3D Printed RC Excavator - DIY

[@professorboots]

Add a comment down below on what build you'd like to see next! Whatever has the most comments for example a dozer, forklift or semi truck etc. will be the next project. Also due to the sheer number of parts in this project I might hold off on doing a kit so I would highly recommend checking out the professorboots workshop guide which will take you through self sourcing all of the parts. Thank you so much for watching!

[@keysersoze6499]

I will buy a kit if you do so

[@Cone_GamingYT]

When wil the kit come out? And what filament did you use for the yellow and the tracks.

[@usarmysf2587]

@@keysersoze6499same

[@usarmysf2587]

@professorboots Have you considered a rc crane

[@ewk33]

RC SEMI

[@KBoots]

A telescopic forklift or telehandler would be a perfect addition to this set.

[@Okiea]

I couldn’t agree more tbh Although I also think a wheeloader would be awesome ❤

[@KBoots]

@@Okiea I was thinking the same thing, but I thought that was a bit too close to the bobcat. The bobcat can't reach the top shelf of my mini warehouse either.

[@RuToClose]

A telehandler would be awesome.

[@jedbench5887]

I agree this would be an awesome project idea

[@lazynorwegian3604]

Yes

[@JCWren]

Actually, not ALL of us have seen the excavator flying a plane clip. That's pretty cool :)

[@professorboots]

Haha I do find it pretty amusing

[@JCWren]

@@professorboots BTW, put me down for a bulldozer vote. Something like a John Deere 850J.

[@The_Chillguy7]

How??

[@Skivvio]

i think this excavator is the best one yet

[@Shrexy243]

Same

[@Unthawed_Pie]

personally I would like to see a tractor with a working pto front and back you could make so many cool attachments for it

[@BtaraDev]

That would be so cool

[@guccifer2]

POWER TAKE OFF FTW

[@kallen3261]

This😊

[@iopfarmer]

So sweet

[@iopfarmer]

And then aaaaalllll the attachments!

[@bertcrawford]

- Cherry picker (access platform) - telehandler/forklift - back hoe - mobile crane Love these builds.

[@cassandrajenkins116]

Teleskid

[@wizardbuilds207]

A semi truck and low boy trailer is my vote. Great work!

[@DASHwithAllen]

Then all we need is chains and boomers

[@Dellpodder]

I've been following this channel for awhile and I just wanted to express my appreciation for the quality and breadth of of work you are putting into these projects. Everything from industrial design, mechanical and mechanism design, controls,, electronics breadboarding, PCB design/fabrication, microcontroller programming, and presumably video editing/production. To be able to turn these projects from viewer comment suggestions into fully functional objects in a matter of weeks is seriously impressive! You are definitely going places.

[@sethnowak9823]

I agree completely

[@Coolfwip]

CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED Im gonna keep saying it until youre at 100k, the quality of work is just *chefs kiss*

[@professorboots]

Haha thank you I really appreciate it!

[@sethnowak9823]

I agree with this guy

[@danon-theautisticmaker8112]

Definitely! I'm a huge fan of ur designs too.

[@filippofanesi]

to bad the designs are not open source

[@Coolfwip]

@@filippofanesi go put hundreds of hours into a project like this and make it open source for us :)

[@rodrigogomesgoncalves7578]

I love this and will definitely build one. If you ever build a version 2.0 try using a 3.5mm audio jack as a slip ring. I had a lot of success with that.

[@professorboots]

Ohhhh that’s a great idea! Thank you!

[@brandonbrown3600]

I think an articulated loader or a bulldozer would be a great next design. It would continue the construction site theme and give a way to move around push a larger pile around.

[@Maikel1500]

Really cool project, you surely prevailed with this challenge! A bulldozer with a winch would be fitting but I would like to see overcome another challenge: A tractor with accessories, like a seed spreader or brush, a grapple for logs.

[@andrevanrossum8408]

This is one of the finest diy projects on the entire internet!

[@RodneyZ]

The best KZbinr I found working for big boys' dreams with 3D printer. Thank you ProfessorBoots! Legend!!

[@nsquid78]

Forklift or telehandler would be fantastic! I'm going to buy and make all three. Great work

[@Jiano2]

YO THIS IS THE BEST ONE YET you should also try to build a forklift!

[@danwood1121]

These projects are amazing, I can't believe how well designed they are. I'd love to see an articulated front end loader as the next project.

[@Grady-ku4fd]

Nice you should build a semi truck with changeable beds

[@johnjoyce6519]

One of those big construction site tower cranes would be cool.

[@J0ermungand]

This is far more impressive than I thought it would be.

[@professorboots]

Haha happy to oblige!

[@J0ermungand]

@@professorboots Honestly you already deserve way more subscribers for your content. And I'm sure if you keep this up they'll come ;)

[@travisjohnston1923]

for future tracks I would strongly recommend an adjustable tension system. Real tracks use a ram that is tightened by adding grease. A screw should work just fine. And only the very front wheel is adjusted.

[@MarkSnop]

you do an incredible job making the videos and an equally as good of a job making the actual model! I built the mini skidi and loved doing that looks like I’m going to be building an excavator next

[@dowhilegeek]

professor boots is typecasting into "professor desktop RC" and I'm here for it.

[@scottbruce5376]

Really great work. Consider wrapping the boom wires with stiff bendable wire and sealing with meltable wall heat shrink. Position to emulate hydraulic lines.

[@camyoyo]

Another Absolutely great build . A forklift would be another great desk toy to add to the collection but you could up it to a telehandler. A mobile crane would also be awesome. Keep up the great work hoping to build these sometime soon.

[@841577]

Super cool. Just ordered all the parts for it. Cant wait to assemble.

[@olajuwonijelu1898]

Have you assembled yours yet? I assembled mine but can’t seem to get it to work 😢

[@mftidwell]

Very excited about your design changes, especially those that will allow more features and expansions for future projects.

[@bradleyparsons]

Dozer………dozer……dozer….dozer..dozer..dozer..dozer! Awesome new design added to the line up. Strong work! That must have robbed more than a few hours of sleep to get through the tricky bits. Time to treat yourself and opt for an easier-ish project before the next level up challenge right? You’ve earned it. Nothing crazy of course. Something simple and modest. The ACCO Super Bulldozer comes to mind… 😎

[@professorboots]

Hmmm I like your train of thought, a dozer would certainly be a fun chill project.

[@therealcatnip9475]

Honestly a working crane would be insane on a truck or not but that would be sick to have and it could actually pick up stuff and move it with different attachments like magnets, hook, straps, or a bucket.

[@dtm_fs7620]

I think a tractor would be a nice next project as it allows for a ton of different tools and attachments like a front loader, a winch, different trailers or agricultural tools like a cultivator, seeder, baler etc.

[@Andre_M_3D]

Omg dude. You outdid yourself with this one. I was impressed with the skid-steer and dump truck. Lol. Good job. And next, I think a dozer would be nice 👏. Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@RuToClose]

Crap, gotta go look back at the dump truck.

[@3DWolfEngineering]

sooo cool, thats engineering at its finest ! definitely need to build one eventually, excellent work mate keep it up !

[@professorboots]

Thank you!

[@3DprintedLife]

That is such a clean build, nicely done and very entertaining video! Hope this gets the views it deserves :)

[@RaplimNaim]

This RC excavator is seriously next level! Definitely a game changer! 🔥

[@speeddemon2008]

Is there going to be an electronics kit? Or any chance of of buying the plans without the subscription? I would love to make this, but the subscription is a major turn off.

[@SpruceHill]

I have been waiting for this video! Excavators are my favorite machine to run! Great job! 😁

[@Shrexy243]

I’ve been waiting for you to make this video

[@delongboy1]

This is so cool and it works surprisingly good for how small it is, it definitely beats the cheap Chinese excavators you can buy online. I would love to see an RC semi truck in the same scale to haul around the excavator.

[@sethnowak9823]

I hope you make thousands of dollars from these projects. These are absolutely amazing

[@Ziptietechnician]

V1.2 you could make your own clock ring if you incorporate c spots for contact strips in you 3d print design.

[@DjEdu28]

Estou a um ano modelando aos poucos uma escavadeira para usar com esp32. Minha maior dificuldade era recursos. Tinha muitos servos sg90. Então modifiquei eles para 360 e usei nas esteiras e no sistema de giro da parte de cima. Também usei eles na lança e garra. Por último fiquei uns meses pensando em um jeito de não enroscar os cabos. Comprei conrctores p4 (de fone de ouvido) para plugar entre as esteiras e a plataforma, no p4 vai enviar o sinal pwm de cada servo da esteira+ Gnd + 5V. assim consigo dar infinitas voltas sem ter problemas. Comprei pela internet os conectores, estou aguardando chegar para testar. O sistema que você pensou para usar na lança na garra é genial! Parabéns pelo projeto.

[@OCDRex11]

Ok, I am caving on this one. I loved the Mini Skidy but never bought. This one though, man, you really are a great designer and engineer. I am about 75% your potential for creation and I am damn smart! lol

[@professorboots]

Haha don’t sell yourself short now I just spent a lot of time banging my head against the computer screen!

[@OCDRex11]

@@professorboots Well you did fantastic and it shows! Your designs are growing as you progress on projects. Seriously one of the best YT content/creators out there! I finally dabbled with an ESP32 as I made a scaler (GBS Control) for my retro game consoles. Learning Arduino and that coding is a tough curve.

[@AnaCristinaSolano-uk8be]

wow, OMG, this is fantastic. An Aerial Work Platform would be awesome!

[@jonaskjelland]

honestly a triaxle semi and lowboy trailer to haul the excavator (maybe with the skid steer on it to?) would be fun to see. Its so fun to watch these DIY 3D printed videos, you have inspired me to get a 3D printer. (by the way what would you recommend, as in cost but also beginner friendly)

[@professorboots]

Ohhhh tough question, I really love the Bambu printers. Haven’t tried the a1 mini personally but seems like it’s not to bad. If you’re looking for really inexpensive you can’t go wrong with an ender3

[@briack_7631]

Quick question, really hopping you’re gonna answer. I would like to make this thing for myself so I will pay for the subscription, is everything available when we subscribe ? Like the PCB scheme and part list ?

[@conorstewart2214]

An alternative to having to pass through wires to the base could be to try and design a mechanism that lets you drive the tracks without needing to have motors in the base. I think it should be doable with some clever gearing and control mixing in the ESP32. The simplest way I can think of would involve coaxial shafts and bevel gears.

[@miguelandroide]

What do you think about using a 3.5mm jack instead of a slip ring? There's 5-pin ones that are pretty cheap and as it's not a fast-rotating application, they might be good enough.

[@professorboots]

I actually just ordered some today to try out so stay tuned!

[@miguelandroide]

Amazing! Hope to see what it gives! I'm currently working on a 1/10 scale Cromwell tank and was planning on trying out a 3.5mm jack for the turret connections. Will keep an eye on what your results are. Amazing work btw! Are your tracks printed in TPU?

[@oliverthepig4876]

that’s super cool. a crane, backhoe, or semi truck would all be really cool

[@toastrecon]

This would take some code, but I wonder if you could record some center position and then as you rotated the cab left or right, the software could limit it to like one full rotation either way. When you got to one “stop”, the motor could stop but also bounce a tiny bit back the other way so you would know why.

[@darrelljacobjr2120]

Awesome build! Especially connecting the expansion board via I2C. I use 16 channel pwm servo controller boards. What? No tiltrotator? No extendable stick? lol

[@Your_average_hobbyist]

Hey man when you mentioned that you can't fit a electric slip ring to avoid the spinning of wires look into diy neopixle lightsabers they have these boards with circular pads and the blade had a board with pins so no matter what rotation you put the blade in, it always makes contact you would always fo that kind of pad and something like how slot cars work to make a diy version

[@theengerneer9906]

An idea for future versions could be using mini servos for the arm, yes it takes more io ports but the smoothness surely would be better, I’m making an RC rover so if u have had any issues with using servos for arms pls respond to help me out

[@professorboots]

You’re right there are some advtages to using servos but for this project I really wanted to somewhat imitate the hydraulic look from a real excavator hence the linear motors. You would also need some pretty big servos to get the same amount of power.

[@theengerneer9906]

@@professorboots ahh thanks, for a robotic arm that could pick something up sort like the arms on the mars rover would servos work or would u recommend motors

[@THEOGGUNSHOW]

You do some of the most amazing and detailed builds. Kudos 👏 💐

[@andreaboltz4749]

Stormy says that’s rad. Definitely my favorite so far!! ✨🤩

[@agepbiz]

Impressive project!

[@Moki314]

These functional small scale projects are great! I'd like to see a mini mobile or crawler crane at some point.

[@GeekGarageDK]

i would use PCF8575 IO Expander Module that runs I2C but what a great project!

[@professorboots]

I’ll have to check it out!

[@AverageLizardMan]

Do you have a list of where to buy the motors, servos, boards, etc for a good price?

[@spencermoxley5586]

Is this going to be a kit available on your website? I would love to make one myself

[@spencermoxley5586]

I saw your comment, but I can’t source it myself

[@ChrisMuncy]

So I have all the pieces for the dump truck and the skid steer. That includes the circuit boards for both and all the associated electronics. The trailer's already built. So is the excavator complete at this point or are you going to be going through any revision changes like you did the skid steer because I want to start printing the excavator this weekend. I absolutely love these videos and you did an amazing job of putting it all together so thank you!.

[@professorboots]

Oh that’s awesome to hear! So the excavator will be a little different in that there’ll still be revisions but nothing major where the entire design is affected. More along the lines of adding attachments and mods you can make. So electronics wise it won’t really change.

[@infamy4k]

@@professorboots any chance of the skid steer getting the same ps3 controls?

[@ChrisMuncy]

@@professorboots Good deal. Just got the subscription set up so I can get the grbl files to send out.

[@DjEdu28]

Amigo, é genial esse projeto. Parabéns e muito obrigado por disponibilizar o projeto para baixar. Tenho uma dúvida, como faz para os cabos não enrolarem? Quando ela gira no próprio eixo

[@smarquardt10]

Is there anyway that they could b scaled down??? Love to make in 1:87th scale for model trains. They dont need any electronics.

[@chceszbyc]

Where to find Gerber files? Without it, it makes no sense to print it...

[@TheWatchMker]

dude you're incredible. Im making my nephew one today.

[@awaisjatt1499]

DIY of the year 🎉

[@alexhz]

Nice video. One day, please could you do a video showing the absolute basics of wiring up a 3d printed model. For someone who has no experience with wiring electronics, it’s very confusing what I need and how to put them together.

[@corywilliamsmith]

how awesome. i wonder if there is anyway to retrofit a cheap amazon excavator into it? My son's cheap excavator gears always fail and can barely pick up a single rock

[@sethb1973]

Will a full build kit like the skid steer and dump truck be available ?

[@xXlURMOMlXx]

Do you have any more footage of your modeling process? Id be very interested to see how you go from a simple silhouette to a full model. Is there a name for the technique?

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Are you sure you couldn't find electronic slip rings small enough for the job? There are some electronic slip rings which are 12mm in diameter with up to 12 wires.

[@drosendahl]

Some kind of encoder (maybe just full turns) and software limit on rotating to save the cables would be good.

[@hsd0971]

A forklift with a bale tilter would be a neat thing to see

[@darkracer1252]

05:45 wait. so.. why not make your own electrical slip ring?

[@algaefour2327]

Try using a coxial pushfit connector as a cheap alternative to a slip ring.

[@p1xelman]

very good ! But I have a question, why didn't you run the wires inside the boom?

[@professorboots]

Good question, I thought having the wires outside the boom would kind of look like hydraulic lines haha

[@p1xelman]

😂

[@solidstate90]

This might be a good platform to build a small inspection rover, I have been wanting to make one to send into crawl spaces

[@faked8586]

this is so awesome! im definitely gonna buy this one. next you should make the liebherr r 9800

[@thegamingbee26]

Best one yet. Next time you should do something, that can fly.

[@drt5665]

I'm gonna put my vote down for a logging forwarder :) Something like a Ponsse Elephant :) Those are the kings of picking up stuff

[@simoneotto6625]

dude this is awesome! Epic one, and the electronic side!! woow!! now do a submarine!!

[@WTFWorks]

Great video! You mentioned a mars rover. What about building a mini perseverance?

[@professorboots]

That’d be sweet

[@FluePeak]

Wouldnt it be easier to leave a small hollow cylinder in the arms to run the wires?

[@MonsterPartsRc]

How about an 8 x 8 HEMTT... I'd love to see and 8-wheel drive setup with two steering axles up front....

[@Jhonarna]

Vas a subir a la venta este kit?

[@finster101]

Very cool model! and video! I know you designed it yourself, but what scale would you consider it based on its finished size vs some full-size prototype excavators? Thanks in advance.

[@matthopper421]

How about a crawler crane? With a hook or grapple for lifting or grabbing things

[@carsonplaysminecraft1018]

WOO the excavator is here!

[@chaos63]

What will kits be available for them

[@Ryan_Tidwell]

Awesome!! I'm still finishing my dump truck but I'll be planning to build this one!!. +1 for a Semi to haul these things around.

[@babbagebrassworks4278]

Very cool, got a new sub. Loved those directly printed tracks, going to try that in resin for smaller scales.

[@danon-theautisticmaker8112]

Kit?!? Are you going to sell a kit version of this like you have the Mini Skiddy & Dump truck?

[@danon-theautisticmaker8112]

Or at least kits that just have all the needed electronics, motors & what not? Possibly also the tracks, as some people (like me) can't print the rubber like filaments with any quality. Leaving just the plastic parts needing to be printed by us.

[@MrWilliam932]

Would love to put an FPV camera inside the cockpit

[@Simon_Rafferty]

Great video & build. I'll vote for a Telehandler

[@spyrit35]

This project is sooooo cool... well done man... if the pc board and wiring harness was sold as a kit with the STL files, I would actually buy it... just a thought. Amazon sells some cheap solar chargers, about 5'"X 3" X 1.5"... I wonder how much run time you would het with that attached to those batteries of yours.

[@NiyaKouya]

When you played with those small purple cubes, my first thought was "that thing needs a 'shovel'!" Dunno the proper name, that part you use to pick up stuff from the ground without pushing it into the tracks. First add-on and yet another motor so it can be moved up/down? :P

[@tylerf660]

Could we get slightly bigger versions like say 50% or double maybe? Also I can't wait for the kits to go up for sale plz at least an electronics one

[@whynotbuildit]

love the models u make!!

[@noeltymm8357]

Love the videos, I think a semi truck and lowboy trailer to haul the excavator and skid steer would be awsome!

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

Can you use your excavators to recreate a tabletop zen garden?

[@professorboots]

That would be great!

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

@@professorboots - How about something like the intro for the latest Shogun series?

[@jjlane9191]

A semi truck would be really cool because with paired with a trailer would give you the ability to long-haul the other equipment. Something like a “URAL 4322 or 4320” or a “KAMAZ 5340” would also be really cool because you could have a logging trailer then you could give the excavator a log claw.