What Is a Light Duty Workbench?
A light duty workbench is a work table consisting of a top and legs. Unlike a dining table or reception table for general home use, or a conference table used in a company, this product prioritizes functions that can withstand the weight of items loaded on the tabletop and the load and impact generated by work, rather than external design.
The definition of “light duty workbench” differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, but light duty workbench is mainly classified into light, medium, and heavy types, and those designed to withstand loads of 100 kg to 300 kg in terms of the mass of the loaded object under an even static load are often considered to be light duty workbench.
Uses of Light Duty Workbenches
Uses of light duty workbenches are rarely required in processes where various types of manufacturing, packaging, and processing machines are installed on the line and mechanical processing is used, but are mainly used in processes that require human judgment and detailed work and processing by hand.
The following are some examples of the purposes for which light duty workbenches are used.
- Packing: Picking goods from shelves and packing them into cardboard boxes for each destination at a mail order company’s shipping site.
- Packing: Packing products picked from shelves into cardboard boxes for each destination.
- Inspection/testing: Checking the number of items, measuring sizes, and checking quality at the final stage of the product manufacturing process.
Checking the quantity, size, and quality of products at the final stage of manufacturing. - Inventory control: Inventory control in a warehouse while moving through aisles with a laptop computer.
Assembling, grinding, drilling, punching, wiring, coloring, brush painting, repairing, and processing. - Labeling and enclosing slips: Labeling products and enclosing instruction manuals, various guides, and slips.
Principle of Light Duty Workbench
The structure of a typical workbench consists of a top panel, a top frame member that supports the top panel, and legs (torii) that support the entire structure. The legs (torii legs) support the entire worktable, and the legs have a rigid structure with a pipe called a “swallow-tail pipe” attached to the legs in the direction of the frontage to prevent lateral swaying.
In principle, light duty workbenches have a thinner top than heavy duty workbenches in terms of load capacity, and the legs and top frame members are also thinner than those of heavy duty workbenches. In addition, the knockdown method (assembly type structure) is used to realize a wide range of size variations, to enable a variety of functional structures by combining individual components, and to reduce transportation costs so that large quantities can be stocked.
150 series assembly video: https://youtu.be/B39auCW0xwo
300 series assembly video: https://youtu.be/R2NNz8KhnIE
Expanding Applications With Different Top Surface Materials
- Low Pressure Melamine Laminated Panel
This is a laminate with a particleboard core and a melamine-impregnated sheet thermally and pressure-molded in one piece. Surface hardness is 7H. - Polyester Laminated Plywood
With a particle board core and paper core core, it is very light and easy to move. Surface hardness is 3H. - Vinyl Chloride Sheet
This is a top panel made of vinyl chloride sheet attached to particleboard. Its elasticity prevents scratches on workpieces. - Melamine Laminated Panel
Melamine Laminated Panel has hardness, and the core material is particle board or paper core specification, and there are various types according to the load capacity. The surface hardness is 8H. - Fingerprint-less Melamine Laminated Panel
Fingerprints are hardly noticeable, light reflection is suppressed, and stains are hardly noticeable. The surface color is brown and the surface hardness is 7H. - Chemitekt
Chemitect (chemical-resistant special acrylic resin laminate) is ideal for laboratory benches that use chemicals such as strong acids and alkalis. Surface hardness is 4H. - Laminated plywood with varnished finish
Laminated plywood with a varnished finish is resistant to impact and can be mounted with a vise, making it suitable for heavy-duty work. The color tone differs slightly from tabletop to tabletop due to the natural material. - Steel
Powder coated metal tops. It has high strength, but please note that scratching with sharp objects will scratch the surface coating. - Stainless steel
SUS304 material has excellent corrosion resistance and chemical resistance. The hairline finish on the surface is aesthetically pleasing. Although it has high hardness, minor scratches may be caused by scratching with sharp objects or rubbing against the load.
This article was supervised by Yamakin Kogyo Corporation, a manufacturer and seller of light duty workbenches.