Farmduino Alternative

[OliverThe2]

I’m trying to build my own completely scratch budget farm bot. I was wondering if there was an alternative to buying the farmbot main board. It’s kind of expensive and I know that there must be an alternative. Any ideas?

[Dope]

I would say look at RAMPS, but there are a number of things to consider, here is a good thread to have a look at https://forum.farmbot.org/t/farmduino-vs-ramps/1974

[RickCarlino]

Hi folks,

This is an important question to ask when you are doing a DIY build. If you are trying to build a FarmBot from spare parts (eg: you are a CNC/3D printing enthusiast and already have access to Arduino, aluminum extrusion, etc…) the RAMPS board is still a good option.

PRO:

• The RAMPS board is an inexpensive option for DIY users and can be easily sourced.
• FarmBot still supports v1.2 hardware. Even though the v1.2 design is several years old at this point we continue to write software updates for RAMPS-based setups.

CON:

• The RAMPS board is missing many features found in new boards, such as current detection, DC motor control and (soon to be released) load sensing capabilities for the motors and vacuum pump.
• It’s a bit harder to wire and uses 12v electronics instead of the 24v system found on newer hardware.

Disclaimer for anyone finding this via search: DIY setup support is provided on a “best effort” basis. FarmBot only provides official support to customers who have purchased full kits from the shop. We do not provide support to users who have purchased partial kits. Although many users have built DIY setups using RAMPS boards, we cannot guarantee that your combination of parts will work at all.

[Marc]

@OliverThe2

If you are looking to get full FarmBot Genesis functionality, you should consider just getting the Genesis Farmduino v1.6 microcontroller. From an agriculture growing perspective the new features that Rick mentioned along with the 24V rotary weed trimming tool will make the new FarmBot Genesis significantly more effective at growing and weeding.

It is $225 USD and I realize that is a significant sum of cash, but the value that it provides is that it will put you significantly further ahead of the RAMPS board technology and it will be more reliable than RAMPS board because it is completely integrated.

The current version of the Farmduino v1.6 has almost 4 years of additional development and fixes from the FarmBot team and it operates at 24V.

v1.6 Farmduino Pre-Order

The diagram shown here is a v1.4 Farmduino board in the FarmBot system but you can see how easy and plug and play this system actually is.

We will have the Farmduino v1.6 boards back in stock in December/January timeframe so you can place your order then.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance with respect to the FarmBot.

Marc