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plankton
I think we can probably all agree that some form of network connectivity is a desirable feature, however if it will add significantly to the projected cost then that will defeat the intended purpose of this board (and Octo-Print is certainly a good solution for anyone that needs a Web interface).
@AndrewBCN
You make a good point that the software toolchain could be redesigned to remove more of the heavy lifting from the printer electronics (as has been discussed before on this forum), and that in turn could allow a rethink of the printer electronics, however that is a much bigger project than "just" producing a 32 bit RAMPS/Mega replacement.
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Tim
Tim,
The issue here is that there are already quite a few 32-bit controller designs available, basically all of them from the very same mold: take any one of the "old" 8-bit controller boards, replace the AVR with an inexpensive 32-bit ARM MCU, and voila: shiny "new" controller that will magically both accelerate and improve the quality of your prints and of course costs 3 x as much as the "inadequate" 8-bit electronics it replaces. The magic part here (repeated ad nauseam in this forum and elsewhere) being the claim that using the same mechanics, steppers, nozzle, cooling, etc, one gets both better quality and faster prints.
And note that a more user-friendly interface, WiFi connectivity, better protocol standards, etc usually get swept under the rug as though these are "secondary" issues that can be dealt with later, after we upgrade the MCU from 8 to 32-bit. I guess I am starting to sound just like Markus, now! :-)
So, this project follows exactly the same paradigm as all the others that preceded it, and right now I don't see how dc42 can bring down the costs of a Duet board ($120 + shipping) to the same level as that of a RAMPS + Arduino combo (around $20, shipping included), by just changing the ARM processor, removing four Allegro chips that costs around $1 each, and using a double-sided PCB, since these small changes certainly won't decrease costs by more than $20 or so.
Economies of scale can bring down the costs of a 3D printer controller significantly but why hasn't this applied to the Duet controller yet? Imo that is a question that would need to be answered first and foremost, before the community moves on to this or any of the other very similar designs (which btw will all run exactly the same software).