If you're looking for hard-to-find hardware, McMaster-Carr is a great resource, but one issue is that the website doesn't tell you the provenance and quality of parts that you order. So if you're building a jig, fixture or prototype and you need high-quality, well-made parts built in Germany, another resource to consider is Kipp.

Kipp is a 100-year-old company that produces and sells a variety of handles, clamps, knobs, handwheels, hinges, connectors, latches and more, all made to a high standard in Germany. CAD data is provided for each part, so that you can work it into your design to see if it will work before you buy. And if you're not exactly sure what you're looking for, click here to browse through their video animations, which show you what the individual parts do.

Enter a caption (optional)

Enter a caption (optional)

Enter a caption (optional)

Although Kipp is Germany-based, they've got a U.S. distributor and some 18,000 parts sitting in an American warehouse, waiting for you to order one.