I am the Senior Analyst of the Electronic Forensics Unit of the Carabinieri (Italian Military Police) and I deal with technical investigations on seized electronic devices. I spend most of my day in a well-equipped electronic laboratory, but I was lacking a tool for performing technical assessments on printed circuit boards (PCBs). I needed a way to secure small boards on my workbench and place multiple probes across the board for acquiring data from a circuit memory, analyzing an I2C or SPI communication bus using a logic state analyzer, and much more.Previously, I used the usual “third hand” tool, but then I decided to create a specific tool for my needs. So, I designed this 3D printable PCB Workstation along with multiple articulated arms that allow me to connect the lab instruments to the individual electronic components to be analyzed.
The workstation is now a solid platform to work on electronics projects. Presently, I am working on ways to add more accessories such as a holder for a USB microscope.
After contributing this design to the Thingiverse community I’ve seen many people contribute to the project by designing more parts and accessories to be used with this PCB Workstation. There are already some fantastic remixes of my design, and I encourage you to further customize the workstation for your needs.
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