Re: New project...PCI based servo control board

["alex" <telecomt-at-tht.net>]

John,
your post completely reflects my thoughts.
It looks like Jon is chasing wrong crowd - his product
is too good for  hobbyists (16 bit DACs). What is the way out?
May be to increase the price (I hate to say this), put money into marketing?
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: <jmkasunich-at-ra.rockwell.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <emc-at-nist.gov>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 9:38 AM
Subject: Re: New project...PCI based servo control board


>
>
>
>
> Jon Elson wrote:
>
> > I have had the PPMC on the market at US $650 for the 4 axis
> > setup with 16 opto-isolated digital inputs and place for 8
> > SSRs to mount right on the board, so you don't need an Opto-22
> > board, too.  This has 4 16-bit DACs, 4 24-bit encoder counters
> > with index channel.  For $30 extra, you get differential
> > receivers for the encoder inputs.  And, it has all the E-stop
> > logic, with a watchdog timer, built in, too.  This has been on
> > the market for over a year, and I've sold SIX units!  I haven't
> > even managed to use up the run of 10 prototype boards!
>
> > I have had the Universal Stepper Controller out for nearly a
> > year (I demoed it at the last NAMES show) at $200, and Ive
> > sold FIVE!  I'm basically giving these away at this price,
> > at this volume.  The FPGA on this product costs $30.  But,
> > it has 4 24-bit encoder counters (with index) and 4 digital
> > step rate generators with 24-bit rate selection,
>
> > So, here I have developed these products, no one wants them,
> > and yet you guys are STILL arguing over what would be the
> > all-time BEST CNC interface.
>
> > All I can tell you, is unless you want to invest several
> > thousand $ a MONTH into advertising, you won't sell more
> > than 10 of them a year.
>
> I can't speak for Craig or anyone else, but I don't intend to SELL
> anything.  I am
> well aware of how hard it is to make money selling to hobbyists.  Face
it -
> we're
> cheapskates.
>
> As I see it, there are two ways to build things at a profit.  One, you
> build something
> that you can sell in quantity, and you invest in the machinery, etc.,
> needed to make
> it cheap in volume.  That's basically what Gecko has done with their
drives
> - there's
> no way they would be as cheap as they are without automation and quantity.
> The
> other way to make money is to build something that is customized or
> otherwise
> unique, and sell only to those with deep enough pockets to pay for that
> unique
> quality.  Jon, I think you are well aware of that approach with with your
> nuclear
> instrumentation.  I have done something similar selling a specialized test
> jig to
> tile testing labs.   Those deep pocket people are NOT the ones who build
> their
> own CNC machines for "fun and profit".  I just don't think it will ever be
> profitable
> selling CNC hardware to people like us. I'm not  even gonna try.
>
> Whatever designs I come up with, I intend to publish as completely open
> projects,
> and let anyone who wants to build them do so.  If there is enough interest
> to warrent
> buying a batch of bare boards to get the cost down, great. If not, that's
> OK too.
> I'll buy one board and build my own system.  I know it will cost as much
if
> not more
> than your $200 USC, but I certainly hope it will be under the $650
pricetag
> of the
> PPMC system.  (Not counting the value of my time, of course!)
>
> If the USC had everything I want/need for my project, I might well be
> buying one
> instead of getting involved in this thing.  But is doesn't - I need a
> couple of
> additional encoder counters, and an analog output.  So being an engineer,
> I'm
> gonna build my own.  If someone else is doing much the same thing, then
> I'll
> collaborate with them.  If my needs divirge too much from what everybody
> else
> wants to do, then I'll go it alone again.  Regardless of how it works out,
> I'll post
> my schematics and code.
>
> Because I don't expect to make any money doing this, I've been keeping the
> design as simple and straightforward as I can.  I've avoided PCI like the
> plague,
> because I have neither the information, skills, or time to design a PCI
> interface.
> The single board computers I intend to use for my own project have an ISA
> bus,
> and I know that an ISA design is reasonable for me to do on my own.  That,
> or
> an EPP version, is the path I was planning.  If Craig, combined with the
> guys at
> opencores.org, can make a PCI version, that's great.  Perhaps I can
> contribute
> to the control hardware design, and others can contribute to the bus
> interface...
> In any case, the discussions are a good thing that everyone can benefit
> from.
>
> John Kasunich
>
>
>
>