Directory of suppliers for components and completed parts. Includes some product information and supplier contact information for more detail and pricing.
For designers of all disciplines, includes information about over 4,500 material, including fabrics, ceramics, metals, and polymers. Material Connexion includes images of the materials and contact information for manufacturers.
Grainger is one of the larger Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) businesses. (You can find others by searching the Web for MRO.) Like McMaster-Carr, it has many of the things you would find in a hardware store plus more specialized parts and equipment.
Catalog from a supplier for industrial and commercial facilities. Like Grainger, it has many of the things you would find in a hardware store plus more specialized parts and equipment.
Published by the same organization as ThomasNet, this resource includes information about suppliers both inside and outside the United States. Contact information is included to request price information.
Electronic products and components are listed here with specification sheets. Some manufacturers include direct contact information to contact for pricing, but others only provide a URL.
This collection of online reference books includes a data search tool to search by materials properties. Use it before going to vendors, to help establish what materials suit your needs.
VCU Libraries Workshop (lower level, Cabell Library) has state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and a cross-platform editing lab for video, sound and graphics as well as large-format printing. Staff can help you create and illustrate your designs.
Students and faculty in the VCU College of Engineering who complete the training and safety requirements have access to a machine shop and a rapid prototyping service with 3D printing.
Lowe's at 1640 W. Broad, phone: (804) 219-0640 and Pleasant's Ace at 2024 W. Broad, phone (804) 359-9381 are the hardware stores closest to the Monroe Park Campus.
A local "hacker collective", members take things apart, put things together, and build things. Hack.RVA has a makerspace with tools for members and has members who can lend expertise.
This book covers the basics of selecting materials for prototypes and of buy / build decisions. Examples are interspersed throughout the book. Despite end-of-chapter questions, this book reads more like a practical handbook for beginners than a textbook.
Written from an engineering perspective, this book describes the process and challenges of moving an idea into a manufactured product. The ramp up from design to production is described using a step-wise process, with outlines of GANTT charts and descriptions of the risks and costs to consider at each step.
Coving such topics as machining processing, press work, manufacturing estimating, and material management, this handbook gives readers ready access to information on specific subjects in manufacturing engineering.
From concept development to final production, this comprehensive text thoroughly examines the design, prototyping, and fabrication of engineering products and emphasizes modern developments in system modeling, analysis, and automatic control.