Suppliers and Manufacturers

This page lists suppliers that are used or considered for use on the robots built in this lab. These are places that we've used in the past for various aspects of the robots creation and maintenance. Note that some of these places (namely the machine and anodize shops) are local to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and may not be useful for you folks at UofM and CMU. The intent is that you can search here first for where we got an item (say a certain sensor).

Add to these lists as you find useful hardware or manufactures that may be useful in in upgrading our hardware. Also list places that we should not work with. This can save us some serious time and effort later on. Remember that the lab will be here a long time working with these, and future, robots. And as undergrads and grad students we will come and go. WE WANT OUR INFORMATION LEARNED WHILE WORKING IN THESE LABS TO BE PRESERVED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE RESEARCH!!!

Machine Shops Places where we have machined parts made for our robots
Anodizing Shops Places where we have our machined parts colored
Water Jetting Shops Places where we can get water jetting jobs done
Cables and Rope Cable and rope for cable drives and such
Composites Shops Places where we can get composite work done
Electric Motors
Harmonic Drives Compact, geared transmissions
Bearings Large diameter, thin section bearings among others
Sensors High resolution absolute and incremental encoders
Slip Rings Continuous rotation electrical contacts
Raised Floor Tiles used in the experimental room at OSU.
PCB Manufacturing Where we get our custom PCB's made
General Suppliers
Other Useful Companies Things that just flat out come in handy

Disclaimer

In no way to we endorse or promote the use of these companies and vendors over others. This is a simple list of options we have explored and our experience with them. This page is to be used among the Oregon State University Dynamic Robotics Lab and it's collaborative labs at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon Universities Robotics Institute (as of May 2013). Others are welcome to see what our experience has taught us but keep in mind we are not promoting or advertising this information.