S&B Filters has come out with new flexible silicone tool trays, which look to be a useful shop accessory for automotive work.
These trays are aimed at users working on cars, trucks, airplanes, UTVs, and pretty much any kind of vehicle.
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From the promo video clips, the S&B Filters silicone tray is flexible enough to conform to different surfaces, such as a car hood, airplane wing, and even over the top of a tire. But, it also looks rigid enough to allow you load it with some tools and carry it to where you need to work.
They say:
On the wing of an aircraft or in the engine bay of a diesel truck, our flexible tool tray grips to almost any surface.
The above image, credited to @idpimpactdieselperformance on S&B Filters’ feed, shows the approximate scale of the medium-sized tray.
There are 3 different sized trays – small, medium, and large – each with a slightly different design. The small tray has 5 compartments for holding smaller tools, the medium tray has 2 small spaces and a much larger main compartment, and the large tray has 4 small compartments, a large compartment with ribbed surface, and two handles.
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The large silicone tray can fit one small and one large tray. You can buy them all separately, or buy a 3pc set.
In regard to strength and durability, S&B Filters says that their trays are made from a premium silicone material that won’t crack over time, has exceptional strength, and can handle extreme temperatures. It cleans up with soap and water, or a mild degreaser if necessary.
You can choose from 5 colors: blue, red, lime green, pink, charcoal grey.
Dimensions
- Small: 11.45″ w x 7.34″ l x 1.23″ h
- Medium: 11.45″ w x 9.59″ l x 1.23″ h
- Large: 12″ w x 23.09″ l x 1.57″ h
Pricing
- Small: $30
- Medium: $50
- Large: $70
- 3pc Set: $140
From my experience testing out the checkout system, ground shipping looks to be free unless you wish to upgrade to faster delivery speeds. S&B Filters also sells the trays through their storefront on Amazon.
The trays are made in the USA.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via S&B Filters)
Discussion
I like the look of these new silicone tool trays. The large tray can fit a small and medium tray if you want additional storage options or if you want to spread some tools around. I’d guess it could hold two small trays if you were so inclined.
The ribbed or gridded surface of the large tool try caught my attention. I tend to work on the floor, and fasteners big and small sometimes roll away.
I’ve seen silicone mats before, and these look different enough to have caught my attention. They look sturdy and practical. The pricing is a little lower than competing products already on the market, from Grypmat.
Is this something you could use?
Hilton
Nice idea but out of my price range.
Thanks for the post though.
David Zeller
Holy crud, I just scrolled back and looked at the price. It’s hard to imagine these are made of any inner structure that makes the cost of manufacturing them worthy of anywhere near this price.
Surely a copycat can come about for a tenth the price…
David Zeller
A bit more… It sounds like these and the Grypmat are a marriage of a simple silicone pan, like another commenter mentioned below, and the grippy stuff that you can get for your phone to keep it on a dashboard. You can get sheets or rolls of the latter fairly cheaply.
I suspect you could make your own of these by attaching the grippy stuff to the bottom of your favorite flexible parts tray, soldering parts mat, or baking pan.
S&B Filters
Hi David, I understand your concerns about price. That being said, once you actually see the product first hand and compare it to others, you will understand the pricing as it is a quality product. Not all silicone’s are created equal. There is no comparison between our product and our competitors. Our product was built to withstand daily use in difficult environments. Thank you for your feedback. – S&B Filters
Nathan
I own a small grypmat that I got at a show some years ago. Price wise if these perform as well I would strongly consider them.
perform as well – hold roughly same weight on same surfaces. (truck fender, 1/3 hanging off the edge of a table, etc)
The idea is great. work on inside of a car, plop on the dash – know that screws and tools set in there won’t fall off or out.
same with say on a roof, or something. And yes I will say I got it at an aviation trade show but no I’ve not used it on an aircraft. I know people that do.
Jared
I’ve bought trays before thinking it would help me stay organized while working on a project, but it just doesn’t seem to work for me. I usually prefer a plain flat surface where I can lay out my tools or the parts and pieces in the order I removed them.
That said, I like the look of that large one too. Could be handy for working on motorcycles so you could lay out each group of small parts as you went without them getting mixed up.
fred
A cheap ($9) silicone muffin pan works pretty well for holding/sorting small parts and doesn’t slip around.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DNNVW84/
Yadda
Silicone ice trays are also useful for small parts.
Joseph Hall
Not sure how they justify the cost when a 3 pack of 100% trays like this is 16.00;
https://www.amazon.com/Kinderville-Silicone-Dividers-Microwave-Toddler/dp/B07B8WFWM9/
Joseph Hall
and this one is 16.00 with more features. Maybe a comparison of some of the more expensive and less expensive/alternative use ones could be made?
https://www.amazon.com/Flexmat-Flexible-Organizer-intergrated-Measurement/dp/B07F6ZXHDY
Russell G.
Good find and a fair price. I will add cou6of magnets underneath it. I don’t see anyone spending $50 for silicone tray, unless you are making $100/hr and can have it just because you can ))
PW
I was pretty interested, really like the grippy aspect for specific small tools. Then I got to the price. Too rich for my blood!
Frank D
The MSRP cost premium is not justifiable, imho, unless one can expense this as a company.
As a homeowner / hobbyist / enthusiast diy-er I ‘ ll just look at anything silicone from the kitchen department of any given store, and will probably find some utensil trays, bake molds, … or can glue a gripper sheet to the bottom of any spare tool tray with carry handle, of which I probably have a dozen $1-2 spares.
fred
“unless one can expense this as a company.”
Most of us who ran companies did not have a license to print money. I was probably more frugal in considering corporate spending than I was with what I spent on my hobbyist endeavors. In the latter case – I was looking to enhance my personal experiences and pleasure – but for the business we were looking to balance cash outlays against the income it would likely produce.
Stuart
But on the other hand, something like this can be considered a time and/or frustration-saver that balances against having to cobble something together that’s similar but less effective.
fred
Frugality and cost effectiveness are not synonymous with “cheap”
We might not have been able to fabricate silicone trays in one of the shops in which I had an interest. But we had to capability of making ones in stainless steel, aluminum. Inconel , Hastelloy or several other metals. Would we have undertaken such a venture? Not on my watch! Our time was better spent on income-producing tasks – and we were not in the business of making parts/tool trays.
For the most part – in business one buys the tools one needs to get the job done – unless the need for special patterns, jigs or tooling requires in-house fabrication. Sometimes an expensive tool (for its type and class) is deemed “the best buy” based on various factors that add up to an “evaluated lowest cost of lifetime ownership and use”. But sometimes a lower cost item – will be more cost effective, just as safe to use and not have a significantly different impact on productivity compared to a more expensive item.
I was merely commenting on the notion that because one can “expense” an item against business income – one can thus always justify buying the more (or most) expensive option. While I don’t agree with that notion – I also do not subscribe to those that often opine ” gee I could make something like that cheaper in my basement”
Frank D
My comment was not meant as a businesses print money, can expense the most expensive tool / product any time, every time, …
More as a product’s target market … vs personal use.
Annual department budgets with a surplus can lead to options to purchase extra tools, hardware, …
Medium size businesses may as part of expansion add new work stations, new building, … settle on standardization of work stations and purchasing nn items for efficiency, safety, … is a small cost in the grand scheme of things that gets expensed, and pays itself back in efficiency or is simply part of the cost of doing business. But, it still is a business expense on the books.
Josh
It’s definitely out of my price range, but i think I need to take this idea and mount magnets under a silicone ice cube tray as a screw/parts organizer for repairs. I always wind up with a dozen ziploc bags to sort out the screws as things come apart.
Nathan
for all the complaints about the price. I agree to a point – when I bought my grypmat at a trade show I think I paid 20 dollars or such. Not much.
at 50 dollars – too much. way too much probably.
One thing I will say is the composition is very grippy and strong – but it also tolerates shop chemicals. brake fluid – carb cleaner, etc.
Honestly I never thought about a silicone kitchen tray but it would be interesting to see if they hold up as well.
Nathan
Those talking about magnets and the like, I’ll point out that the Grypmat that is is based off of (at least I’m fairly certain the Grypmat was first). was designed for aircraft use. Ie non-ferrous surfaces. Now on the extremes you’ll see people lay them on the end of a wing or horizontal tail etc with 1/3 or so of the mat hanging off.
and the idea is it grips the surface good enough – that it holds like a magnet to the aircraft (aluminum or composite) while holding the screws and bolts for trading out a flap actuator. or whatever. Inside an aircraft – under floor of a MD-11 say – trading out a smoke detector. It lays across the stringers on the curved bottom of the plane – and doesn’t slide around and still holds the 4 screws and your driver and etc etc.
So it’s a bit specialized for most people. In today’s car bodies being AL world this might show up more in auto shops because a mag tray/dish won’t hold to things. Hell all of my cars today have plastic intake manifolds with AL heads now. So other than some fittings and the inner fenders I don’t have many places under one car to put a mag tray.
Now I want to try a kitchen silicone dish. a flat bottom is key I think.
RKA
I like the idea, but not necessarily the configurations presented. I like to separate all the parts for a component along with the tools or sockets used to remove them. That way, when I’m reassembling everything is right at my fingertips, I’m not searching the floor, engine bay or whatever for the M8 triple square bit. There is a lot of time spent walking back and forth to the toolbox trying to figure out what combinations of extensions, fastener sizes and socket wrench head angles work when working in tight confines. Ideally I would figure it out once on disassembly, set the tools aside and upon reassembly the tools and fasteners are ready to go. Plenty of duplicate tools to allow for this.
The small tray comes the closest allowing multiple bins with room for sockets and fasteners. I would want one long tray next to each bin as well to put wrenches, extensions, etc.
The price, yeah they are smoking something.
Paul
I just bought and exact copy 3 piece set for $36 on amazon (ROBLOCK 3PCS Large Non-Slip Flexible Tool Tray Set). There is also a coupon on my amazon for 15% off the $36. But, I know Amazon is pretty tricky about their marketing, so they may not offer that discount to all buyers.
I have had these about a week now and such a simple product is still excellent quality without any voids or cracks in the silicone that I can find. They are stiff enough to hold some heavier items, but flexible enough to toss on any surface and conform to it. I recommend these for sure.