I am putting this topic up to allow anyone who owns an Express or Express XL, ordered an Express or Express XL before the hold, or who was thinking of doing so, to comment on what just happened.
As I was thinking of buying an Express or Express XL just yesterday, after many hours worth of research, I must say that I am disappointed that FarmBot is essentially discontinuing their most affordable product line.
That being said, if anyone has an Express or Express XL that they are willing to part with, please contact me.
I have a raised bed that is within the size limitations of the regular Express.
If I buy an Express XL, can use it without modification with a “regular” raised bed, or do I have to extend my “regular” raised bed to “XL” size ?
My first thought is to simply skip the first step of attaching the two main beam subassemblies of the gantry, and move on to step 2 using only one of the two main beam subassemblies:
What would be the best way to non-destructively shorten the Y axis belt, X axis belt, and corresponding Y cable carrier, and X cable carrier, and cables ?
Do the cable carrier pieces snap-fit, so that I can detach and reassemble them to be the “regular” size ?
Can I roll up the excess belt and cables at one end and use a tie wrap to attach them to the frame ?
Is there anybody out there with an Express XL using it on a “regular” sized bed willing to share some pointers on how best to do this?
I am too The capital requirements for a manufacturing run are simply too great though for a product line with volumes, revenues, and margins trending down and cost to produce trending up. I really do hope to bring more affordable bots to market again in the future!
You can downsize an XL bot to fit a regular sized bed (applies to both Express XL and Genesis XL). You are correct in skipping the part about using the second main beam. Or, you could still use both main beams and cut them down to a ‘perfect’ size with a hacksaw, bandsaw, or metal cutting chop saw to fit your bed.
The capital requirements for a manufacturing run are simply too great though for a product line with volumes, revenues, and margins trending down and cost to produce trending up. I really do hope to bring more affordable bots to market again in the future!