As someone who used to use McMaster-Carr a lot when I was in robotics, I have to say, I can agree with pretty much everything in here. They have their web design down great.
Most people I know haven't even heard of it, but mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used.
McMaster-Carr is an industrial supply company. They sell nuts, bolts, bushings, bearings – pretty much anything an engineer needs to build stuff. I've purchased from them dozens of times over the past few years, both for personal and school projects.
As someone who used to use McMaster-Carr a lot when I was in robotics, I have to say, I can agree with pretty much everything in here. They have their web design down great.
McMaster-Carr is a weird business. They're basically Amazon for mechanical engineers and machinists. If you're building a prototype, a one-off, or are just looking for some moderately uncommon...
McMaster-Carr is a weird business. They're basically Amazon for mechanical engineers and machinists. If you're building a prototype, a one-off, or are just looking for some moderately uncommon mechanical doodad, they've probably got it.
That being said, I wouldn't be sure if I would call their catalog the "smartest website"; electronic part distributors have far more complicated products and so they have to have much more complicated websites in order to help their customers find the parts that will best fulfill their needs. Sometimes that's a very specific part that only one manufacturer will make, and sometimes you'll get a wide range of choices by a whole spectrum of manufacturers. Because these websites have all the information on the parts (usually including the documentation on them) and they are also basically the only ones that sell them in small quantities, they often have a lot of influence over what parts an engineer might choose to put in their projects.
As a hobbyist, I've looked at McMaster-Carr, but never buy anything because it's pretty expensive and I'm not sure it's what I need anyway. For nuts and bolts and other basic supplies, I tend to...
As a hobbyist, I've looked at McMaster-Carr, but never buy anything because it's pretty expensive and I'm not sure it's what I need anyway. For nuts and bolts and other basic supplies, I tend to buy kits containing an assortment of them on Amazon, so I'll have a variety on hand.
McMaster also has incredible local pickup, and supporting a scale far smaller than I assumed they would. I live within driving range of one of their warehouses, and it's totally possible for me to...
McMaster also has incredible local pickup, and supporting a scale far smaller than I assumed they would. I live within driving range of one of their warehouses, and it's totally possible for me to order something like "Five bolts, three washers, and a bracket", and drive over there and pick up my parts in under an hour.
As someone who used to use McMaster-Carr a lot when I was in robotics, I have to say, I can agree with pretty much everything in here. They have their web design down great.
McMaster-Carr is a weird business. They're basically Amazon for mechanical engineers and machinists. If you're building a prototype, a one-off, or are just looking for some moderately uncommon mechanical doodad, they've probably got it.
That being said, I wouldn't be sure if I would call their catalog the "smartest website"; electronic part distributors have far more complicated products and so they have to have much more complicated websites in order to help their customers find the parts that will best fulfill their needs. Sometimes that's a very specific part that only one manufacturer will make, and sometimes you'll get a wide range of choices by a whole spectrum of manufacturers. Because these websites have all the information on the parts (usually including the documentation on them) and they are also basically the only ones that sell them in small quantities, they often have a lot of influence over what parts an engineer might choose to put in their projects.
As a hobbyist, I've looked at McMaster-Carr, but never buy anything because it's pretty expensive and I'm not sure it's what I need anyway. For nuts and bolts and other basic supplies, I tend to buy kits containing an assortment of them on Amazon, so I'll have a variety on hand.
McMaster also has incredible local pickup, and supporting a scale far smaller than I assumed they would. I live within driving range of one of their warehouses, and it's totally possible for me to order something like "Five bolts, three washers, and a bracket", and drive over there and pick up my parts in under an hour.