Parts differences between Genesis and XL?

Hardware
1

Hello,
Apologies if this was discussed already, but if so, I failed to find it.
Is there any difference between the parts in the Genesis kit and the XL kit except that the XL parts are longer? Like, are the XL parts beefier to support the increased span? From the parts list on the Shop page, it appears not, but I wanted to check because I’m trying to decide if it makes sense to overbuy for my space, as I plan to have more room to dedicate to this in a of couple years.

Thanks,
Brandon

2

Rereading this, I think it would help to clarify that if I were to decide not to over-buy for my current space, my plan would be to expand the non-XL kit at a later date. So, what I’d really like is to get an understanding of how expandable the non-XL system is. Can I just increase the length of the tracks and gantry along with the cables and cable carriers? I guess that’s most of the major parts in the system though, other than the motors and electronics?

3

I think you answered your own question… :blush:

Keep in mind that we are just about to receive our first FarmBot - take my input with those grains of salt…

Having said that…
I think you would need:

  1. another set of tracks (including the mounts)
  2. a second beam for the gantry
  3. joining plates (these are a fairly good portion of the cost)
  4. a “redo” of all the wires, cables & hose, including added length to the cable carriers and additional cable carrier mounts.

So, in my opinion, it would not be a “simple upgrade”, but would be less expensive than a new kit.
Another “bonus” would be that you end up with some spare parts and stuff that you could do some R&D work with. As you said, I think all the electronics, motors and z-axis stuff would be re-useable.

All in all, it might be feasible, as long as you go into it knowing the above and are ok with that. It might be a good idea for the FarmBot folks to put together and market/sell a “FarmBot Genesis XL upgrade kit” - they could put all the pieces together, include instructions and possibly pass on some cost savings.

Best of luck in you future “growing” endeavor!