Upgrade path from 1.1 to 2.0?

Hi,
I recently acquired a brand-new - still sealed - HandiBot from someone who, apparently, changed their mind about ownership. It was originally sold in October of this year, so I think it's probably up to date 1.1, but haven't verified, yet. I know that version 2.0 is about to ship, and will have significant hardware changes. Wondering if I will be able to upgrade this unit to the 2.0 design. I'd like to be able to cut aluminum and some pretty tough hardwoods, and I understand the new unit will have more rigidity and will be better suited to this application.

My alternative will be to machine replacement parts of my own, possibly out of aluminum - or something more rigid than the ABS originals, on the big ShopBot at techshop.

Thank you,
Sean

I'm curious about this too - after far too long, I'd like to start using my kickstarter handibot but don't want to buy too many accessories / etc if the design is going to change significantly. Any details on what would still be compatible (large indexing jig / etc) would be greatly helpful.

We've tried to keep as many of the parts common as possible. Much of the electronics used in the current and kickstarter handibots can be recycled into the handibot 2.0. There will be a new driver board that expands the capability to 5 driver channels (up from the 4 on the current handibot). There will also be the fabmo control card which allows wireless connection to the tool. The motors, bearings and rails will all be the same size as well. These comprise a significant proportion of the cost of the original handibot. We've been discussing internally the best way to handle upgrades...send out a kit? have people ship their tools in to be upgraded? We haven't figured it all out yet. But the new handibot was definitely designed to keep as many components as was reasonable so that there would be an upgrade path.

Also, the majority of handibot accessories will work with both the old and the new. The only things that will not work with the new are the hood (the hood comes included on the new tool) and the laser sight--a new laser sight is being designed to fit the redesigned router bracket on the new tool.

Great to see that there will be an upgrade path, though it might be worth it to a heavy user to simply dedicate their 1.1 to a particular task and purchase a 2.0

Well. The upgrade will certainly be more of a money saver than a time saver but I'm hoping that at least a few people will give it a shot

With the release of the Handibot 2.0 (Adventure edition), how soon do you see a plan being implemented for upgrade paths?

What we're working on is going to start out as a trade in option where we'll build a couple of handibots from refurbished parts that can be purchased for a discount with the trade-in of a handibot v1--the parts from those trade-ins will be refurbished and recycled into the next batch of trade-in exchanges. I think that we may be able to start this option up by late spring

The complete re-build kit is a bit farther off because we'll have to figure out not only the cost of the parts going into it but the extra cost of packing and shipping those parts in a way that will get them to the customer in one piece. Believe it or not--its a lot easier to ship a fully built tool than it is a flat pack of all of the components.

Brian,
as usual, it sounds like you guys have come up with a good plan. I was thinking of giving someone a good deal on my current handibot and then rolling the $$ into a 2.0. This remains a possibility but it is good to hear you are working out another solution.

Brian Owen, ShopBot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What we're working on is going to start out as a
> trade in option where we'll build a couple of
> handibots from refurbished parts that can be
> purchased for a discount with the trade-in of a
> handibot v1--the parts from those trade-ins will
> be refurbished and recycled into the next batch of
> trade-in exchanges. I think that we may be able to
> start this option up by late spring
>
> The complete re-build kit is a bit farther off
> because we'll have to figure out not only the cost
> of the parts going into it but the extra cost of
> packing and shipping those parts in a way that
> will get them to the customer in one piece.
> Believe it or not--its a lot easier to ship a
> fully built tool than it is a flat pack of all of
> the components.

Mark,

I think re-selling would be a great option (plus you'd get a brand new tool!) I'm not sure what handibots go for these days, but in the past I've seen people sell them for a pretty healthy return. Of course you can always feel free to post tools for sale here on the forum as well.

Brian