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1. Embed this notice
   Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 30-Mar-2026 10:01:55 JST Rich Felker

   A problem someone should probably be working on: high quality high performance stepper motor drivers (ala TMCs) as open source firmware to run on dirt cheap commodity MCUs.

   Both supply chain instability and fascist regimes wanting to restrict ordinary people's access to CNC machinery (including #3dprinting) risk making it hard to get commercial drivers, and they're overpriced anyway. But general purpose MCUs and mosfets are easy to get.

   • Embed this notice
     cliffle@hachyderm.io's status on Monday, 30-Mar-2026 10:43:00 JST cliffle

     in reply to

     @dalias how much are they going for? Are these single stepper drivers?

   • Embed this notice
     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 30-Mar-2026 10:51:50 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     • cliffle

     @cliffle I don't know what the chip itself goes for but the ones with external mosfets that can do medium to high current and that support high voltage are $35 each for the complete stepsticks (driver ic + mosfets + sense resistor & maybe a few other parts) and you need 4+ for a printer.

     Lower end ones with integrated mosfets are under $10 each.