Author Topic: List of books, websites and sources for parts  (Read 4755 times)

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Offline FIFOTopic starter

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List of books, websites and sources for parts
« on: December 21, 2015, 10:34:41 AM »
   I have compiled a list of books, websites and sources for parts, related to robotics and electronics, that I have found useful and interesting. Hopefully this will be useful to you if you are searching for parts or information.


Books:

   Robot Building For Beginners by David Cook

      This is the book I started with. It is a very well written book that describes how to make a line following robot. It starts from the ground up, assuming no previous knowledge of electronics or mechanics, and is very easy to understand. This book teaches the basics of electronics, how to source parts, and how to solder. It also teaches how to construct the body for the robot, and how to make couplers to connect motors to wheels. The control system for the robot in this book done all in hardware, that is, it does not require a microcontroller, and therefore the book does not discuss them.


   Intermediate Robot Building by David Cook

      This book describes how to construct an obstacle avoidance robot, and covers many topics such as machining, mechanics, electronics, and near the end it touches on microcontrollers. I found the sections on power supply design and motor control extremely useful, and would recommend the book just for these sections.


   How to Build Your Own Working Robot Pet by Frank DaCosta

      This is the best book on robotics I have read. The writing is clear and elegant, and the circuits describes in the book ingenious. However, the book is quite old (at least in terms of technology), and so the parts are obsolete and the robot, outdated. The book is not a beginners book as it requires quite a lot of prerequisite knowledge, but I would recommend this book even if you do not decide to construct the robot, because of its educational value.


   How to Build Your Own Self-Programming Robot by David L. Heiserman

      This book shows how to construct a self-progamming robot, that is, a robot with the capability to learn. This book is also relatively old and outdated, and it is less detailed and not as well written as DaCosta's book, however the learning algorithms used by the robot are very interesting and unique. I highly recommend this book, if only for algorithms.


Websites and Forums:

   Robot Room
   http://www.robotroom.com

      This is David Cooks's website where he writes articles about the robots he has made, and verious electronics/robotics tutorials. I have found his tutorials invaluable, especially the ones on how to etch printed circuit boards.


   EEVBLOG
   http://www.eevblog.com/forum/

      This is a very large and active international electronics forum. It is run by Australian engineer Dave Jones, who runs the Electronics Engineering Video Blog (EEVBLOG). This is a very useful forum as lots of its members are experienced engineers who are more than willing to help.


   Hackaday
   http://hackaday.com/blog/

      This is a blog containing various electronics projects posted throughout the web. Some of the posts are robotics related and some are not. The blog also has some experenced engineers who write tutorials. I have found their embedded microcontroller tutorials and FPGA tutorials very useful.


   AVR Freaks
   http://www.avrfreaks.net

      This is a forum about AVR microcontrollers. It is quite active, and I have read several useful tutorials written by some of its members.


Informitive and interesting Youtube Channels:

   humanHardDrive
   https://www.youtube.com/user/humanHardDrive

      This channel has many tutorials on Arduino, AVR microcontrollers, electronics, C++ programming, and lots more. I have found his AVR tutorials particularly useful, and I highly recommend his channel.


   Applied Science
   https://www.youtube.com/user/bkraz333

      This channel is run my the American mechanical engineer Ben Krasnow. On his channel Mr Krasnow documents his projects and demonstrates various science principles. This channel is more focused on applied science rather than electronics or robotics, but many of his projects would probably be of interest to many on this forum. One of his more interesting projects was a scratch built scanning electron microscope (SEM).


   EEVBLOG
   https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog

      • Mr. Jones is an Australian electrical engineer who makes many EE videos.
      • I have found some of his tutorials very helpful, such as the ones on SMD soldering, and his mesh and nodal circuit analysis tutorial.
      • Mr. Jones language coarse at times


   Jeri Ellsworth
   https://www.youtube.com/user/jeriellsworth/
   https://www.youtube.com/user/JeriEllsworthJabber

      • Miss. Ellsworth is an electrical engineer who posts some interesting project videos.
      • She was a high school dropout who taught herself electrical engineering and chip design.
      • She was asked to speak at Stanford University about her experience. Here is a link to the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g05Wfqv-8es


Sources For Parts:
   
   Jameco Electronics
   http://www.jameco.com

      • Good source for general electronic components
      • Cheap prices
      • Stocks older parts which are harder to find but that are very useful
      • Low cost shipping options
      • $5 handling fee for orders below $10


   SparkFun Electronics
   https://www.sparkfun.com

      • Has lots of pre-built sensor modules
      • Large assortment of Arduino related products
      • Good source for gear motors and wheels
      • Has lots of tutorials
      • Prices can be a little high
      • Not a great source for general electronic components


   Digi-Key Electronics
   http://www.digikey.com

      • Has a very large range of components and modules
      • Has lots of new parts
      • Good prices
      • Because there are so many parts, the website is a little difficult to navigate


   Electronic Goldmine
   http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com

      • Surplus electronics and electrical components
      • Has many unusual and hard to find parts
      • Prices are sometimes very good
      • Since it is surplus, parts will go out of stock and will not be replaced


   BG Micro Electronics
   http://www.bgmicro.com

      • Surplus electronics and electrical components
      • Has many unusual and hard to find parts
      • Very good prices
      • Since it is surplus, parts will go out of stock and will not be replaced
      • It is a little unnerving when ordering from them as they do not send shipping information. However if you make an account with them, they will provide you with your order history, and tracking links. I have always received by parts as described, and have otherwise been very happy with them.


   Pololu Robotics and Electronics
   https://www.pololu.com

      • Very large selection of robot modules and kits
      • Very good source for gear motors with mounting brackets and mating wheels. This is a pretty big deal, as one of the hardest mechanical problems I have encountered while building robots is the problem of coupling the wheels to the motors.


   West Florida Components
   https://www.westfloridacomponents.com

      • Have a good selection of components
      • They "specialize in obsolete and hard to find electronic parts and components." This was particularly important to me, because I am currently building a robot that uses older technology, and this company had parts that were hard to find, at a better price than I could find at other stores.
      • They require you to make an account with them before you order


   American Science & Surplus
   http://www.sciplus.com
      • General surplus store with some surplus electronics
      • Good source for surplus electric gear motors
      • Excellent customer service


   eBay
   http://www.ebay.com

      • Well I know that pretty much everyone knows about eBay, but I would like to note that it is a very good place to get gear motors and used test equipment for a good price.


   Online Metals
   http://www.onlinemetals.com
      • Has a wide range of metals such as aluminum, steel, copper, bronze titanium, etc.
      • Very good prices
      • There is a handling fee, and shipping options are a little expensive
« Last Edit: December 22, 2015, 03:28:45 PM by FIFO »

Offline mklrobo

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Re: List of books, websites and sources for parts
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2015, 02:32:34 PM »
 8) Simply awesome!!!!!!  8)

Offline gtabasso

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Re: List of books, websites and sources for parts
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2016, 11:40:35 AM »
My company sells used robotics. There may be something there that is useful for parts.
Gina Tabasso
HGR Industrial Surplus

Offline johnnywheels

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Re: List of books, websites and sources for parts
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2016, 03:58:52 PM »
   I have compiled a list of books, websites and sources for parts, related to robotics and electronics, that I have found useful and interesting. Hopefully this will be useful to you if you are searching for parts or information.

This is nothing short of gold, thank you!!!