3 ms·
They probably would be, actually. In quantities of 1, a discrete logic chip is around 50 cents, while that microcontroller is $2.50. In higher quantities the lo
by AdamH12113 3y ago
They probably would be, actually. In quantities of 1, a discrete logic chip is around 50 cents, while that microcontroller is $2.50. In higher quantities the logic gets cheaper faster. For this project, you would need:
1 quad NAND gate
1 quad NOR gate
1 quad XOR gate
1 hex inverter
The cost isn't the main thing here, though. A better reason to go with discrete logic is that the MCU also requires an entire software and hardware toolchain to create and load firmware.
Never underestimate the cost of adding nonvolatile memory to your system.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- zokier 3y ago> In quantities of 1, a discrete logic chip is around 50 cents, while that microcontroller is $2.50 The article also mentions that ATMEGA809 should work here, and costs about $1.53 in singles https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/microchip-technology/ATMEGA809-AU/10444894 https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/microchip-technol... > I built two prototypes, one with an AVR128DA48, and one with the older ATmega4809 which is pin compatible, and their performance was indistinguishable. The program only uses about 1500 bytes, so an ATmega809, ATmega1609, or ATmega3209 should be fine
- an-unknown 3y agoFor the record, you could also use a much cheaper MCU like e.g. an STM32F030C6 which costs around $0.60 for a single chip and around $0.45 for 30 chips at LCSC the moment. Of course this is completely irrelevant if you build a small number of boards like here, because then you'll probably waste most time with programming the chip and you need the necessary programming connector + tools too. It would be fun to redesign this board for the lowest manufacturing cost with machine assembly and compare it to how much more expensive it would be to use discrete logic chips.