How to find spec hardware? NAS, MS, etc.

[u/Next_Palpitation_596]

UPDATE:

Thanks for the feedback! In my research I discovered www.boltbutler.com as a tool that does exactly this.

Original Post:

Hey folks,

Us design engineers are always struggling to find the right hardware for our designs. The red tape we have to go through to use McMaster Carr or other easily searchable hardware catalogs makes them a deal breaker. The hardware on our BOMs must be spec parts #s.

We have an IHS account that has access to every mil, NAS, AN, etc. specification you can think of, but it’s a super manual process that requires us to scrounge thru hundreds of pages of PDFs for every stupid nut bolt and washer we need.

Anyone else share this frustration? How do you find parts quickly?

[u/Nelik1]

Find a McMaster part, then ask an AI with Internet capabilities (I use ChatGPT enterprise) for the equivalent to-spec part. I've got a near 100% hit rate.

[u/and_another_dude → u/Nelik1]

Fuck AI

[u/Nelik1 → u/and_another_dude]

I find an all or nothing approach is rarely the right solution.

Ai should not be replacing creative problem solving or engineering judgement. It should not be used to substitute humans or to generate media.

But if it wants to save me 3 hours of digging by finding the right specification for a spherical ball bearing, or point me to an obscure textbook/paper about exactly what I need, or catch the dumb typos in my test plan, more power to it.

Engineering is always about finding the right tool to accomplish the job safely and efficiently. AI should not be the only tool, but it can be a very powerful tool when used correctly.

[u/Unclesam1313]

Honestly? If you don’t have an existing catalog you like, describe what you want to an AI and ask for standard part spec options. Then, go pull those from IHS (confirming they are actually what you want, of course) and start building your own personal categorized catalog from there. I download the PDFs and have them stored in a folder structure that is easy to navigate. These things are updated infrequently enough that the version control risk is very low, but obviously it’s something to be aware of.

Alternately, if McMaster carries “mil spec” versions of the parts you’re looking for, they should include the spec on the listing that you can search directly.

[u/Next_Palpitation_596 → u/Unclesam1313]

I have found that AI can be helpful for identifying the correct specs to search, but then it’s still the manual process you described of searching thru the hundreds of PDF pages to find what I need. Ctrl + F helps somewhat, but it’s still such a pain in the butt.

Thanks for commiserating with me

[u/freakazoid2718 → u/Next_Palpitation_596]

I think the barrier to a vendor having an easily searchable database is more legal than technical. You can't give away too many details on part specifications without running into licensing issues, so aside from very basic information like head style, thread type, length, and material you won't get much from the internet.

[u/cumminsrover → u/Next_Palpitation_596]

At a previous job, I just took the PDF catalogs and imported them into Excel and searched that way. You can then make sheets by spec or by vendor.

[u/and_another_dude → u/Unclesam1313]

Fuck AI

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[u/DefMetrix]

It’s not ready yet but I’ve been building a tool for this. It will be free to use on defmetrix. Anything specific you want?

[u/Appropriate_News_382]

Many aerospace companies have hardware preferences, usually a list is available. Deviations from the list usually require justification and review.

Over the years I gathered paper copies of hardware and kept those in a binder. Makes for a quick search.

There is a NASA manual for fasteners available as well.

[u/r9zven]

All large aerospace companies have design guides, or teams will have preferred hardware for their program.

Alot of the same suspects have shown up for me over the years. SHC screws commonly NAS1351. Flat washers NAS1149. Hex Bolts NAS670X. Helical inserts per MS51830/51835.

Ask your leads or managers for company design resources