Suppliers

Purpose of this page

List of suppliers for various materials and items and user reviews.

Please add new suppliers and user comment lines (with attribution / date) Suppliers can be rated by in the user comment lines. Convention is [1] = worst, [5] = best

Electronics

• Mouser Electronics
  • [4] Very complete line of electronics parts. Good searchability, fast service, decent prices on parts. Tools and some other items are expensive (alden 10/02/09)

• DigiKey
  • [3] Very complete line of electronics parts. I find it harder to navigate than Mouser, and more expensive. I generally don't use them unless I can't find something elsewhere (alden 10/02/09)

• Avnet Electronics Marketing
  • [4] US electronics parts distributor, like Mouser or DigiKey. Good searchability. Avnet Inc. also offers consulting, design, and FAE services (will 10/02/09).

• Jameco
  • [3] Well known supplier - reasonably complete line (not as complete as Mouser, Digi-key, Avnet), some prices are very good. (alden 10/04/09)

• Hebei (China) LEDs only
  • [5] Best prices on LEDs I've found - but does have a $199 minimum (see Buy LEDs Online for smaller orders). Ship fast. Worked through a problem with them and they handled me fairly. (alden 10/02/09)

• Buy LEDs Online LEDs only
  • [4] US distributor for Hebei. Same stuff. Prices are more expensive but no minimum. (alden 10/02/09)

• Modern Device
  • These guys have pretty good arduino clones, the Bare-Bones-Board and the Really-Bare-Bones-Board, kits from about $10. Fast & cheap shipping, good customer service. (jackson 10/02/09 -- did a bulk order from them.)

• MPJA - Marlin P Jones Associates Surplus
  • [5] Great surplus. Nice printed catalog, Some specials are really good deals. (alden 10/03/09)

• Semiconductor Store
  • Esoteric electronics, like Nordic ANT radios, some robotics parts. Some parts can have high minimums (alden 10/04/09)

• All Electronics Surplus
  • [4] Nice bargain bin to hunt around in. Not very complete line of parts, but some very good buys. (alden 10/04/09)

• Surplus Traders Surplus
  • [4] Great prices, particularly in the Extreme Specials section. Run by Ted Duskes, who's a square dealer, and willing to negotiate. Bad news: something like a $100 minimum, and the website is horrible. (alden 10/04/09)

• Electronix Express (a division of RSR Electronics) Surplus
  • [3] Better selection than some other surplus catalog, prices vary. Good selection and prices on breadboards (alden 10/04/09)

• Electronics Goldmine
  • Discounts on SMT components, and often has cool weird stuff like IC masks and wafers. Special robot section. (dan 05/03/09 via gareth's article via alden)

• Circuit Specialists
  • Lots of good stuff for making PCBs, motion control, and other related stuff (alden 10/06/09)

• DealExtreme
  • Incredibly random selection of electronics and other stuff. The Cubic Configurable Storage Toolboxes (sku 4580) are great for holding surface mount parts (alden 10/06/09)

• Marvac Electronics
  • Good source for pre-cut wire wrap wire (alden 10/06/09)

• Arcade Electronics LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR
  • [3] Local full-line distributor. Prices vary, but good experiences with them (alden w/hat tip to Mark Fearer - 10/16/09)

• Mark Electronics Supply LOCAL DISTRiBUTOR / BELTSVILLE MD
  • Local full-line distributor (Martin via alden 10/16/09)

Mechanical Parts & Fabrication

• McMaster-Carr
  • Very complete line of mechanical parts. Good service. Pricing can often be beat if you hunt around. (alden 10/4/09)

• Small Parts
  • [4] Wild selection of esoteric parts. Stockouts common, but otherwise good services (alden 10/04/09]

• Enco
  • [3] Very complete source for machine tooling, can be expensive. Online specials (Hot Deals) can be good deals, however. (alden 10/02/09)

• Harbor Freight LOCAL STORES
  • [3] Some things are really cheap. Others are just "cheap". Not good for precision equipment such as lathes, rotary tables, etc. Still useful, however (alden 10/02/09)
  • There is a retail store in Laurel, MD and another in Woodbridge, VA.

• Grizzly Industrial
  • [4] Good source for machine tools themselves and some limited parts. See Enco for more complete parts and supplies (alden 10/04/09)

• eMachineshop
  • [4] Will machine parts from proprietary CAD drawing package. I had a very satisfactory experience with them on a 200-part run. Can be expensive for very short runs (alden 10/03/09)

• CDCO Machinery Corporation
  • [4] Nice selection of machining tools and parts, DRO readouts; good prices (alden 10/04/09)

• Little Machine Shop
  • Well known source for small CNC parts, machinging tools and parts (alden 10/04/09)

• Shapeways
  • Cool 3d printing service. I have not ordered from them (alden 10/06/09)

• Bolt Depot
  • [4] Bolts. Nuts, too. (alden 10/06/09)

• Pro-Type Industries, Inc. LOCAL
  • [?] Local machine shop in Sterling VA. Anybody have any experience with them? (alden 10/13/09)

Plastics

• eStreet Plastics
  • [4] Acrylics, etc. Very good prices and good for small quantities (e.g. 1 foot lengths of tuning, etc. (alden 10/02/09)

• Delvies Plastics
  • [4] Acrylics, casting supplies. Good prices, shipping is OK, but not lightning fast. (alden 10/02/09)

• TAP Plastics
  • [3] Acrylics, casting supplies. Good selection, services; somewhat more expensive than some other suppliers (alden 10/02/09)

• AeroMarineProducts, Inc. ([email protected])
  • [5] Resin casting supplies. Got to love this place. One guy, very cheap prices, good delivery (alden 10/02/09)

• Piedmont Plastics, 9000 Virginia Manor Rd., Suite 250, Beltsville, MD 20705 800-638-6651, 301-881-7900
  • Sells a variety of plastics. Has a sales counter with knowledgeable & helpful sales person. Sells scrap at discount - call to see what they have. Can fabricate and special order stuff. Sells limited selection of plastic working supplies: glue, bottles, etc. Was Reid Plastics in Rockville, MD. Another shop in Richmond, VA. (martin 10/20/09)

Metals

• Metals Depot
  • [5] This has been a great find. Small quantities of steel, aluminum, etc; cheap prices, reasonable shipping, good service. (alden 10/02/09)

• Speedy Metals
  • [4] Good second choice to Metals Depot. Somewhat larger selection, somewhat higher prices. (alden 10/02/09)

Printed Circuit Boards

• Advanced Circuits
  • [4] Reliable, quality fabrication, prices vary. Decent prices on bare-bones prototypes. Other volumes may or may not be competitive. I've ordered many times (alden 10/03/09)

• Custom PCB, aka Silvtronics
  • [3] Very cheap offshore (Malaysia). Not as good quality as others - hole alignment, plating finish..., but may be OK for simpler applications. (alden 10/03/09)

• Express PCB
  • [3] Prototyping shop with good prices. Has an easy-to-use, proprietary drawing package. At some point you'll want Gerber files and outgrow these guys (alden 10/03/09)

• Gold Phoenix
  • A lot of people use this company. I have no experience with them to comment (alden 10/03/09)

• Sunstone
  • [2] I never used them as they always price out higher than the alternatives. (alden 10/03/09)

• PCB Cart
  • Chinese maker. Have not personally tried but a reliable source uses them regularly. (Osman 10/24/09)

• BatchPCB
  • Haven't tried. Recommended by R M Adams. (Osman 10/24/09)

• Imagineering Inc
  • Rated as moderate by a DSP boards spinner. (Osman 10/24/09)

Other

• Uline Shipping Supplies
  • [4] Every kind of box, bag, tube, pallet, etc. imaginable. Highly reliable. Prices reasonable in quantity, somewhat more expensive in small Q's (alden 10/04/08)

• Global Industrial Equipment
  • [4] Really rangy catalog of industrial equipment. They have some great shelves, benches, bins. Watch out, shipping adds up for heavier items (alden 10/04/09)

• Gempler's
  • [4] Complete catalog of farm and outdoor equipment. See powdered Gatorade gallon bags. (alden 10/04/09)

• Battery Junction
  • [4] Hard to find batteries, including Lithium Thionyl Chloride 3.6v batteries (alden 10/06/09)

• K&J Magnetics
  • [4] Ultrastrong magnets (alden 10/06/09)