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Since when does open source mean cheap?

Labor isn't free. Building custom PCBs and hardware in low quantity isn't cheap. Building, calibrating, and testing robots isn't cheap.

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Now in all fairness, open source tends to mean cheaper because it does reduce how much has to be invented in-house, and also (sometimes) because it lets you crowd source free labor. In software, that can lead to stuff getting completely built for free (or close) because the base costs are low and mostly consist of labor that some people might be willing to do for free. In hardware, it's likely that open source still reduces the costs, but... you can make a thousand copies of a library for free; making a thousand copies of a part is never going to be free.

I’ve been getting back into robotics lately and one thing that’s rubbing me the wrong way is these days, with PCB way, everybody seems to be making their own boards. Why? Some boards are innovative, but how come everybody needs their own FOC controller? Can we get one project going and focus on that before adding yet another FOC controller, but this time with wireless!

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