Not sure what else to call this. I see a lot of people using lego rigs and other such. Which is great it's readily available easily modifiable etc. I
think with the advent of hobbyist robotics there are so many ways to go about building things. We may all benefit by sharing suppliers for places that
will ship to individuals in small or larger quantities at fair costs.
Before anyone shouts and says "this isn't chemistry or biology, etc!", that may be true from a direct stand-point. Lately, many of us are working on
DIY analytical instruments, automated processes, etc.
Amazonsupply.com - pretty decent selection of odds and ends but often overly priced. May be useful in a pinch.
SDP/SI - Lots of pulleys, gears, bearings, fasteners, etc. From affordable decent quality materials to high price higher end stuff. Wide selection. https://sdp-si.com/eStore/Catalog/Group/347
Adafruit - very nice hobbyist electronics outlet. Sure some things are a bit over-priced but their micro-controllers and array of goods is pretty
reasonable. https://www.adafruit.com/
http://www.superbrightleds.com/ - granted not as cheap as many places but they do have a decent selection of LED's and actually provide some
technical data for them.
off-topic:
I don't mean to pitch but if anyone knows of places that sell specific diameter bare metal rod for pulley drives or simple ways to put pulley drives
together feel free to PM me or post below .
on topic:
Looking forward to hearing about some more good suppliers!
[Edited on 23-5-2013 by smaerd]watson.fawkes - 24-5-2013 at 16:15
places that sell specific diameter bare metal rod for pulley drives
As always, check McMaster-Carr. More drill rod and shafting than you'll need. Also the pulleys, and the belts, and whatever else mechanical you need. Prices can be
a bit better elsewhere (if you want to spend the time), but you can't beat the service and will have a hard time beating the shipping.Morgan - 24-5-2013 at 17:48
I buy from these guys from time to time, mostly from the raw materials category. I think MSC is their parent company. I have the MSC big book which
has more stuff but usually higher prices. http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM http://www.mscdirect.com/
[Edited on 25-5-2013 by Morgan]chemcam - 24-5-2013 at 18:55
For very low prices on microelectronic items check out www.jameco.com that's where I do most of my business and have for many years.12AX7 - 25-5-2013 at 09:37
Adafruit goes along in my mind with Sparkfun. Assorted electrical and robotic stuff, hobbyist-blogosphere material.
For just electronic components, Mouser and Digikey are pretty much go-to. Like McMaster, they're somewhat expensive, but they have everything at your
fingertips.
www.goldmine-elec.com
Both are similar and have amazing prices. Goldmine has some unique items like gieger tubes and yag laser rods.
If you can wait the month or two it will take to ship: WWW.dx.com
They started offering more parts and microcontroller supplies. Used to be a source of very cheap lasets (often underpowered or with such high infrared
output that they could be fun, but not too safe or reliable). Unfortunatly for people in the USA, FDA has banned import of lasers pointers with
>5mw output.
I'll add more as I think of them.
Forgive my spelling... I'm using my phone and i have to disable my autocorect if I want to avoid further awkard messages sent to my family. dontasker - 4-6-2013 at 17:14
Obviously, these are mostly for US residents.
www.harborfreight.com
Tools and stuff. Junk, but so cheap you can afford to break a few.
www.element14.com
A branch of Newark that is more geared towards hobbyists and developers. They have some connections with Adafruit and also have forums.
www.grainger.com
More for industrial and large business supply. Sales to small groups or individuals are often not worth it. Might be worth it if you did a group buy.
As always, check local surplus companies. Some businesses will auction off pallets of stuff for next to nothing.
Universities are another good source of low prices on very expensive equipment and parts.
Various state and government agencies may have auctions.
Just made an order from this webstore as they had very good prices on bearings and shaft collars. Other webstores geared towards hobbiests and
robotics people had the same materials for I don't know 3x the cost.
Check out their thread drive pack - http://www.makeblock.cc/thread-drive-pack/ very reasonable. edit - ahhh it doesn't come with all of the beams and things pictured. So maybe it's
not as reasonable as I thought but at least it's all on one spot without having to look around.
[Edited on 1-2-2014 by smaerd]hyfalcon - 1-2-2014 at 10:42
I've always found their component prices to be better than most.
Their prices and service have always been good for me, and they sell supplies that are hard to find elsewhere (like short rolls of dry photo film).Metacelsus - 18-8-2014 at 16:52
http://www.oshpark.com is my preferred custom circuit board fabricator. It's reasonably priced, and can do stuff (like double sided boards with
solder mask and silkscreen) that I can't do myself.
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