[blamazon]

A huge advantage of McMaster I didn't see enumerated is the 3D models - for nearly every fastener, and for certain other products, you can instantly grab a 3D model and bring it right into your CAD design. As far as I know no one else offers this, definitely not at the scale McMaster's dataset offers.

An annoyance of McMaster I didn't see enumerated is how they don't show you the shipping cost until after transaction is complete. That's fine for my day job when I'm not paying, but when I order stuff for home projects I generally would like to know how much it costs to ship say, an 8 foot piece of steel tubing, before I click submit order. EDIT: they updated this apparently! See user Certified's comment below.

[LeifCarrotson]

> As far as I know no one else offers this, definitely not at the scale McMaster's dataset offers.

As an industrial engineer, most of my vendors offer this. I can get 3D CAD for robot arms, grippers, IO blocks, motors, cameras, enclosures, valves, cylinders, and just about everything else that goes in my machines. However, you're right that these don't have the same scale that McMaster does; they're selling the huge variety of nuts and bolts that bring these separate vendors together.

One of the underrated parts of this kind of CAD offering is that you can test out 3D printed parts directly from their CAD. Not sure if you're accurately understanding their otherwise very helpful documentation on the gear modulus of that thousand dollar hardened, ground steel rack-and-pinion? Download the step file and print it in a few bucks of PLA. No, it won't actually be strong enough to move that 3-ton casting even once, but you can trivially check that the meshing works as you expect.

[MengerSponge]

Although I've had an engineer fuss at me for using McMaster's bolt models in a rather complicated assembly. They actually model the threads and all the little details of the head, which make for a much larger model.

*People who don't work in CAD may not get it, but threaded interfaces are basically modeled with cylinders that overlap where the threads are engaged. It's funny what gets represented accurately and what doesn't, but just remember that the map is not the territory!

[johnwalkr]

One thing they offer which is really uncommon is parametric models instead of geometric models only. It's like getting the source code instead of only a binary file. So, you can easily suppress unwanted detail.

[MengerSponge]

They've doubtlessly improved things in the decade since that happened, but the important take-home for me was to just use my Parts Library for standard socket head bolts.

For weird things? Full parametric models would be great!

[albrewer]

The way I handled this in SolidWorks was to have an assembly configuration with all the detail suppressed and only use that in my model.

[daveguy]

> No, it won't actually be strong enough to move that 3-ton casting even once, but you can trivially check that the meshing works as you expect.

This is the opposite of what I have found. I wouldn't use 3D printed parts for any sort of interfacing / tolerance check because pla usually prints > 0.2mm out of spec.

But, maybe you have a better 3d printer or I misunderstood exactly how you use it.

Do you have a 3d printer that can made dimensionally accurate parts? Or would you mind clarifying the use case?

[LeifCarrotson]

No, it's typically ~0.4mm out of tolerance.

Perhaps gear meshing was a bad example requiring higher tolerances. You'd not be able to set the depth to a tolerance of a few microns, but you'd know if you were off by a factor of 2 due to confusion calculating diametral pitch vs OD.

We most recently used it to check timing belt compatibility, whether the belt could be installed over the pulley using the very limited travel available in the belt tensioner, or whether we needed a pulley with smaller flanges or a different way to adjust and change belts. Trying to figure out in CAD whether you could stretch a belt over the pulley, or slip the pulley over the shaft while the belt was pre-installed, is pretty difficult. Printing it and proving that it was easy cost $2 and reduced risk a lot.

[genewitch]

I have one 3d printer that ca. Do dimensionally accurate parts as long as they're smaller than ~50mm all dimensions.

With the most fine settings the slicer will do, it's within 20 microns in all dimensions, and usually it's so accurate my calipers show no error at all, which puts the error either under 5 microns or 1 micron, I forget.

The biggest issue with PLA is it shrinks a bit, so a perfect print is usually about 102%ish of the drawing size; the slicer manages all of that, though.

[Certified]

"An annoyance of McMaster I didn't see enumerated is how they don't show you the shipping cost until after transaction is complete."

I use McMaster daily and can see the shipping cost in two places when viewing my cart. The lines above the Place Order button on the top right side of the screen has

Merchandise ####.##

Shipping ##.##

Total $####.##

In the same bar below that is tax and directly below that you can click Delivery Method and it also displays the cost for each delivery speed. Maybe if you are set up with an account that is Net-30 this is hidden, but it certainly shows up for me when set to process the transaction by credit card.

[blamazon]

You're right and I'm wrong! There it is, plain as day. That's fascinating. I guess they updated this and I didn't notice.

[loeg]

It was fairly recent.

[yardie]

The shipping always killed it for me. I started ordering fasteners through the office. It's basically the same whether you order an envelope or a pallet.

[Oxidation]

And the file you download is the file you need. You don't have to mess about with zip files containing one file.

[loeg]

They started showing shipping costs a few years ago. It was also my main complaint.

[Robotbeat]

That’s it, then. McMaster-Carr is perfect.

(Too bad my organization’s procurement has become completely screwed up in the last 2-3 years…)

[tbran]

I can also confirm that shipping is calculated before the transaction is complete, so you'll know what you're paying.

I'll add that the shipping was super fast for my most recent order (next day) even though part of it came from 1/3 of the way across the US.

[techplex]

I've heard you can contact support to get a shipping quote before placing your order.

[blamazon]

Their phone support is excellent, I will say. Still, to call for a ship quote is a bit of a faff that feels intentionally anachronistic.

[dieselgate]

Seriously - how many "large" stores can you just call up and actually not have to wait on hold to talk to someone who is helpful, kind, and knowledgeable? Mcmaster is great at what they do

[blamazon]

Heck, forget the phone, I had an extended job once across the street from the New Jersey McMaster warehouse (Robbinsville Twnship) and you can go in there to get the same treatment. We spent A LOT of money on same day parts.

[spinningarrow]

That makes its absence even more strange - presumably then they should be able to expose that functionality to the user?

[hadlock]

Shipping is a Hard Problem, especially when dealing with large volume (bigger than UPS, usually strapped to a pallet) objects, and/or very dense objects (cartons of metal nuts and bolts). You still need to call your freight person and get a quote directly from the carrier over the phone. Low density LTL (less than truckload) is a pretty known quantity and delivering to a known business (like Walmart warehouses) with a loading dock is easy. Delivering two pallet loads of high density metal to a single story engineering office in an office park with no facilities to service an 18-wheeler (let alone allow one to enter/maneuver) is another thing entirely.

[loeg]

Yes, although it's no longer necessary -- shipping costs are reflected at checkout now.