Finding Engineering Products and Services Online

The main thing I find difficult is being a Brit. That sums it up for me.

Mostly what I use are electronic components. If I am doing a design I will have to build a prototype so I want to use parts that are in stock at a distributor. Doglike has an excellent search engine that lets you go from the general to the specific in a most efficient manner. In my opinion, it is one of the best search tools for the parts I have seen. TI also has a really good search tool that you can incrementally select parameters to narrow the selection to the best part for a given application.

Hello Roger, you say "Engineerers or Scientists tried to sort the companies into categories and can find what they are looking for" . Many time, the main probleme is that they have to manufacture new material; as base, they have lab experimentations but they do not know what equipment could be the best for the production at economic price; they need in first help or expertise to identified the best solution, operating process and nessery equipment. only after this first step they could be able to look for the equipment they need.As an exemple, pour the industrial production of new compounds, silicone base products, catalyst products, nano particule mix, Scristalization of Sorbitol, Chewing gum pastes, .. they have many time not a clear vision on what could be the best choice of mixing equipment; Batch ot Continuous process? Could be interesting to help them by a pre orientation on the choice of equipment starting from list of process stages like, continuous powder feeding, pumping, pressure or vacuum filtration, cristalization, under water paletization, cooking, Batch or continuous mixer for hig viscosity pastes, explosif product mixing, Adhesives mixing,... long list.

Do not hesitate to ask me for any additional comments or info

jpaulcal@noos.fr

My main job is to help engineerers to find the best and simple solution to their problems before to defind the necessery equipment.

I really would like to see a filter option on searches so that you can filter out the distributors and only search for the manufacturers....

It drives me bonkers when I do a search for an obscure component that I need modifying by the manufacturer, to have a search turn up hundreds of distributors and outlets of bog standard components.

John

What types of components do you generally need modified and what production quantities are involved? Different manufacturers have different criteria that determines whether or not they will even quote on specials or modified standards. Some companies do nothing BUT specials, and charge exorbitant prices for their "prototype work", while others won't even touch a special unless they can be guaranteed production runs in the millions of parts annually.

Happily, there is a middle ground. For certain types of mechanical hardware and a manufacturer who will quote specials and mods on medium size production runs (hundreds to thousands and up) check out Carr Lane Manufacturing Co. and their interactive USA (inch) on-line catalog, also available as an International (metric) version in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian.

Mainly electronic components, instruments and other components, I get fed up of doing searches and always having RS components and Farnell etc... etc... coming up with hundreds of others when i know there is only half a dozen manufacturers.

Because I need to quickly find out about minimum order quantities and rough prices I just want to speak to the people who make the things and not to some sales chappie fresh from school who only knows the part as an stock number from their range!!

As most of my work is to do with customs and specials I do not want to wade through hundreds of standard stockists to find some contact number to ring to ask.

It wasn't so bad 25 years ago when so many things were made in the UK but now it is incredibly difficult to speak to someone who knows what they are selling and can answer questions in detail about how it works...

With integrated circuits I've long since given up on finding anyone technical to answer my questions and its far quicker to buy half a dozen chips and try operating them doing what I want them to do - not as described in the spec sheet etc... than it is to find someone who can answer my questions...

John.