When working on my projects, I try to have a lot parts on hand to choose from. First of all, it cuts down on the cost for things I need for the project, and second it goes along with my philosophy of recycling. And where do I find all of these parts? From old toys, games and other electronic equipment which no longer works. Believe it or not, there are lots of great parts in old kids toys, VCRs, RC cars or even things like old power tools.
How do I get all of this junk? Well for starters it helps to be known as a fix-it guy, because then people bring me their broken gadgets, which sometimes I can fix but other times I can't but I kindly offer to dispose of for them. Other times I just have "Bring me your junk" drive which can bring in a lot of stuff. Finally, while not really being a Garage Sale person, if I'm at one, I will pick up some broken electronic stuff.
Once I have a pile of stuff, I start working through it, separating out the useful parts from everything else. Mainly what I'm looking for is motors, sensors, wires, screws, gears, LEDs, battery parts and springs. The one thing that I always felt guilty about was all of the plastic that I had throw away, but I think I may have come up with a way of dealing with that.
There are plastic recycling gadgets now that take plastic waste and turns it into 3D printer filament. They are a little pricey but I feel they will probably start coming down in price soon.
Over all, it's pretty awesome that we now are at a point where we have access to all of this great technology, like 3D printers, Arduinos, and other electronic pieces to rearrange and make into other awesome things.
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