MechanismsandThingsThatMove

Check out this Map of NYU ITP local resources

3D modeling (with feedback)

• Alibre Design Personal (Windows only) The only budget friendly CAD software I know of that is not a demo or educational license, and can handle 3D assemblies of parts and 2D drawings. It's free for 30 days then costs just $99 for the personal license.

Worth mentioning...

• blender (Windows and Mac) Steep learning curve and more suited to animation and character modeling than machine design. Open source software is promising but not very useful for machine design.
  • Check out Super3boy's tutorials, a tutorial on textures, Blender's own wiki tutorial, and this excellent guide to Precision Modelling in Blender for help
• Rhino has a demo version for Windows that will save 25 times and version for Mac OSX that is free during development. You can use the Rhino Assembly plugin to make assemblies of multiple parts if you're using the Windows version. Generally intuitive to learn, easy to model basic shapes. Very capable for part design, but no plug in for assemblies in the Mac version.
• Google Sketchup (Windows or Mac) Good for 2D and 3D part and assembly design. Check here for tutorial on accurate design. This plugin makes adding dimensions easier. Use the plugin here or the su2stl.rb plugin here to convert the models to .stl for 3D printing. Very quick to learn and useful to visualize concepts.
  • OhYeahCAD Free sketchup downloads, gear plugin
• Art of Illusion (Windows and Mac) Free, open source 3D modeling and rendering studio. Decent as open source software goes, but clumsy for machine design. Very basic program, not easy to model anything but the simplest shapes.
• eMachineShop Free software, new export to .stl function (Windows only)

General Materials

• ITP Materials site All our materials resources will be listed on Peter's site
• Material Connexion You need to do a little homework and get coupons before you go, details here.
• Inventables A great resource to search for creative uses of materials
• Materials for the Arts A resource for artists and non-profits
• Build It Green NYC Great for wood and other salvaged and surplus building materials
• Epoxy Putty / Plumber's Putty The great project savior! Great for molding parts, and stopping leaks. Hardens like steel. This should be in everybody's toolbox next to the duct tape.

Material Properties

• matweb Go here when you need technical info like melting temp or yield strength

Mechanism ideas

• 507 Mechanical Movements
• KMODDL Online Books Tons of old books on mechanisms

General Info

• efunda
• howstuffworks
• The Open Courseware Consortium, specifically MIT's Mechanical Engineering OCW

Parts and Tools - general mechanical
LOCAL:

• Grainger All kinds of hardware in online store. They also have local stores.
• Home Depot
• Victor's Hardware Local hardware and machine tool shop
• Greschlers' Hardware Huge local hardware and industrial supply store

ONLINE:

• McMaster
• MSC Industrial Supply Co.
• Harbor Freight cheap tools and such
• MicroMark Tools for small precision/model work (e.g. mini drill presses, mini shear/brake, etc)
• Small Parts Like the name says... also sell a lot of things through Amazon.com

Parts - general electrical

• SparkFun very user friendly for the non-electrical engineer
• Jameco
• DigiKey
• Newark
• Mouser
• Alltronics
• All Electronics - really cheap surplus site, one of my favorites
• Allied Electronics
• Herback and Rademan - surplus motors and everything else
• Hobby Engineering
• Surplus Traders Cheesy website but tons of cheap motors, assemblies
• Electronics Goldmine Lots of random cheap electronic parts, some mechanical, surplus stuff
• MPJA Smaller distributor, great prices on power supplies, tools, motors

General Robotics Supplies

• Robotshop
• Vex Robotics Design System all kinds of robotics kits, sensors, and parts
• Robot Marketplace also lots of kits, motors, you name it
• Acroname
• Pololu Motors, Robotics kits, etc.

Gears

• Boston Gear's Design Guide
• Stock Drive Products
• WM Berg
• WM Berg - check out the Gear Spec and Spur Gear Tooth Strength tools
• Vex Gear Kit
• Spur Gear Mesh animation
• Amazing 1930's video of how differential gears work
• Wire Gears Check out how to make wire gears
• Illustrator tutorial how to make gears with the star tool
• Society of Robots Gears Tutorial
• Lesley's Gear Tutorial
• BG Micro Small assortment of gears in addition to electronic stuff

Motors

• Solarbotics
• Tom's motor resources
• Allelectronics
• Electronic Goldmine
• Surplus Center might take some browsing, but you can find all kinds of motors here
• American Science Surplus you can find some motors here among many, many other interesting things
• Robot Marketplace motors
• Portescap
• Edmund Scientific: Motors & Gears
• "Real" and Hobby motors, controllers, general info
• Hitec - RC servos and accessories
• Servo City they also have great accessories, like this aluminum hub They make their own parts. Allow at least a week for your order to ship if it is a gear, sprocket or aluminum hub.
• specAmotor - Motor search engine
• Tom's RC - Servo Motor and gears(Very Cheap)
• Tower Hobbies - Servo's, Gears, Motors, Steam Engines, and nuts and bolts -All kinds of hobby parts
• Skycraft Parts & Surplus Inc. - Wide range of Gearhead motors

Motor control/chips

• Jameco, DigiKey, Newark all have some
• SparkFun a nice cheap h-bridge
• Jeti Advance Brushless Motor Controllers
• Servo tester
• Tower Hobbies They have everything.

Kinematic Models and Automatons

• Kinematic Models for Design
• Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
• Cabaret - virtual exhibitions
• Flying Pig
• Optical Toys
• Automata Galleria
• Fundamentals of Linkages Great resource if you don't mind a little math
• Designing 4 bar linkages Here's one with less math
• MIT Design & Manufacturing Site Go here if the two links above are broken.

Bearings

• Electric Motor Trading 313 Canal Street
• Stock Drive Products has bearings among many other things
• Above links to McMaster and MSC have bearings as well

Springs

• Many of the above general sites are good places to look for springs
• Chinatown Building Supply Springs on display
• Associated Spring custom prototypes and short runs
• Lee Spring stock and custom
• Smalley Springs wave springs
• Vulcan Spring constant force and torque springs

Rotary to linear motion

• Nook Industries (lead screws)
• THK (linear motion products)
• Duff-Norton (jack, linear actuators)
• Industrial Devices (ball screw assemblies)
• Linear Motion
• Velmex

Fluid mechanics

• Fluid Mechanics films
• Vex Pneumatics Kits
• Swagelok & Hy-Lok Fluid system components
• Edmund Scientific Hydrodynamic starter kit