Even though I use a DSP controller, which already handles much of what the interface board does, I am attracted to the idea of integrated drives on the interface board. When the new board is done, and I find a bit of time to play, I plan to implement a cable or optional interface board between my controller and the BuildLog controller. Doing this has some distinct advantages, I believe.
1. Eliminates separate drives (3 @ $13 vs 3 @ $50, saves space in the box, really clean wire management).
2. Ease of swapping controllers if I ever choose to - new controllers' physical connections are reduced to plug-n-play.
3. The new interface board (currently in development) handles easy switching between PWM and direct-control power levels.
4. With schematic in hand (and Bart waiting in the wings), tracking down and resolving problems will be much easier that the marriage of separate boards/drives.
5. Generally speaking, the motors we are using for the 2.x really don't need any extras that may come with other, more expensive drives.
6. For new laser builders/users, it provides a simplified approach to meeting the electronic requirements of a laser.
All in all, I really like the all-in-one interface approach.