Building a Real Life Transformer

[@plugwithapug]

The fact that you released this for free, knowing you could have made money on by Patreon or any other service like printables/thangs, is seriously the most underrated part of this video. I'm not sure if I'll ever build this soon, but thank you. It allows people like me who are starting out to actually get some cool projects in as we learn this hobby. The costs of 3D printing keep adding up between machines, filaments, consumables, and now files. Again, thank you for a cool project.

[@emuboy85]

well, Bambulab payed for it.

[@plugwithapug]

@emuboy85 i understand that, but a lot of creators have sponsored videos and still put it on patreon. Which isn't a bad thing, designers gotta pay bills. Just thought it was cool that he was willing to give it for free to us.

[@1islam1]

​@@emuboy85⚠️ God has said in the Quran: 🔵 { O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous - ( 2:21 ) 🔴 [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him]. ( 2:22 ) 🔵 And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. ( 2:23 ) 🔴 But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.( 2:24 ) 🔵 And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally. ( 2:25 ) ⚠️ Quran

[@ValedTime]

Well, he technically has proof that he made it himself. So if a big company wants to use this idea, they have to talk to him or risk getting sued.

[@armageddon87]

@@ValedTime unless he patent it, it is a very grey area.

[@rt6540]

This was a graduation project in the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University for students in the Mechatronics Engineering program. Actually, they passed with a good grade, but the project did not work because the weight was too high. So, I want to tell you: good job, man! You made it by yourself without any help, and it worked.

[@Noname-iq1gz]

A group of university students couldn’t achieve what this man built in a cave and a box of scraps

[@JackHandelman]

pretty sure this was a project at caltech too, which had more modes available than the one he built. Pretty cool!

[@taherahmed8472]

الأخ مصري

[@furquan2792]

so they made this useless copter as Engineering project? lmfao

[@sti302man]

🫡🫡 those uni senior year projects are a doozy!! He actually did a fantastic job

[@rctestflight]

Daym! Thats some impressive design work. Nice job!

[@martales8563]

Hey man, big fan of your videos right here. I have a few ideas and suggestions for your hydrofoil series right now, since you are in your hydrofoil fever at the moment😄. Like for example, try experimenting with different wing configurations. Like a delta wing or something that's shaped like a jet fighter with wing root extensions. Maybe a configuration with canards or something that's really small and needs to go really fast to lift you up and avoid separation with slats . Or contrary to that, something that has slats and flaps that goes really slow at high AOA . Or maybe something that has relaxed stability and you could maybe make some kind of AOA sensors with magnets and hall sesors and use DreamFlight to make it controllable . I mean, the possibilities are endless here. It's as if you had a wind tunnel under your feet man. You got me hyped about hydrofoils, By the way, best content on KZbin👌

[@biafra13743]

Build yours boss.

[@Titan-f7z]

You should try your own version too!! That would be cool

[@martales8563]

@@Titan-f7z i think that is too simple for him , probly would find it boring

[@AustynSN]

As a geek and child of the 80s, I'd like to point out that the title is incorrect. This isn't Transformers. It's MASK (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand).

[@jacquesb5248]

not quite gundamn but getting very close too it

[@AdmiralThumbs]

@6:33 I'd argue that the treads are super necessary, since they protect the gear teeth on the wheels from getting dirty/damaged in contact with the ground. They wouldn't be necessary if the wheels were driven without external gearing. Great work!

[@BPBomber]

Not only that, which such high torque, the added contact patch the treads provide probably prevent the wheels from breaking traction.

[@artisticyeti22]

​@@BPBomber is this the same as "slipping" of a belt

[@BPBomber]

@@artisticyeti22similar I would imagine; both involve a wheel spinning without grabbing traction

[@taypc6]

I love this concept, I really wish there were more commercial options like it. Having the ability to land a drone and have it still be able to move would be massive. You could use it like PeterScripol's RC tank taped to a miniwhoop, which could recover other crashed miniwhoops with a servo arm. You can use it to land and inspect drain pipes or tunnels or other narrow entrances, which would be great during surveys, research, and reconnaissance. You could have a fully autonomous patrol bot that can land anywhere and drive to its charging station, or still patrol even in inclement weather. I want one :)

[@braddl9442]

Yeah this concept seems like it would be real useful for lots of exploration situations. Or search and rescue

[@LesFishingMoreCatching]

That was cool at the end showing it being used in a situation that would be challenging for other vehicles.

[@olligesd9343]

Michael, That pebbly texture you get on CF can be done on any filament using the "fuzzy skin" option in Bambu Slicer. I have mine set to 0.15mm for both settings and it gives a pebbly texture that hides layer lines pretty well. Additionally, on parts that aren't under much stress, Bambu has an "Aero" foaming filament that looks to be pretty light.

[@noorchauhn]

Bro single handedly replicated years of research work of universities using CAD.

[@skinnyguy3184]

100% ae what a legend!!

[@guineapigboy4551]

The universities use cad too.....

[@Saanq]

Yeah lol how do you think universities do it?

[@AwesomeEffiong]

But he had many sponsors

[@mikimosky4109]

Actually the concept its so cool because i imagine when you drive on the terrain this thing would use less battery, but then if you got any problem like you said can fly over it and land, so you can keep going in your journey while having a battery life that would last longer than a normal flying drone.

[@armageddon87]

i am picturing it as an espionage vehicle for military purpose. ur vehicle will be on the ground in a "silent" mode, tracking and observing it's surrounding. than suddenly when it is in range of its target, it turn and suddenly transform into an "attack" flying mode. thats rather a not so good application to use, but, still an application.

[@JTCF]

SolveSpace is another CAD program that can simulate linkages like this. I used it a lot to simulate hinges, linkages and other mechanical things. It allows to put specific constraints and move around unconstrained portions freely, so it is similar to making a real-life linkage model.

[@patrickfle9172]

Mechanic speaking, print yourself some tools to press in the ball bearings, please.... it hurts watching this way 😂

[@CroshVine]

Agreed. Not only can you damage the bearings by pressing them with hands, you will almost certainly put them in slightly lopsided.

[@Nemozoli]

@@CroshVine "With hands"? You mean hitting them like crazy with pliers? It was rather painful to watch!

[@rahulchintu247]

Best replacement for bearings is graphite

[@no1DdC]

@@Nemozoli I'm convinced he did this on purpose just to annoy you folks.

[@ErewhonGB]

Nice showcasing of the printers. Good to see someone taking sponsorship seriously. Definitely made me want to get one as my Zortrax is showing its age now.

[@James_Lim]

I had a goofy smile on my face this whole video. That's how I know it's a good one. I fly FPV and love tanks, this is the thing I've always wanted to see! Thanks for showcasing this. Very inspiring for engineers too.

[@ChrisMuncy]

OK Michael, out of everything you've built, *THIS* is the best by far! Any plans on sharing the plans? A BOM? I'd pay for a set, just like Professor Boots does with his plans.

[@dollarbutt]

Not watch the video? It's posted

[@tsungxu]

Love the actuating transform! To lightweight even further, you could try LW-PLA on non structural parts. It is often used for 3d printed rc plane structures and is ~50% lighter than PLA but can break more often

[@JohanzCasuco]

I bet it could work as a leaf blower too. A fun way to clean up the yard

[@astroid_vr]

you should make a shopify store or your own and sell these for extra money these are dope with a better body and stuff people will definitely buy them

[@evanbarnes9984]

That would be sick, but that's a full time job for multiple people (source: me! I'm a product designer for products similar to these and it takes a whole team.)

[@billkissick6268]

@@googleyoutubechannel8554 Harsh, but very true. There is much more involved with bringing an actual product to market than this.

[@PruthuHegde]

if he did I would buy

[@no1DdC]

@@PruthuHegde Get a cheap 3D printer instead. You can print this stuff with a cheap printer - no need for the fancy Bamboo thingy that he's shilling on this channel.

[@ahmedmohamedali7304]

I literally had this idea about 2 years ago. I'm currently in my last year of Mechanical Engineering, and I wanted to make this as a personal project after finishing to just apply what I've learnt and add to my resume while I look for jobs. I thought I was the first to think of the idea so I was a bit crushed when I saw that it has been already done lmao, but ig I haven't done my research. It shouldn't matter too much, my initial sketches of visualization had a slightly different approach to switching from rover to fly mode and the general design of the vehicle. One of the most interesting ideas in my "light bulb" archive and you've certainly done a great job giving it justice. Just subbed, great work!

[@aziemnicki]

Huge appreciations! I came across this morpho drone and only tried to design this in CAD by myself - it took hundreds of hours and even more nerves. Not many people will understand how complicated it is to build one like that and you DID make it fly, unbelievable for me, much respect.

[@Mr.Meeoow]

Best rc controlled “thing” ever!

[@aasishwarsaravana5748]

This is quite amazing! Some additional things you can add: a wireless / Magsafe / Robovac like port for the drone to move and charge after every flight and run!

[@frankytank108]

I see lots of opportunities to shave off weight. Make the wheels with steel spokes, maybe you could even get rid of the actuators, you just need to unlock and then turn on the props

[@Programentalist]

Steel? How is that going to be lighter than plastic? Now carbon fiber would be another matter.

[@CreepyMemes]

@@Programentalist was asking the same thing lol

[@turrboenvy4612]

It's amazing and I could never build, let alone design something like that, but... I also wondered why there was both a rotating arm and the actuator. Seems like a lot of unnecessary weight and another point of failure.

[@franciscoguinledebarros4429]

I highly doubt the same motors would be a good idea, drone blades need speed, wheels need torque

[@noiihr]

1:24 shaking and drink coffee after is wild 😂😂😂🙏🏾

[@Vexpointrobotics]

This is what i want to do when i am older LOL i have a simple ender 3 3d printer but i dont know how to cad yet and dont really have the money to buy motors and stuff but once i make a bit of money something like this is going to be the first thing i make super nice video absolutely loved it and it looks like you didnt have too many problems. but as i know from building robots on my schools robotics team there is always more problems than you think. once again thanks for this amazing video and i cant wait to watch you more

[@brianwgDK]

1:14 This is actually a good idea, especially if you don´t know how to do it in cad. BUT i am so happy i took the time to learn to do link, hinges ect. in cad, so you can test your design, and do fast adjustments. but this is a novel idea 👍👍👍👍

[@MoRDekai1364]

actually had this idea when I was a kid and my parents bought me a drone. it had both propellers and separate wheels. I literally thought 'this is so inefficient. propellers should be wheels too' later designed the drone itself but never built it. feel so much joy to see my childhood memory see reality :)

[@nayayelin-nk4hc]

You can make a boat-shaped body and change the design of the wheels/propellers so that it can also drive in water like a boat.

[@standardannonymousguy]

Nice work on Michael. I could see how the driving mode is alot more efficient. Fun build.

[@bikeforever2016]

That's a really cool design solution. Hefty, but great thinking. And much appreciated that you provide the design files.

[@EngineerNotFound]

When you said ' broken hardware ' , I initially thought I heard ' broken heart ' ... That would have made just as much sense.. Loving this project!

[@M-dv1yj]

After the center mass lowers and the prop mechanism hinges out… you need to add a slide for it to lower the props along the body to get better center mass distribution on the vertical axis. Great work bro!❤

[@XenoRaptor-98765]

Do you plan to sell your design to the U.S Military?

[@shabeerali3508]

so they can use it to kill innocent people on countries.

[@myname-mz3lo]

darpa had this 15 years ago lol

[@scrampker]

Wild thought... what if you made the propeller blades the actual wheels, and use the flying motors for driving as well? You can eliminate a lot more weight, assuming there's enough torque for driving. (Maybe a tiny gearbox can help.) I do also wonder if a rack/pinion-based lift-arm mechanism might be lighter and faster as well. Super tiny servo, perhaps combined with some magnets to help hold in the two main positions. Edit: a bit confusing, but I mean to eliminate the linear actuators and somehow leverage the existing rack/pinion idea to handle the full range of motion between both operating modes.

[@onurjp]

I agree, it is so heavy and barely flies.

[@vadimkh7101]

Usually I look and think. Extra engines for a quadcopter are extra weight. But here it is rather a machine that can fly, and not vice versa. And then even 4 engines for flight are not extra weight. Brilliant!

[@DPER521]

I'm really impressed. So inspiring! You deserve much more views.

[@frostyboyee405]

As a transformer fan whos watched all the movies atleast 4 times each and as a fellow tinkerer whos made an fpv drone and an rc car, I see this as an absolute win ❤❤. I look forward to more content like this

[@elvindiaz8475]

When i was a child i thought about exact design, kinda impresive someone actually made it, cheers 🙌

[@mike-stpr]

A great project, although such toys have been on sale for a long time. You have a wonderful channel with very interesting and educational projects! Thank you very much for your activity and positivity! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

[@user-lx9jm1wo3h]

I just thought about this the other day but without the tracks on it. The idea I had was to make an RC car with a drone motor in each wheel, have the wheels be the propellers, and then have the upper control arms attach to a servo motor that pivots the wheels facing down. then you can switch into flying mode while driving. You would just need to make the wheels into slicks and make them really light, but I think it could work.

[@turrboenvy4612]

I thought that's what it was going to be, but I imagine a motor couldn't have both the torque to drive the car and the rpms to fly a drone. Also the added spinning weight of the wheels would add a lot of rotating mass which isn't ideal for a drone.

[@dipanjandas3735]

Holy smokes. This is awesome man. If someone asks you why you built this super fun transformer just tell them because you can.

[@0bsidianPrime]

This has some potential rescue drone applications. Fly if the terrain is horrible, drive if the weather is horrible.

[@niteshkumar-sr8lj]

Looking good and beautifully creative - 😀🙋‍♂️

[@FindTheFun]

Wow I have no doubt models similar to these will be everywhere in the future. You seriously invented something major here.

[@FlyZoneFpv]

Awesome job Michael. Damn that’s sick . You gotta get these in production bro 👊🏻

[@wesleybroughton6147]

Removing weight from the unspring weight wont remove much stress from the servo, try release some weight from the section the actuators are holding off the ground as its hitting bumps and wheelying around

[@wolf.keynord]

Nice work シ︎

[@EdemirRomao]

Você é um gênio, parabéns e sucesso!

[@BendsSpace]

So cool! It's amazing this was mostly 3d printed!

[@RyanCrossOfficial]

very cool project. I think it would be interesting to see a few things: 1) Can you create a unified drive system, rather than that completely separate ones. I guess technically there are 3, the main drive, the rotors and the conversion system. But anything that could unify or simplify those systems would be interesting 2) Further reducing weight. This would probably be helped by a unified drive system, but beyond that anything that could make this lighter would be interesting. It seems to perform both functions, but the flying aspect of it seems significantly less capable than the driving one. Also, by creating a lighter system, it opens it up for other things to be added like cameras, automation controls, sensors, etc. 3) Less interesting, but the time to switch between modes seems a bit slow and I wonder if it could be sped up. For example, I'm not sure if the lifts/drops of the chasis are necessary if there is another way of making those linear actuators do the full conversion action. 4) It could also be interesting to see either a smaller or larger version of this. The smaller one could be cool if it reduces costs, makes it more portable/travel size, etc. The larger version could be cool if it had more power and could handle some type of payload 5) would be interesting to open source the system to see what others can develop on top of this, and then do a video highlighting people's mods. Could also compare this against some of the university projects you mentioned. Appreciate that the stls are already available for free though. 6) You could expand the functionality/scope by making it also turn into a boat/water craft. Or even if you could make it into a submersible. 7) I'd like to see other applications for it beyond the hopping over a creek. Perhaps reconnaissance into hybrid spaces. Maybe as a creative platform for different photo/video shots (probably needs more stabilisation).

[@littleninjas18]

You won't believe i imagined building this myself when i was in 8th standard. But somewhere i knew i wont be and today i feel so good to see this Thanks man huge respect ❤

[@littleninjas18]

So wait why can't flying motors are used for driving? @here

[@mechamacisbackatit]

This is cool as hell dude! Awesome job on bringing it together.

[@willthompson9786]

I wonder if the problem you had with the linear actuator was because they're effectively being treated as the struts for the drive mode. The rigid connection between the wheels and the body at that point is probably what ultimately broke it when driving around. Maybe in a future version you could have some sort of two-part struts that slot into each other when switched into drive mode to take the strain off the static actuators.

[@gangster_alpaca]

Thats the coolest Thing from a 3d printer i have seen in a while

[@InnerspaceX]

0:47 Your coffe mug is leaking, just saying... :)

[@DAT_GAMER125]

I get it now

[@NicholasRehm]

Ive seen 3 failure modes of those crappy little linear actuators, but not that one hahaha Still, INSANE build!

[@AdmiralThumbs]

It'd be cool to see a future version of this with wheels/skids on the bottom of the fuselage so that you could initiate the transformation while driving forward and hopefully be able to take off while maintaining some of the forward momentum. Though that design would likely also need faster linear actuators and/or other tweaks to make the transformation faster.

[@MCsCreations]

Brilliant work, dude! 😃 Just 2 things: this vehicle would be FANTASTIC for exploring underground spaces! Like some underground cities people discovered, you know? And 2: start playing with ArduPilot! It's pretty difficult to start, but you can absolutely do anything with it! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@sibteabbas780]

Love from Pakistan really i appreciate your work and efforts this prototype was extremely excellent myself also mechanical engineer ❤

[@mrgo2571]

Love it 😍 if it flies a little bit more than it becomes perfect

[@DSdvdDS]

Keep it up dude! These creations are awesome!!

[@sweepberry2800]

It would be interesting if it can handle a cargo bay or consider to have a passenger cabin on top or below. The motor for the flight might be a little too low for the job compare to the weight of the unit, it's like too much stress or power needed to make to a higher height? maybe more power source can solve that. Plus having a thread is good way of not damaging the rotor blade from from the impact on ground. May add some mesh cage by the blade to protect it from hard debris that may come while on land mode. Hope to see new variants of this, this has a potential to make it as an air-to-land "amphibious cousin" transport, lol.

[@braddl9442]

For seach and rescue stuff you can fly the drone into an open window land it and then change modes so it can more safely navigate.

[@turkeycannon161]

If you can scale it up and figure out how to incorporate a suspension you have basically made a flying car. Implement self driving/auto pilot and install a transponder you might even be able to get it licensed and FAA certified.

[@no1DdC]

You do not want giant wheels on a full-sized car, believe me. This design is already way overweight for a toy. You can not scale it up even further.

[@timothyreddy3108]

Bro this is so sick, I’m in love

[@CallMeCJorDandy]

Yes please do continue this project (Mark 2) ❤

[@BPBomber]

Amazing design bro. A few more iterations and I know you could dial in its flight

[@ASP77703]

Very nice work, in the process of doing something similar for my masters project.

[@josiahjardin]

the military needs something like this, ngl

[@nathanaelMitiku]

Supper impressive thing to watch on the internet wow! good job, on actuator breaking, wouldn't have happened if you had done a little bit of mechanical system analysis (FEA) before, the rest to be honest, that is sick bro, I loved it!

[@aL3891_]

Really Really cool, another thing that I've been thinking about is a car with like an arm on it that could manipulate stuff, kind on like spot but a car instead

[@bayulistiantaraaji3296]

Jenius invention 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 congratulations. Don't forget claim your design and engineering

[@AB-jm5dj]

I did a similar project last summer , I wish I could go back and implement such cool 3d printed modifications

[@franciscoguinledebarros4429]

That design is absurd cool, would it he good to tweak the height on the transformation? The wheels folding out are asking to snag on terrain and put unnecessary stress on the pistons, just "extending the movement" of the car lowering in its "compact mode" a bit further would make the drone landing legs contact the ground earlier (the best would be longer drone legs), wheels raise a few cm and clear the ground before folding out

[@dorjedriftwood2731]

This is legitimately amazing

[@xInferZ]

FINALLY!! A great video to watch while I eat

[@AdamOmar-i2g]

Sometimes I wonder how patience these people are

[@KJMcLaws]

All those screws in the tracks seems a little unnecessary. You could use small lengths of filament instead. (Like Ivan Miranda does on his tanks) you also could eliminate the tracks anyway for some more weight saving. You could add limited acceleration (eg. Instead of 100% to 0% instantly, you'd first do 50% for a second then 0% to not "lock the brakes" and flip. Or even 100->75->50->25->0 with each change waiting a specific time). I believe the term to look into is PID. On my projects I just have a target speed and a max acceleration that can be added to the current speed until they're equal.)

[@CroshVine]

Really awesome and once you dial it in, could be a bestseller in toy stores.

[@thej3799]

christ that thing was way bigger than I expected it to be. it also looks really heavy. I am impressed that it flies.

[@jakeknapke1506]

My quadcopter and I go on daily walks through the woods but we always have to turn around at the creek. Thank you for showing me this quick and easy solution!

[@gulsmvlogs4170]

Excellent craftsmanship!😃👍

[@cheesewatcher1749]

Cool concept

[@K14E]

you should try to re-design the body so it site below the top of the tracks, that way it can move regardless of the orientation, ie drive "upside down". pretty cool project though.

[@tarstco]

You should make the tank treads thicker with paddles and a semi-waterproof body so it can move on water, too!

[@DarenKumar-v7x]

The military would love to fund you… that for sure. Really cool design!

[@rumenn1873]

Great stuff. I think if you work on the weight reduction, it will be perfect piece. Good work

[@ernie5229]

I like how you focused on making a good ground vehicle first. Other projects like this are just regular drones that just barely work as a ground vehicles...kind of.

[@JonathanGarneau]

Maybe the wheels shape could be optimized to increase lift... Maybe shaping the edge with a curved lip as a ducted fan inlet to increase the lift? Maybe twisting the spokes with a pitch opposite to the propeller pitch would straighten the airflow and increase thrust too (I think I saw something somewhere mentionnig that such vanes worked like that for stationnary ducted fans)

[@franciscoguinledebarros4429]

Something I'd say is to tweak the height on the transformation too, the wheels folding out are asking to snag on terrain and put unnecessary stress on the pistons, just "extending the movement" a bit further would make the wheels raise a few cm and clear the ground before folding out

[@master_lox8639]

Great project. Loving it

[@nilubiswas058]

You deserve more subs, take it you made a dream true ❤❤❤❤❤

[@scott98390]

it would be nice if you had cams that will move the wheels _up_ off of the ground before swinging them _out_ for flying mode (and vice versa). I think a lot of the strain on your linear actuators is overcoming friction with the ground. ...also, I want one of these to use as a leaf blower!

[@PaladinSalt]

When it is flying mode it looks like the attack quad copter from west world, really really cool!

[@Jack_Wolfe]

8:35 im surprised its not too heavy, but i can see so much weight you can remove to save power too.

[@bavishkasathyanjana1384]

Brother u r a legend 💪💪

[@SymoNderitu]

Wonderful and innovative work❤

[@Ice-Qube]

Another point to lose some weight could be combining the action of the linear actuator with that of the servos. I think a parallelogram could do the trick, where both sides are different lengths.

[@SonnyDarvish]

Probably the full drone to car action needs to have some flexibility in how the wheels collapse inwards, for both physical barriers that might not allow the action to complete and probably the outer rails coming off on hard surfaces. Maybe collapse only to 80-90%, then let it drive forward and complete the remaining collapse action.

[@True_Videos.]

My respect for this guy has doubled.

[@Iamagfq]

7:52 I thought it was small but it's big