Vendor Listing - Who would you add?

[Chris Fultz]

We are hosting a new team night, and want to include a list of good FIRST team vendors for the teams to take with them.

Here is a start - what others would you add for build season materials?
(please include the website if you can)

AndyMark - www.andymark.com (about everything)
Innovationfirst - IFI Robotics - www.ifirobotics.com (wheels, sprockets, speed controllers)
McMaster-Carr - www.mcmaster.com (about anything)
Small Parts - www.smallparts.com (about anything)
Banebots - www.banebots.com (motors, gearboxes)
Automation Direct - www.automationdirect.com (pneumatics)
Team 221 - www.team221.com (drive systems, chassis systems)

[Akash Rastogi]

I've put together a pretty good list I'd like to think.

http://www.atomicrobotics.com/resour...rts-suppliers/

One Stop Shops

• McMaster-Carr – Offer a collection of mechanical, electrical, and utility hardware not usually located from a single source and specialize in next day delivery
• Motion Industries – Distributor of industrial MRO parts
• MSC Industrial Supply – One of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the world
• Harbor Freight – Low cost tools and equipment

Power Transmission

• AndyMark Inc. – An official supplier to the FIRST Kit of Parts
• SDP-SI - SDP-SI provides quality gears, bearings, pulleys, and other mechanical parts
• WM Berg – Precision gears, sprockets, pulleys, gearboxes, and bearings
• Small Parts – Provide gears, pulleys, and various other items
• BaneBots – A competition robotics parts supplier that provides several FRC Kit parts
• Colson Caster – Colson makes caster wheels that are excellent high-performance robot wheels
• Team 221 – Performance robotics drive systems
• Robot MarketPlace – A competition robotics parts supplier
• Browning Gears – Gear supplier
• Martin Sprocket & Gears – Power transmission supplier
• Boston Gear – Precision gear manufacturer
• Gates – Belts and pulleys

Raw Materials

• McMaster-Carr – Offer a collection of mechanical, electrical, and utility hardware not usually located from a single source and specialize in next day delivery

Hardware

• Fastenal – Sell screws, threaded rods, nuts, and various other fasteners and hardware

Electronics/Sensors

• Mouser Electronics – Mouser is an electronic component wholesaler.
• Digi-Key – Digi-Key is an electronic component wholesaler
• Innovation FIRST – The old official supplier of the FIRST Robot Controller, Operator Interface, Victor Speed Controller, Spike Relay, and other FRC Kit parts. Currently still provide the best speed controllers and sell wheels as well
• eStop Robotics – Provider of various small electronics components
• Anderson Power- Quick connect electronics terminals

Pneumatics

• Bimba – Pneumatics tanks and actuators
• Clippard – Pneumatics supplies, tanks and actuators
• Festo – Pneumatic tanks, actuators, valves, solenoids
• SMC Corp.- Pneumatics manufacturer
• Pneuaire – Plastic pneumatics tanks

[sanddrag]

onlinemetals.com
metalsdepot.com

[Cory]

I would also add that McMaster really IS your one stop shop for everything under the sun.

Want something they don't sell? Call them up, tell them what it is, and they'll find it for you. Could be as simple as we want widget xyz-1234-abc from some other vendor. They'll find it for you and sell it to you at a very very small premium. Or maybe you want a certain type of gear/bearing, but you don't know the model number or vendor it comes from. They'll find you that too and they'll do it darn quick.

They will bend over backwards to satisfy you in nearly every way. The only exception I've found is that they absolutely will not provide material certs (this makes sense) or the suppliers of their material (this is unfortunate).

[Duke461]

Unless i missed it, what about National Instruments?

[IndySam]

Fastenal

Fastenal carries so much more than screws and bolts now, they are getting closer to McMaster and Grainger all the time.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Cory

they absolutely will not provide .... the suppliers of their material (this is unfortunate).

I had one experience with this one. I was looking to purchase something of a specific brand from them, and they wouldn't tell me what brand of the item they sold. However, they did let me play the guessing game of "Is it this brand?" "No" "Is it this other brand?" .... It was rather silly, but I got what I wanted in the end.

Aside from one other time when they were out of stock on something I REALLY needed, and then charged me to have it shipped from another warehouse, when they said they had it in stock all along, McMaster has been very good.

Aside from giving a nice big free book, I dislike MSC. Their website is terrible, and that's the primary reason I won't order from them. Also, when I called them for a quote on something (because no one in industry pays list price from MSC) there was no one available who could help me, and no one ever returned my call. I think I've ordered from MSC once ever.

[ChuckDickerson]

Originally Posted by Cory

They will bend over backwards to satisfy you in nearly every way. The only exception I've found is that they absolutely will not ...

send you a printed catalog. I have a really old one that I inherited and plan to will to someone when I die. Sometimes I just like to flip through the pages of a catalog when I'm not sure exactly what it is I'm looking for. Their website is outstanding though. I think their old website was better but maybe that's just me.

[sanddrag]

http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/ Place for cheap bearings

[ratdude747]

Parker has franchise stores... if you need pneumatic fittings fast...

[Chris_Elston]

Hansen Hobbies for custom PWM connectors.
http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/


US Digital (phone call them and order)
http://www.usdigital.com/products/en...emental/rotary

Surplus Center (bulk chain) in spools
http://www.surpluscenter.com/

[Phalanx]

Add to Electronics/Sensors Sparkfun.

http://www.sparkfun.com/

[Travis Hoffman]

Good selection of wire in all gages relevant to FRC. Also sells Anderson Power Products items, including PowerPoles and a REALLY CHEAP AND USEFUL crimp tool:

• powerwerx.com - www.powerwerx.com

Bumper Fabric (the good stuff - 1000 Denier Cordura Plus blah blah blah):

• American Home & Habitat - www.ahh.biz

[MattC9]

Originally Posted by Cory

I would also add that McMaster really IS your one stop shop for everything under the sun.

Want something they don't sell? Call them up, tell them what it is, and they'll find it for you. Could be as simple as we want widget xyz-1234-abc from some other vendor. They'll find it for you and sell it to you at a very very small premium. Or maybe you want a certain type of gear/bearing, but you don't know the model number or vendor it comes from. They'll find you that too and they'll do it darn quick.

They will bend over backwards to satisfy you in nearly every way. The only exception I've found is that they absolutely will not provide material certs (this makes sense) or the suppliers of their material (this is unfortunate).

And they might have the best shipping on the face of the planet, 18hrs. incredible. We placed an order around noon one day, it was waiting for us when we got to the shop the next day.

[Jared Russell]

Cross The Road Electronics - Battery beak, 2CAN, & some other electronics