[yaris]

I often wonder how such teams build their devices - I assume it requires quite a few pieces of equipment that can't be bought at a nearby shop. Are such devices ordered from some manufacturer or are they built in-house somehow?

[niemandhier]

There are specialized companies selling components, what you cannot get you manufacture yourself. Assembling the device for prototypes like this is usually done in house.

Established labs often have a specialised section that cultivates all the little tricks how to do these things.

Knowledge is transferred by hiring postdocs that have the skills you need or by sending a phd student over to be trained.

As a scientist, if you do this for a while you end up with insane skills, but there is no place for them on the job market.

Everybody else is living 15 years in the past from your perspective.

[numpad0]

University researches in general? The boss always knows a small company that can make one, and staples a bidding notice to campus notice board for formality as the device is getting made and delivered. Isn't that how they do anywhere it might be?