Re: Interface. Gauging interest.

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Dennis Schmitz"
<denschmitz@...> wrote:

>
> Apparently so, except the GRex 100 is way bigger (physically) than

I'm thinking.. I gotta say, finding out exactly what was in those
things wasn't exactly straightforward. Like looking at the product
page on the website would have been. That sure would have been nice.
(I kept looking at the PDF there and seeing installation instructions
for a CD thinking it was the wrong file when it eventually did get to
the point. Kinda.)

>
> Seriously, if they expect people to buy them for any other reason

than their friend told them it was the stuff to get, they need better
descriptions.

>
> (snip)

Dennis,

Well, first off "they" is me.:-) Here is an explaination for your
objections:

This thing started off being called the G2000. It is 2006 now so it
gives you some idea how long it has taken for the idea to get
traction. I nearly gave up on the project early last year until Art,
Steve and others began to believe in it and made absolutely vital
contributions to it. It is no longer a 1-man project.

It's been 6 years in the making so I'm in no great rush to promote it
yet. That made it a quandry what to say about the G-Rex on our
website.

Push it too hard and it leaves end-users who rush out and buy it feel
exploited because the firmware isn't finished. Push it too little and
it wouldn't be enough to attract developer interest who would write
the firmware for the hardware.

Chicken or egg thing so I bravely opted for a feathered egg. Keep it
vague enough to deter the casual viewer, keep it concise enough for
someone who is creative enough to not require spoon-feeding. Think of
it as a filter.

This is our first foray into the controller end of motion control. My
nightmare scenario is to promote and ship thousands of controllers
only to find later there is some fatal flaw in them.

I design and we manufacture what I think are pretty OK drives. There
is no great risk now that a new drive design will be an embarassing
and expensive flop. On the otherhand, the G-Rex is unplowed ground
for us; I agonized to get the hardware features and design right the
first time (well, actually for the fourth time in 6 years by now).

So far so good. There are a little over 150 G-Rex out right now and
there's been only one small hardware ding; the power-on
reset 'fiasco'. Handled and corrected. People seem to like the G-Rex
enough to take videos and post them; Bridgeport-size machines doing
constant-contouring at 300IPM, surf-board shaping machines running at
a meter per second in Brazil. There are many people to sincerely
thank for making it possible.

So what's next? First, the hardware has a minor iteration (revision)
coming up before the first 1,000-unit run next month. It will involve
moving the 68 indicator LEDs behind the terminal blocks to protect
them.

Second, a complete documentation set for the G-Rex will be generated,
posted and burned to shippable CDs. The commercial website will
attract all viewers with complete information in a few weeks. Spoons
will be provided for those who need them.:-)

Mariss