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I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated with how much older manufacturing standards seem to persist even within Maker communities.We're using cutting-edge tech for design and prototyping, but still dealing with tolerances and material qualities that feel like they belong in the last century. It's especially noticeable when trying to integrate off-the-shelf components into custom projects.
Such as, I recently spent way too long trying to adapt a readily available power supply to fit a custom enclosure I designed. The published dimensions were simply wrong, and the mounting holes weren't even close to being square. It wasn't a knock-off brand, either; this was from a supposedly reputable supplier.
This isn't an isolated incident. Are others running into similar issues? Is it just a matter of inaccurate datasheets, or is there a deeper problem with quality control, especially with parts sourced from overseas? What strategies do you all use to mitigate these headaches when working on your projects? It feels like half my time is spent correcting for manufacturing inconsistencies rather than actually building cool stuff.