Price Comparison

To make sure we are getting the most bang for the buck, I created a price comparison table. It lists the main parts (like ADC, DAC, coarse approach) for this and other DIY SPM project. By now I didn’t include AFMs, because they are so different from my design that there’s basically no comparison of parts.

Here’s a preview. It may get too shrinked to fit in this page.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Some projects are indicated with “Not all the parts”. It may be because they are not publicly specified, the project is already too expensive to replicate, or just because I didn’t bother searching enough.

• Some projects were made a long time ago, so the price of the components may have increased since them. Old parts get replaced in the market, becoming rarer.

• The graph alone makes the project of Philip Turner not seem as competitive, but he is going for a super advanced design with virtually no piezo distortions and compatible with ultra high vacuum. That may futurelly allow manufacturing at the nanoscale. It’s very cool to watch it unfold, and it’s extensively documented (here and here).

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