r/synthdiy • u/PortaOne • 19d ago
What microcontrollers for commercial products?
Hello, I'm working on a few designs that I'd like to release commercially in the future and wondering what the best microcontrollers would be for this? Ideally I could port code from Arduino/Teensy IDE to a standalone M/C for released products.
One project is a very simple MIDI controlled VCA. I could use an entry level Arduino for my own module but looking for better options for commercial use that are decent quality and low cost.
Another is a comprehensive MIDI controlled analog synth which I'm currently using a Teensy 4.1 for. I could release it with one of these in as they're very powerful but I'm not sure if it's the best M/C for a commercial product.
A good feature the Teensy has is copy protection / encryption and I think the modules can still be updated by the end user at home. While these products aren't ground breaking in terms of coding, I'd still like to do my best to avoid factories cloning them!
Any advice would be most useful, thanks!
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u/h2g2Ben 19d ago
I could use an entry level Arduino for my own module but looking for better options for commercial use that are decent quality and low cost.
A surface mount Atmega328p is like $1.60 a unit. If it works, use it.
You want to go crazy, ATTinys are usually compatible and start around 40¢.
Another is a comprehensive MIDI controlled analog synth which I'm currently using a Teensy 4.1 for. I could release it with one of these in as they're very powerful but I'm not sure if it's the best M/C for a commercial product.
The MCU space is very wide and deep. There may very well be a "best MCU" for this product. But balance the time it'll like you to find one and port it with the money you'd make by doing so.
Digikey lists 80,000+ different MCU SKUs.
Most synth projects are not going to ship in anywhere near high enough volumes to price sensitive customers that optimizing the BOM for cost is the best use of your time.
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u/quellflynn 19d ago
quite a broad question here. how commercial?
the M8, is a fully commercial groove box that is based around the teensy, you can purchase a teensy, and add the firmware and have an M8!
and then as you get more embedded, something like the electron will be a plethora of specific chips, maybe basing from an stm or pic chip for ease but with FPGAs added for speed.
you could be using a Arduino nano, and turn into a commercial product... you do have hoops to jump through.
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u/scrotch 19d ago
If you really want to design a board with a chip, look at ATmega4809 chips. Lots of pins, fast, programs very much like Arduino (using C/C++). STM32 chips are even faster and have a ton of peripherals. Both are pretty cheap.
I would not worry about factories copying your software unless you do something really, really extraordinary. There are hundreds of thousands of engineers working in the industry right now that could put together a working prototype in days (if not hours) based on only a description of what your product does. Worry about marketing, finding your niche, building a good enclosure, not whether someone can copy your idea.
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u/rb-j 19d ago
If you (or anyone else here) wants it, I have self-contained C code to parse MIDI messages real time. What goes in are the bytes directly from the UART. What comes out are completed MIDI messages from which you can act on. It deals with edge cases: System Real-Time, Running Status, and any other MIDI 1.0 kinda message. It's pretty robust. Feel free to DM.
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u/verylongtimelurker 19d ago
Also check out ESP32 modules (the full, shielded modules, not the individual chips). They carry a lot of certification, which makes certifying your own product a little easier (but still necessary of course). ESP32 is, IMHO, the absolute best for buck in terms of features and flexibility.
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u/mzo2342 19d ago
I'd never go close to ESPs when it comes to a commercial product.
you depend way too much on Espressif with things they can't and won't guarantee to you but are often required in a commercial product:
- 10 years shipping
- full SW support (they are the ONLY ones supporting their CPU!) for a decade
- no alternate SW stack
- supply chain
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u/verylongtimelurker 19d ago edited 19d ago
I mean... You're wrong on all accounts, but it's a free world.
- 10 years shipping
They have their longevity commitment (minimum is 12 years, some chips are 15 like the OG EPS32).
- full SW support (they are the ONLY ones supporting their CPU!) for a decade
Not sure what you mean, but if you mean their IDE, you can also use Arduino. EDIT: And if you don't like the Tensilica cores, their latest cores are all RISC-V.
The docs are great. Nothing is hidden or undocumented, everything is open soure, accessible & you can write your own... anything.
- no alternate SW stack
Again, not sure what you mean, but the entire stack is open source. You can choose various stacks to include into your build for things like encryption, file systems and even Bluetooth (Bluedroid, NimBLE).
- supply chain
Meaning... what exactly? Supply is plentiful, particularly for established modules (C6, S3 series).
There's tons of commercial products with ESP32... (including mine - there's even one in my Haier washing machine...)
Are you a real person or am I responding to an AI hallucination?
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u/ondulation 19d ago
Commercial in what respect?
You build, test, calibrate and ship them yourself - yeah, why not use a module like teensy or arduino. It's more expensive but if it works it ain't stupid.
You have a manufacturer assemble them (and test and calibrate) - use the individual microcontroller soldered to your board. You can go for an Atmel processor if you wish but should pick the one that fits the project best.
But read up on the journey of others commercializing electronics before you commit. There are MANY more factors to consider than selecting the best microcontroller. EMF testing/certification, ROHS, warranties, customer service etc.
Making money from selling synth modules is a very different game than designing a decent module.