Comment by torginus
1 day ago
Just because a guy wears a fitted suit doesn't mean he'll be good at handling your money. Likewise if you buy tens of thousands of euros worth of incredibly overbuilt teutonic industrial equipment in matching colors and snap-in cabinets doesn't mean the guy who builds the PLC program in ladder logic will be any good at it - or that the next guy will have an easier time troubleshooting it than if the whole thing ran on an Arduino scavenged out of an intro to robotics kit.
Experts know there is stuff worth spending on, and there's stuff like the ESP32 where no amount of money will buy you something better, and no amount of money will save you, if the guy building the whole thing is an idiot.
And also, there's certainly places and situations where you do want to spend tens of thousands on PLCs, buttons and wiring.
But not all of it needs this level, quality or insurance. A factory, farm, supermarket, stage, etc, is filled with tech. Many of it critical for operation, but just as many is non-critical. And either this "non critical" must then be acquired with the same level of quality, insurance and costs as the critical. Or it's simply not available - likely because there's no demand for it at this price point.