gregmary -
Very nice summary of the Specification! Is there room for a "modular" approach in the design? I was thiniking of a plug and play module (like a pc board) so you could have 3, 4, or 5 (6)axis with 3 as baseline. They could use extra headers to add purpose built daughter cards. These daughter cards could have their own home and limit switch inputs (plus all the necessary power and motor connections. (might even need their own power supply). Just mull over the concept a bit - You've got some great thoughts there. Understand the target audience - but given the wide range of performance options - 12 - 48 volts, 5 amps etc, seems like a natural to keep the board and then expand as you need.
A couple of questions maybe:
Would you be interested in providing the printed boards? Or licensing someone else to do that?
(I'm not volunteering - just got too many hobbies to take up making my own board - no matter how easy it may seem - they all come with a lot of extra stuff - and my garage is chocker!)
Target cost for the product(s)?
Will you also provide a source list for the materials?
Sorry to see the DOS legacy - considering that MACH2 bypasses some of the WIN "hangups"? Linux might be too small a market - certainly there are a bunch of DOS users out there still.
Would the board support LAPTOPS - low voltage (3.3 vice 5 on some parallel ports)?
Will the 5 volt logic be from onboard PS or could you pull it from a usb cable? (just wondering how much current you'll be requiring - I believe the USB passes 500mA on the 5 volt line)?
I'll follow with great interest - might be a soldering project I could get into - but would rather move off the DOS !
Cheers - Jim
Experience is the BEST Teacher. Is that why it usually arrives in a shower of sparks, flash of light, loud bang, a cloud of smoke, AND -- a BILL to pay? You usually get it -- just after you need it.