Cheap Microcontrollers

Hello there, I'm looking for a very cheap microcontroller indeed. Price
point is under 0.35 USD, quantities of 50-100k for first production runs.
Application is an RGB LED controller that accepts color information over
asynchronous serial communication.  I crammed that in an attiny11 pretty
easily, but Atmel is discontinuing that model and replacing it with the
2-3X as expensive attiny13!  While it's nice that the attiny13 has alot of
fun peripherals, all I really need is a moderately fast (2-4MIPS) cpu core
and a handful of I/O.  I've been trying to get some quotes from the major
asian companies, Winbond, Sonix, Elan, but getting a response from them is
like e-mailing with a fencepost.  It's like these companies don't even want
to make a sale.  So now I find myself turning to the online community for
advice and suggestions.

Also, is it possible to get manufacturers to supply dies for chip on board
manufacturing?  I bought some cool RGB fading leds that incorporate some
sort of controller into the 5mm LED package, and it would be cool if we
could do a similar thing.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide?

PIC10F?  0.46 qty 3000 at digikey, in a SOT-23-6 package...
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=PIC10F200T-I%2FOTTR-ND

"Zach_G" <zach.goff@scottajones.com> wrote in message 
news:BsOdnYZfWN_3oCfbnZ2dnUVZ_tKinZ2d@giganews.com...
> Hello there, I'm looking for a very cheap microcontroller indeed. Price
> point is under 0.35 USD, quantities of 50-100k for first production runs.
> Application is an RGB LED controller that accepts color information over
> asynchronous serial communication.  I crammed that in an attiny11 pretty
> easily, but Atmel is discontinuing that model and replacing it with the
> 2-3X as expensive attiny13!  While it's nice that the attiny13 has alot of
> fun peripherals, all I really need is a moderately fast (2-4MIPS) cpu core
> and a handful of I/O.  I've been trying to get some quotes from the major
> asian companies, Winbond, Sonix, Elan, but getting a response from them is
> like e-mailing with a fencepost.  It's like these companies don't even 
> want
> to make a sale.  So now I find myself turning to the online community for
> advice and suggestions.
>
> Also, is it possible to get manufacturers to supply dies for chip on board
> manufacturing?  I bought some cool RGB fading leds that incorporate some
> sort of controller into the 5mm LED package, and it would be cool if we
> could do a similar thing.
>
> Thanks for any assistance you can provide?
>
>
Talk to Atmel direct..... 100K is big enough to call the shots.... 

TT_Man wrote:
> "Zach_G" <zach.goff@scottajones.com> wrote in message 
> news:BsOdnYZfWN_3oCfbnZ2dnUVZ_tKinZ2d@giganews.com...
> 
>>Hello there, I'm looking for a very cheap microcontroller indeed. Price
>>point is under 0.35 USD, quantities of 50-100k for first production runs.
>>Application is an RGB LED controller that accepts color information over
>>asynchronous serial communication.  I crammed that in an attiny11 pretty
>>easily, but Atmel is discontinuing that model and replacing it with the
>>2-3X as expensive attiny13!  While it's nice that the attiny13 has alot of
>>fun peripherals, all I really need is a moderately fast (2-4MIPS) cpu core
>>and a handful of I/O.  I've been trying to get some quotes from the major
>>asian companies, Winbond, Sonix, Elan, but getting a response from them is
>>like e-mailing with a fencepost.  It's like these companies don't even 
>>want
>>to make a sale.  So now I find myself turning to the online community for
>>advice and suggestions.
>>
>>Also, is it possible to get manufacturers to supply dies for chip on board
>>manufacturing?  I bought some cool RGB fading leds that incorporate some
>>sort of controller into the 5mm LED package, and it would be cool if we
>>could do a similar thing.

Yes, but they are cautious in doing so, as the testing/handling is
more complex.

>>
>>Thanks for any assistance you can provide?
>>
>>
> 
> Talk to Atmel direct..... 100K is big enough to call the shots.... 

Not on a 35c part.



Known low-cost (50c and below) parts are :

C8051T6xx from SiLabs
RS08 from Freescale
PIC10Fxx series from Microchip

and a couple of devices from here :
http://www.coreriver.co.kr/product-lines/top_corerivermcu.html

look to have low price potential

UniChip 1.0 is a 6 pin 2K EPROM uC,


and the Atom GC49C51G0 has small package (So8),
and comes in a mask variant GC41C51G0.

-jg

In article <xnhcn9veh6.fsf@delorie.com>, DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> 
writes
>
>PIC10F?  0.46 qty 3000 at digikey, in a SOT-23-6 package...
>http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=PIC10F200T
>-I%2FOTTR-ND


Don't be silly... on 50-100K quantities he needs a proper disci. Not a 
catalogue disti
-- 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills  Staffs  England     /\/\/\/\/
/\/\/ chris@phaedsys.org      www.phaedsys.org \/\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

In article <BsOdnYZfWN_3oCfbnZ2dnUVZ_tKinZ2d@giganews.com>, Zach_G 
<zach.goff@scottajones.com> writes
>Hello there, I'm looking for a very cheap microcontroller indeed. Price
>point is under 0.35 USD, quantities of 50-100k for first production 
>runs.

Talk to Atmel and distributors like Arrow

One to 20 off parts you get  from digi, maplin, marshell, RS, Farnell 
etc The price is in the catalogue

Once you get over  a couple of thousand the cost will depend on

1 Number of parts you want

2 How much business you normally do with the silicon  dist  (past, 
current and projected)

3 How much other business the disti's rep has on at the moment.

4 Availability of the parts

5 If the silicon company or disti is having a push on the parts for some 
reason


>Application is an RGB LED controller that accepts color information 
>over
>asynchronous serial communication.  I crammed that in an attiny11 
>pretty
>easily, but Atmel is discontinuing that model and replacing it with the
2-3X as expensive attiny13!  While it's nice that the attiny13 has alot 
of
fun peripherals, all I really need is a moderately fast (2-4MIPS) cpu 
core
and a handful of I/O.  I've been trying to get some quotes from the 
major
asian companies, Winbond, Sonix, Elan, but getting a response from them 
is
like e-mailing with a fencepost.  It's like these companies don't even 
want
to make a sale.  So now I find myself turning to the online community 
for
advice and suggestions.
>
>Also, is it possible to get manufacturers to supply dies for chip on 
>board
>manufacturing?  I bought some cool RGB fading leds that incorporate 
>some
>sort of controller into the 5mm LED package, and it would be cool if we
>could do a similar thing.
>
>Thanks for any assistance you can provide?
>
>

-- 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills  Staffs  England     /\/\/\/\/
/\/\/ chris@phaedsys.org      www.phaedsys.org \/\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Chris Hills <chris@phaedsys.org> writes:
> Don't be silly... on 50-100K quantities he needs a proper disci. Not a
> catalogue disti

Well, duh.  I don't have access to large quantity channels, so I can
only point to digikey as a reference, and showing the digikey bulk
cost at least shows that it's far cheaper than other chips, close to
his price range, and something to investigate.  It also provides a
link to the datasheet, so he can see if the chip meets his technical
needs.

On Aug 9, 2:01 pm, DJ Delorie <d...@delorie.com> wrote:
> Chris Hills <ch...@phaedsys.org> writes:
> > Don't be silly... on 50-100K quantities he needs a proper disci. Not a
> > catalogue disti
>
> Well, duh.  I don't have access to large quantity channels, so I can
> only point to digikey as a reference, and showing the digikey bulk
> cost at least shows that it's far cheaper than other chips, close to
> his price range, and something to investigate.  It also provides a
> link to the datasheet, so he can see if the chip meets his technical
> needs.

He should really check with the right distributor.  Digikey might have
24K of them.  When they are gone, he might not be able to get any
more.  Would you design for 100K based on digikey alone?

linnix <me@linnix.info-for.us> writes:
> He should really check with the right distributor.  Digikey might have
> 24K of them.  When they are gone, he might not be able to get any
> more.  Would you design for 100K based on digikey alone?

Boy, I'm just not communicating today.

I referenced digiket because *I* *CAN*.  Not because I thought he
should go through digikey.  He shouldn't, I agree.  It was just a
convenient way for me to link to info about the chip, and reference my
reasons for thinking it might apply.

OK?

So stop implying I'm dumb for thinking he should buy chips from
Digikey.  I don't think he should, and never did.

In article <xnd4xwvmb1.fsf@delorie.com>, DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> 
writes
>
>Chris Hills <chris@phaedsys.org> writes:
>> Don't be silly... on 50-100K quantities he needs a proper disci. Not a
>> catalogue disti
>
>Well, duh.  I don't have access to large quantity channels, so I can
>only point to digikey as a reference, and showing the digikey bulk
>cost at least shows that it's far cheaper than other chips, close to
>his price range, and something to investigate.

The Digi price gives no indication on pricing on 50-100K from a "proper" 
disti.  You can always do deals.  I NEVER give the price of silicon. 
There are so many variables.

-- 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills  Staffs  England     /\/\/\/\/
/\/\/ chris@phaedsys.org      www.phaedsys.org \/\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/