The High Costs of Embedded Development

Today, I have compiled some prices of commonly used software tools in embedded development, and some netizens exclaimed: The cost of embedded development is too high!

Let me ask everyone first: Do you think the cost of embedded development is high?

The answer: Yes!

For ordinary people, it is indeed high, except for some wealthy individuals.

Now, let me list a few reasons why the cost of embedded development is high.

Software

Many software tools for embedded development are paid. At the beginning, I have organized some for everyone.

Comparison Tools:

Beyond Compare 4, Code Compare, UltraCompare

PCB Design:

Altium Designer, Cadence, Proteus, MATLAB

Software Development Environment:

VMware, Visual Studio, Source Insight, Embedded Studio

GUI:

Qt, emWin, EmbeddedWizard

Small Tools:

SecureCRT, Bus Hound, Virtual Serial Port, PC-Lint

There are many more software tools that have not been listed here; this is just a part of it.

Of course, for engineers in embedded development, it is not difficult to use these software for free. Especially for beginners, the issue of “free use” is not a big problem.

Chips and Components

Due to the impact of the global market, prices have risen in the past three years, especially for chips, where doubling is common, and tenfold prices are not rare.

I’m sure everyone has seen the outrageous price increases for chips, such as the well-known STM32, which is a very typical example. Not only has the price increased significantly, but there is also a shortage of stock

This has led to the emergence of many counterfeit and refurbished products in the market.

The price increases for various other components are equally outrageous; some resistors and capacitors with larger materials have increased several times and are also in short supply. Therefore, in recent years, many “substandard products” have also become popular.

PCB Prototyping

Previously, many PCB manufacturers had 0 yuan or 10 yuan express delivery. However, it seems that these promotional activities have decreased or disappeared.

Similarly, the price of PCB manufacturing has also increased.

Instruments and Meters

Embedded development, especially for low-level work, such as drivers and circuit design, requires a lot of instruments and tools.

Such as multimeters, power supplies, oscilloscopes, signal generators, soldering irons, hot air guns, etc.

These instruments can cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. For ordinary engineers, it is simply unaffordable.

Of course, there are also cheaper options, but even if they are cheap, to get a complete set, the price is still not low.

Therefore, some people refer to electronic engineers as “spendthrifts”.

Burning Equipment

Embedded development can also encounter various situations such as burning boards, chips, and exploding capacitors.

If you haven’t encountered them, you might feel embarrassed to call yourself an electronic engineer.

Finally, how much do you think the cost of embedded development should be to be considered entry-level?

END

Source: strongerHuang

Copyright belongs to the original author, if there is any infringement, please contact for deletion.

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