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3M breadboards for cheap
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tooki:
Looks like AS raised its prices a LOT. Still cheaper than 3M, but nowhere near the savings they once were. :(

For example, the CS253 mentioned in the original post is now $17.50 instead of $9. Still less than the $33 of the 3M one on Digi-Key, though. Shipping narrows the savings even further.
bd139:
Too expensive. Have been buying the Wisher ones from TME. Just as good quality and a hell of a lot cheaper.
rsjsouza:
For those in the US, Microcenter still kept the price of some dirt cheap (almost throwaway) breadboards.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/486584/inland-830-tie-points-solderless-breadboard
tooki:

--- Quote from: tooki on July 30, 2020, 03:40:18 pm ---Looks like AS raised its prices a LOT. Still cheaper than 3M, but nowhere near the savings they once were. :(

For example, the CS253 mentioned in the original post is now $17.50 instead of $9. Still less than the $33 of the 3M one on Digi-Key, though. Shipping narrows the savings even further.

--- End quote ---
And now it’s $24 for the CS253. Still cheaper than 3M, but with shipping, probably only makes sense for larger orders. :(
 
cdev:

--- Quote from: tooki on June 16, 2017, 09:48:16 pm ---So there's a fairly wide consensus on here that 3M breadboards are among the very best, perhaps the best, on the market, discussed in e.g.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/quality-breadboards-on-ebay/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/what-is-so-great-about-3m-breadboards/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/quality-breadboards/


Anyway, 2 years ago I bought a single 3M breadboard from a local distributor. The actual item that arrived says "AP PRODUCTS MENTOR, OH" on it. (As do some items on the third page linked above.)

A bit of googling seems to indicate that while that company still exists (and lays claim to being the inventor of the modern breadboard), it doesn't look like they're still making breadboards, nor have any locations in Ohio. A bit of further googling, however, ends up with an Ohio company called Assembly Specialist, whose products include breadboards.

This page contains this nugget:
--- Quote ---Bread Boards
Popular for protoype building and home hobbies. We offer 7 different size boards, all specifications can be found on our website. These are high quality boards originally produced by AP Products in the 70's and 80's and now owned and proudly produced in the U.S.A.by Assembly Specialist.

--- End quote ---

And indeed those breadboards look suspiciously identical to the 3M/AP ones -- all the way down to product names ("Super Strip" and "Circuit Strip") and part numbers (e.g. my breadboard, which is a 3M Circuit Strip, part number 923253, vs Assembly Specialist CS253), and errors in the data sheets (that item is erroneously described by both 3M and Assembly Specialist as having 620 tie points in 2x48 rows + buses, but it's actually 610 points on 2x47 rows + buses).

So I'd be willing to bet that Assembly Specialist is still the actual OEM making these things for 3M.

And they sell direct.

And they're incredibly cheap.


They are bigger than the ones I usually buy which admittedly are cheap and kind of crappy, and fall apart when pieces get out of the back..

For example, the 3M 923253 is about $27 on Digi-Key, while the CS253 is under $9 direct from Assembly Specialist.

For the gold-plated version, the 3M 923749 is a $121 special-order item from Digi-Key, while the equivalent CS749 direct from Assembly Specialist is $40.  :o

I'm thinking I may order some from them to see. Figured you all would appreciate knowing about this, too.

FYI, they charge $11 shipping in USA, but their Paypal seems to not be set up for international, as it wanted to charge me no shipping at all to Switzerland, which can't possibly be right.


Yes, this is an old thread but they are at least as of last year are for real and a good deal for the money..

For reference, here are the product pages:

All 3M breadboard products
Assembly Specialists breadboards on baseplates
Assembly Specialists bare breadboards

--- End quote ---
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