goBILDA#
goBILDA (https://www.gobilda.com/) is a fixed-pitch, channel based building system using metric units. It was recently released in the 2018-2019 season and is made by the same company as Actobotics.
Special Considerations#
goBILDA is based on metric measurements using M4 hardware. The hole pattern has 4mm holes on 8mm grid.
The kit is primarily structured around U-channel, which is strong and durable.
goBILDA’s robust motion system allows teams to easily build drivetrains and mechanisms without worrying about placement and tensioning.
It is arguable, but goBILDA has likely a low learning curve due to its simple yet extremely functional catalog of parts.
goBILDA parts can generally be easily adapted to other kit parts such as REV.
Additionally, goBILDA is still being developed at a quick pace and is responsive to the needs of the FTC® community.
goBILDA offers a 25% discount for FIRST® teams.
Notable components#
goBILDA uses 8mm pitch chain and HTD 3 or HTD 5 belts for motion.
goBILDA mostly uses clamping hubs (called Sonic hubs), eliminating the unreliable set screws.
goBILDA shafts are metric (6mm D and 8mm rounded hex).
The primary structural component is the 48mm aluminum U-channel, shown below.
Low-Side channel (smaller profile channel) complements full size channel. Low-Side channel is just 12mm in height and allows for more compact builds. Additionally, Low-Side channel opens up possibilities such as a kit-based parallel plate drivetrain. Low-Side channel also forms the basis of the cascading kit with a 2 or 4 stage option.
goBILDA low-side channel (12x48 mm)#
Mini-Low-Side channel (even smaller profile channel) that compliments Low-Side channel. Mini-Low-Side channel is 12mm tall and just 32mm wide, making it great for small structures.
goBILDA mini-low-side channel (12x48 mm)#
Viper-Slides are goBILDA’s version of the commonly used drawer slides for linear extension in 336mm and 240mm lengths. Notably, goBILDA sells a Viper-Slide kit, which contains all of the parts to assemble either a 2 stack or 4 stack of slides. In addition, they are one of the few vendors who sells a belted version of these slides. The 240mm slide is also uniquely bidirectional, sliding both ways.
goRAIL is extrusion that complements the channel offerings well. goRAIL is used in the linear actuator kit for extending mechanisms.
Verdict#
goBILDA’s kit is a solid, albeit slightly more expensive, option for new teams. It offers a great deal of flexibility and part options from their catalog. goBILDA is a solid choice due to reasonable pricing, low learning curve, and thought-out design that reduces headaches.
Kit of Parts#
Advantages#
goBILDA’s Low-Side U-channel opens up many new possibilities due to its flexibility and compactness. For example, one can now make a parallel plate drivetrain without custom machining, or make custom width U-channel.
goBILDA also has Servoblocks (identical to Actobotics other than hole pattern) which drastically increase servo life.
goBILDA has native large bore hex shaft support (12 mm REX is comparable to 3/8” rounded hex) which is one of the main advantages of custom fabrication brought to a kit based system.
goBILDA also is able to interface with TETRIX channel because they share some holes. For more information about TETRIX-goBILDA compatibility, check out this website. It is also quite compatible with REV’s ecosystem.
goBILDA has a well thought-out ball bearing based motion system with smart motion transfer. It is easy to do chain or belt in channel.
Note
8mm chain, HTD 3, and HTD 5 mm belt can do perfect C2C (center to center) on the goBILDA pattern. This saves a lot of headache when needing to calculate C2C distances.
goBILDA has plenty of shaft, ball bearing, and pillow block options.
goBILDA motors can face mount natively into channel, eliminating the need for motor mounts and providing a robust, reliable way to mount motors.
goBILDA has some special parts are unavailable in other systems, like square beam shafts.
goBILDA provides a large selection of 12V DC motors. Their Yellow Jacket motors use orbital gearboxes and are available in 10 different gear ratios ranging from 30 RPM to 1620 RPM. No other manufacturer offers such varied gear ratios out of the box.
Disadvantages#
goBILDA is not the cheapest build system; it is relatively equivalent in pricing to Actobotics, but REV is cheaper.
goBILDA U-channels are larger than the channels from Tetrix, resulting in larger builds. However, this is more than compensated by the fact that one can put a goBILDA motor inside a channel. In addition, the introduction of mini-low-side channel allows for more compact builds where needed
Because of metric pattern spacing, goBILDA utilizes 8mm pitch chain, as opposed to the FTC standard #25 Imperial chain. This means that other kits’ chain and sprockets won’t work with goBILDA chain and sprockets.
An example of a successful goBILDA based robot, 7182 Mechanical Paradox Cubed: Finalist Alliance 1st Pick (Detroit), Rover Ruckus#