Teensy based CNC board

I'm not too sure where you get the idea Mesa are using "off brand Chinese" stuff.

Peter from Mesa was actually asked about 3.5mm plugin connectors used, the part numbers given where not from an "off brand Chinese" outfit. For the quantities I needed for the Project I was working on I had to source them from either Element14 or RS Components. And the parts that will plugin in side by side are different from the standard type plugin ones. The difference is the from the center of the last socket to the outer plastic casing, the ones that stack side by side are 1.75mm ie half the pitch, where the more common ones that distance is greater than half the pitch. Just a little technical difference. Found the thread relating to this:
forum.linuxcnc.org/27-driver-boards/4044...block-source?start=0

I stand by what I say about most of the MESA alternative projects, very few think of the translation from a field voltage to the logic voltage of the device. Basically someone comes up with the firmware for the latest "maker device" and sends it out in the wild. It is up to the user as to how that deice interfaces electrically to the machine. This is the part that can get expensive, especially if you are building a "one off", maybe if you can buy the parts in reasonable quantities and sell a few units it's not too bad, but then you will get those that can not follow simple instructions and will drive you crazy,because they don't get that they need follow the instructions as set out and not miss steps or do things "their way".

What I like about MESA is that because of the intended market, the I/O sections have been properly thought out. I don't need to worry about the translation from the field voltage to the device logic voltage, it's all done.

I have nothing against people developing their own things, I did it myself when I was using a BeagleBone Black.

Today, not only has the cost of connectors gone up, but their availability has gone down.

I've built many PCBs and know from 30+ years of doing so, it's always more work than it seems at first.

I've never found the MESA boards to be over-priced -- when everything is considered.

The only boards I've developed for CNC use are differential tx/rx boards (3 pairs + power on a CAT wire), and breakout boards for the Teensy 4.1 and various Arduinos.

I frequently use Arduino or Teensy to get things done. I have learned that it's better to buy rather than build -- unless you can't buy what you need, or if they charge way too much, or only support incompatible operating environments.

I'm not too sure where you get the idea Mesa are using "off brand Chinese" stuff.

Because they do, Google the magnetic isolator chip on a 7i96 (at least from the original batch).....you won't find it at Mouser.

Peter from Mesa was actually asked about 3.5mm plugin connectors used, the part numbers given where not from an "off brand Chinese" outfit.

If you asked me what the part number for a connector I used on one of my boards is, I would give you a Phoenix Contact number.....because you can actually get that. What would be the point of me giving you a number for some Shenzhen company if the connector cost $0.19 but it cost $26 to ship it?

I stand by what I say about most of the MESA alternative projects, very few think of the translation from a field voltage to the logic voltage of the device. Basically someone comes up with the firmware for the latest "maker device" and sends it out in the wild. It is up to the user as to how that deice interfaces electrically to the machine. This is the part that can get expensive, especially if you are building a "one off", maybe if you can buy the parts in reasonable quantities and sell a few units it's not too bad, but then you will get those that can not follow simple instructions and will drive you crazy,because they don't get that they need follow the instructions as set out and not miss steps or do things "their way". 

Again, lost. You see in the beginning of this thread there is a link to a Teensy based CNC controller that you can already buy, it's at least 1/2 the price of anything from Mesa hackaday.io/project/175209-teensy-41-cnc-controller
The Caveats to putting that into a machine are equal to any Mesa card you otherwise would. The router pictured in that link is actually a great example of a machine I'd use something like that on over a Mesa card. Only problem is there is no LinuxCNC firmware for a Teensy 4.x, and I'm pretty sure that was the point of this thread. Does it fit every build....nope, would someone building a small router running LinuxCNC buy it.....yep. The logistics of whether it makes financial sense to make is upto whoever makes it, obviously the guy with the Tindie shop thinks he can sell those for $42 and have it be worth his time. If soldering a couple of through hole terminal blocks is too much than somebody should find a different hobby.

The thing about interfacing with a machine.....I don't get it. How's that different than a Mesa card? You still have to figure out how to drive relays and stuff to control AC voltages and such....really no different from using a 7i76e in that respect.

As for "one offs" why do it if it doesn't make sense? The point is is that you could do it and for some cases it would make perfect sense. It costs like $10+$20 shipping to spin 5 PCBs these days and I usually spin 3 or 4 designs at once so it's cheaper. If you've spun a bunch of boards you likely have stockpiles of components and schematic sections that just drop right into a new design. I could literally have a purpose built PCB going in 1 day and $20 in PCB costs, it could be in a machine in 1 week and be exactly what that particular machine needed. Is that the case for everybody?.......lol no, but then why would they try to do that?

Point is with some firmware it opens the door to:
A) using boards that are already made and for sale
more boards getting made and being sold
C) making your own if you're capable

There have been lots of good points made about Mesa boards here. But after watching the Maker and Reprap movements for the past 15 years or so I have noticed that many people just don't value their time. They will not only spend months designing and building half-assed boards and software to save a few dollars, but also attack anyone that might have a better working idea. Some people with millions of dollars will still haggle or even fight over a few cents since their compulsive obsessive money collection affliction prevents them from passing up some savings of physical currency. They just can't bare to have to pay extra for hardware that will save them time, since they don't value their time like many others do. They aren't doing CNC as a business, so time is even less of an issue. These are the people that will also walk two miles out of their way to save 25 cents on bread or milk. It's obvious when you look at the big picture and add up the costs of time and materials that Mesa boards are not too expensive.

Look at how much the cost of good tooling is. It is far more cost than the machine itself. But again they will never purchase good tooling. The CNC machine itself will be out of square, flex when run and be unreliable. They will have a drawer, I mean cardboard box full of cheaply made tooling that they will attempt to sharpen themselves on a cheaply made out of round grinder and wheel.

I admit I have to agree with Bari about half-arsed boards, which was the point I was trying to make.
Input & output protection, level translation and all the other bits & pieces that make for a device that can operate and survive an electrically noisy environment are forgotten or just not thought of. These issues is what can push up the cost of the "cheaper alternatives".
If rolling your own is your thing that's great. If you are looking for less expensive, alternative just be aware that may not be the case, more so if your electronic experience doesn't extend beyond the Arduino realm, which seems to be the only tool in some "electronics hobbyists" tool box. I hate the term "maker" with a passion, along with the whole "cafe sipping, micro brew drinking hipster culture". Yeah I'm a cranky old luddite hahahaha.

In the "olden days" we'd think of something to build, maybe do a couple of rough sketches, most design work was done in one's head or on the fly , and get stuck in. No spending hours on 3D cad for a simple box. Ok Old Man Rant over, time to yell random things at the sky. Now where's my turnips, you just can't go out without turnips hanging on your belt.

Another thing is consistent long term support of a product......there has been a few projects come and go. Remora appears to be the one project that has had, so far, consistent & active development.

And finally just because a part can't be found at Mouser does not mean it's not available through channels other than "off brand chinese".

Bari wrote:

There have been lots of good points made about Mesa boards here. But after watching the Maker and Reprap movements for the past 15 years or so I have noticed that many people just don't value their time. They will not only spend months designing and building half-assed boards and software to save a few dollars, but also attack anyone that might have a better working idea. Some people with millions of dollars will still haggle or even fight over a few cents since their compulsive obsessive money collection affliction prevents them from passing up some savings of physical currency. They just can't bare to have to pay extra for hardware that will save them time, since they don't value their time like many others do. They aren't doing CNC as a business, so time is even less of an issue. These are the people that will also walk two miles out of their way to save 25 cents on bread or milk. It's obvious when you look at the big picture and add up the costs of time and materials that Mesa boards are not too expensive.

Look at how much the cost of good tooling is. It is far more cost than the machine itself. But again they will never purchase good tooling. The CNC machine itself will be out of square, flex when run and be unreliable. They will have a drawer, I mean cardboard box full of cheaply made tooling that they will attempt to sharpen themselves on a cheaply made out of round grinder and wheel.
 

This thread's already pretty much useless for it's original purpose but I'll just take a moment to point out some foolish hypocracy....

.......in a forum where a bunch of hobbyists spend a hell of a lot of time building machines......using OPEN SOURCE software that nobody got paid to write......you just went on a rant about how hobbyists must not value their time? Why are you here, could you not catch a sale on a Haas or a Mazak? Let's take a poll of how many people use their LinuxCNC machines to make a net profit, I'm fairly certain you will find that most people meet the definition of "hobbyist" around here.

Most people who have hobbies, have hobbies because they already have enough money and we have an elite machinist such as yourself letting everyone know they are a cheapass because they didn't buy a Mesa card today. Let's not consider the fact that not every machine is a mill or even has the same coordinate system and we can just rant about cheap tooling as if you couldn't build any number of different things that don't even use "tooling" with LinuxCNC.

I will say again, because I probably have more Mesa products than 90% of the people on this forum......That Mesa cards in general are not even remotely close to something I'd consider expensive. I have wrenches that cost more than Mesa cards and whether you want to believe it or not that's not the point


 

 And finally just because a part can't be found at Mouser does not mean it's not available through channels other than "off brand chinese"

 

The difference is that the hobbyists here tend to aim high vs low. The junk tends to stay on the reprap and similar forums.

So a part is made in China ? So what, doesn't mean it's a ripoff or substandard.