Build. Buy. Blend. Options to Consider Before Starting a New Motion Control Project

This paper looks at building versus buying a three-axis PCB-based positioning motion controller. It examines the design effort, types of resources needed, and per unit cost for each approach. In addition, it looks at a design alternative that some engineers believe represents the best of both worlds, a hybrid “blend" option that uses off-the-shelf modules to dramatically reduce the engineering needed to create a fully custom motion controller.