BOB's and features are always a compromise.
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The question came up on the Dynomotion Yahoo Group recently, as Tom was thinking about a more universal kind of BOB, and was wondering what type of features users would like.
Things like Step/Dir outputs to screw terminals, analogue outputs/inputs, voltage of general inputs/outputs. Off course opinions varied.
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One thing that surprises me, is that there are not more people using the KFlop+KStep combination. 4 reasonable stepper drivers, 16 12-24V inputs, 2 relay drivers, along with a fully isolated analogue output. I used one for a probing machine, and to me it seems like an almost ideal setup for smaller stepper driven machines. I suspect the problems are you need a small C Program to make use of them (A basic C program is included to get up and running with no alterations), and the fact you have to use above 5V to make use of the inputs.
The combination costs $450, yet people are happy to spend $155-180 on a SS, $300 on G540, and then bodge it all together with questionable wiring or a cnc4pc BOB (Been there had one, biggest heap of CNC related junk I've ever owned!), and finally buy a Mach license.
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I can understand hobbyists wanting to keep costs down, but there seems to be plenty who'll spend far more just to go with the flock.