Hi Tim,

Forgive me if I do a little copy and pasting here ... and also into the new forum area, so all interested in software development can follow.

Quote
Tim Flugum
Does this mean we handibotters are going to need to replace the guts of our handibots at somepoint to be "up-to-date" on hardware like we had to do with the new base for the large material jig?

I have no problem with this. It is actuallly pretty exciting. In the interest of transparency and "open-whatever", I learned in the military, "Bad news does not get better with time!"

I look forward to learning more about the guts of the machine as I teach math and physics. I am not truly a programmer, however, my goal is to have my students using the handibot as a true 3D graphing machine. Instead of creating a 3D surface in virtual space, it is much better to create the actual plot in handibot real space. Students are very demanding. I have it working right now with Microsoft Excel to handibot, but it is a bit of a stretch.

YES ... on replacement. We've tried to be clear all along (see discussion of "roadmap" in ShopBot and Handibot developer areas) that the ShopBot Contol Card is a bit of a legacy item and does not have the micro-controller power for going forward, either for Handibots or ShopBots in general. However, the new Control Card will have the same pin-outs as the existing card, will be very modular, and will just plug right in to the existing CNC board on your Handibot (the larger board with drivers, isolation, etc) [and we will make new cards available to Handibot owners at cost]. It will be backwards compatible with all ShopBots and Handibots.

The new Control Card will be a 32bit ARM similar to the Atmel SAM on the Arduino DUE (if not the same; the DUE is the development board for all our current work). As described in the "Introduction to Handibot App Development", G2 will reside on the Control Card and provide the Core Motion substrate for the new system.

In addition, we will be adding a small SBC (with basic and minimal specs, such as a Raspberry Pi or Beagle Bone) to provide for management, connectivity, and additional features of a Digital Fabrication Motion Platform (FabMo for short). Originally, we had hoped to do all of our higher level work on the Control Card uC. But as time went by, we realized that by the time we added additional hardware for connectivity and storage, and developed the required functionality, it would be more expensive and less straightforward than just adding the SBC. The SBC, in the end will make for a much more developer-friendly system and has allowed us to already be pretty far along in terms of the overall FabMo platform now emerging on the Github site. So yes, we have added a bit of hardware here to what we had planned ... but in the end it will probably not add much to the cost but have a huge impact on flexibility.

Tim, I look forward to hearing more about your 3D graphing project with the Handibot. I think there would probably be some interest here (and on the 100kSchools website) in learning about what you are up to ... even in the Excel stages.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

Although I have returned my Developers Edition Handibot, I am still interested in the machine.

I'm curious to know if you're any closer to being ready to release the new "Guts" anytime soon and when these will be available in a new model of the Handibot or available as individual components to someone who would like to build their own machine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2014 03:52PM by gclayton.

Hi Gil,

Thanks for checking in.

We expect to be testing beta versions of the new Control Cards starting in a few weeks. If all goes well and not too many iterations are required, I expect we will be shipping the final versions of this FabMo Platform later in the Fall.

That will probably coincide with our beginning to ship a new release version of the physical Handibot in which FabMo will be included. We've been working on the tool hardware side and expect to implement a number of changes in that version. We plan to post reports on some of our "mod" prototypes shortly in a new "Handibot Lab" section of the blog and invite comments and suggestions. We're also looking for user-mods that should be evaluated for implementation in the next version.

And yes, you will be able to buy the parts separately.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

Ted,
I don't know if you are wanting suggestions here or not but here goes, and of course I will copy paste to where you want them if not here.

The router holder needs reworked with the following adds: Laser cursor/cross hairs and quick release. To the best of my knowledge Eric is the first to do both of these but they really need to be on production units. The laser is not something I use every time I use the handibot but it is one of those things that when you do use it, it is oh so valuable. The quick release is something you probably see the use for yourself, we start getting fourth and 5th axis jigs and we are going to need to be able to quickly adjust this.

Hi Mark,

Yes ... both of those are on our list.

More broadly, David is about to put up a new blog area called "Handibot Labs" where we will post as many of the things we are puttering with that we can get up ... along with our ideas about what should specifically go into a next vesion (apart from the new FabMo Platform for the motion stuff). I think we'll treat the blog postings from us (and any interested others who would like to submit them) as target articles for further discussion, comments, and suggestions here in an area on the forum for all to jump in.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

Probably a silly question, but if you're using a BeagleBone Black as the SBC, is there really a need for the Arduino Due? My understanding is that the Beaglebone's PRUs can serve as very capable real-time 32-bit microcontrollers.

Hi Shawn,

A good question. And, there is strong interest from at least one member of the development team in going that route.

In the short run, because, even if we did just use the BBB and its PRUs, we would still need a little extra hardware to serve as the interface to the rest of the CNC system (think of it as a sort of shield), or building a custom BBB. So it does not give us the next step without some more development. (And we are about ready to get our first batch of the new cards with the SAM3X ...)

But, an iterative two-stage process here may be to move more of the motion functionality to the SBC, simplifying the expectation for the real-time side ... which would then make it an easy, natural transition to go forward with an SBC with a little extra functionality like the BBB and just add some custom connectors.

One of our considerations is to remain connector-pin-compatible with the almost 10K ShopBots and many hundred Handibots in the field ... letting everyone easily benefit from the new control system.

Ted Hall, ShopBot

@Ted

Is there ETA, list or any information on when developer edition owners will be receiving the new board and instructions. I have been looking forward to it almost whole year.

Would love to know.

Like Boris, I am curious as to when the Handibot with the new guts will be available. I queried about this back in August '14 and this was the update given by Ted at that time:

Quote

We expect to be testing beta versions of the new Control Cards starting in a few weeks. If all goes well and not too many iterations are required, I expect we will be shipping the final versions of this FabMo Platform later in the Fall.

That will probably coincide with our beginning to ship a new release version of the physical Handibot in which FabMo will be included. We've been working on the tool hardware side and expect to implement a number of changes in that version. We plan to post reports on some of our "mod" prototypes shortly in a new "Handibot Lab" section of the blog and invite comments and suggestions. We're also looking for user-mods that should be evaluated for implementation in the next version.

Any update on the new Handibot would be appreciated.

Hello All -- We were feeling like it would be good to get a progress report out, and we plan to do it regularly, now. So, have a look at the new Development Tearm Blog in the LABS section so see what we've been doing and our current thoughts on timing for various projects.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

Are there any updates to the board update for early supporters. I see a lot of work happening in FabMo repo but have not heard much when the new boards are ready. I know there was a post on Dev Team Blog like 2 month ago with timeline, but it seems most targets get missed or there is just not updates.

Would love an update. And also would love to see more frequent updates.

Hi Boris,

Yes ... I think we've gotten so excited and distracted about being near to release that we've neglected the update reports.

We were at Maker Faire NYC last weekend and showing off both the V2.0 Handibot and the new FabMo platform. We're hoping to start shipping the V2 with FabMo in it at the end of October ... and should have some beta versions of the FabMo update board for daring Handibotters in the next few weeks. (I was just working on the instructions for setting it up a little earlier today and expect to post it on GitHub in a day or two).

We are pretty excited about how well FabMo is working and looking forward to getting it in peoples hands. We're also working on setting up a webserver simulation for people who just want to log on and play in order to try out the look and feel of the interface without needing to have the hardware in hand.

As FabMo has evolved, the Handibot-software overview statement has become dated and I hope to get that upgraded soon as well.

Thanks for your patience, and stay tuned.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

I just saw the response. Thank you for update. Cannot wait to do the upgrade and take if for a spin.

Hi There @Ted and other Handibotters

It has been few months since I asked and it seems there has been no updates about the new boards. I know you guys working on 2.0 release and everybody is busy, but I would really appreciate some love for early adopters and people who have been waiting and asking for new board almost from the very beginning.

Is it possible to get the new control board ? Is it possible to build one from off the shelf components ? When is the boards shipping for people who have been waiting and asking ?
Are there beta testers ?

Mainly can I get a board.

I would appreciate and update !

Wow! I can't believe it's been 2 years since I bought the Developer Edition Handibot and returned it due to the absence of software, etc.

Still no new boards or any of the "New Guts" that were being touted mid-2014!

This has got to be the slowest that I have seen a company to progress in rolling out a new product that seemed to be promoted as "almost ready" 2 years ago.

Updates from company always seem to be "We are almost there but...".

Finally looking to work with my Handibot (Kickstarter) more and wanted to see if the new control cards are available for purchase? I actually have several Edison's already and would prefer to not fiddle with Windows anymore for this.

Mike,
as always, I can not speak for the company but poke around the other side of the forum. I do believe that due to a larger form factor there will be no simple card swap.

Thanks Mark -

I saw some of this but wasn't sure the full state of the project. I know there was some discussion of an antenna but didn't see that the card wouldn't fit per se. I haven't really used the tool enough to justify purchasing an upgraded one yet but also don't want to get tied into an old workflow if it's going to change soon.

Hi Mike,

The upgrade to FabMo will definitely be do-able. Though, there will probably be a little fussing around to make it happen. But, I believe it will both be highly desirable and not too much work.

I think that in indicating there were a few issues, we have just wanted to emphasize that we want to be sure we've got all the ducks lined up before we start pushing out the upgrades.

We're working on the antenna thing at the moment ... as a result, it may turn out that we want to put bigger antenna's on even the V2.0's. And, we are awaiting a new mounting board for the Edison that will make the wiring easier. So I'm thinking we'll have both of these behind us in a few weeks and can layout the upgrade process and define the timing.

Ted Hall, Handibot/ShopBot