the other for 'software' with a floor-standing cabinet for storage. Semi-mobile workbenches might be a plus. Those of you that work in these sorts of environments, what do you recommend in the way of workbenches, storage, organization, and electronics?"

get modular drawer cabinets

[johnny cashed]

Like Vidmar, Bott, or Lista. Lots of storage, small space. Can also be used to hold up a benchtop. Pricey, but you won't regret them.

Stuff

[JBMcB]

Monitor arms and wireless keyboards/mice, or a keyboard drawer. This frees up valuable desk space for working on stuff.

Also useful:

USB port replicator - used for laptops, gets legacy and USB ports up on the desk from the tower, so you can get at them.
Variable power supply - get good ones with a couple of voltage options. +/- 5V, +/- 12V rails along with a variable output is very handy
Plenty of outlets on the desks or, better yet, built into the desks
Grounding - if you can't get grounded desks, get antistatic pads or, at least, antistatic wrist straps, and ground everything you can

The three things you shouldn't scrimp on - power supply, soldering station with adjustable temperature, multimeter

Get a cheap desktop for the hardware station - interfacing with hardware doesn't take much horsepower.

Buy a monster for the software station so you can run multiple OSes in virtual machines - get the free VMWare player that lets you create virtual machines and you can run Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, etc...

Why are they making this?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're the person who requisitioned the lab and you don't know what to put in it, why is your company even building such an area?

If your company has staff who would use this space, then poll them for the equipment they need. Otherwise, retract your request for a lab. Asking Slashdot will just get you a random assortment of hardware which will most likely sit unused.

Believe me, if you really needed this stuff, you'd know exactly what to buy.

Sincerely,
Person with a Ph.D. in EE who has worked with hardware development for 15 years.