And one final message for now... First, once you get several projects under your belt, you should start integrating "design for manufacture" into your main des

And one final message for now... First, once you get several projects under your belt, you should start integrating "design for manufacture" into your main design process - that way you don't waste time designing some custom part, then searching for that specific item / someone to make it, when with some minor adjustments and off the shelf part would be _significantly_ cheaper and readily available. Second, for designing with available parts, I love McMaster-Carr - they have great specs and drawings for just about everything, and 3D models you can import into most CAD software for most parts as well. They are more expensive than other sources for most individual parts, but the confidence you have with ordering from them is great, and for one-offs and prototyping they're invaluable.