Process for Locating Electronic Components

As part of my Electrical Design Engineering job, I am often asked to locate hard-to-find parts. These parts are usually obsolete or rare, such that only a few suppliers exist. Oftentimes, the prices are very high, the leadtimes are in the order of weeks to months, and the options are limited. I have always had the fortune to find the parts that I need at a reasonable price and with a reasonable delivery schedule. It bothers me that other engineers cannot find parts, or settle for the terms of a certain supplier. That is why I have created this blog – to assist all electrical engineer designers in searching for hard-to-find or obsolete parts.

The process to follow, at Honeywell, is to first check with the Common ATE Council to see if the part is defined by them. They dictate where to get certain parts, such as Test Racks, Power Supplies, etc. This is done to cut cost and time – buying in bulk. The Honeywell Intranet site is located HERE


However, most parts required such as Integrated Circuits (ICs) are not defined by them, so do the following. First, obviously, check with the vendor of the part. If the part is not available, or has a long lead time, look for the part from third-party vendors such as the ones listed below. Go down the list until you find the part you need. If you find it at one place you can still search the other places to see if you get a better price or a better lead-time or both. There are other places to look for as well, this is not an all-inclusive list of vendors. If all else fails, you can search for the part on a Search Engine, such as Google.

By clicking on the hyperlinks below, you will be taken to a new window.

http://www.SierraIC.com
http://www.partminer.com
http://www.newark.com
http://www.alliedelec.com
http://www.USBid.com
http://www.4starelectronics.com
http://www.Searchlighttech.com
http://www.ic-distributors.com
http://www.digi-key.com

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