*FAQ: Such a huge project makes it impossible to cover everything in one video, so here's a bit more information about why we did things the way we did!* - The biggest challenge in this project was integrating and tuning our system, because big hydraulics, heavy frames, and tons of sensors have a lot of variability that needs to be checked. We used an open-source hexapod library to control how it walks, which has been used on much smaller hexarobots, and works great. Once the mechanical system is more reliable, it will be able to walk easily. - A lot of people asked why we didn't make a scale model, and the answer is quite simple. When you get to multi-ton mechs, scale models provide almost no benefit, because you can't build a scale model the same way you have to build a giant steel machine. A toy version using motors wouldn't teach us anything. And if we built a 1/4 or 1/2 scale version, the cost would almost be the same as the full-size megahex -- because all the components required cost approximately the same, small or large (valves, sensors, even hydraulic cylinders don't change -too- much in size). - This leads into another common fallacy when it comes to science fiction -- Movies like Transformers, or Pacific Rim... simply aren't possible. Doesn't matter how far technology advances, when you get to literal skyscraper sized robots... there's not any materials on earth strong enough to withstand the forces of such a big mech! Everyone's familiar with the common saying "The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall". And that really sums it up. Why is it you can drop a cat from a few stories up and it's fine, but it's certain death for humans? Because force multiplies with mass. - Why flat feet? We had planned on designing different feet attachments for it (you can see the holes in the plates for mounting), but for the base foot, we went with a large flat foot with rubber pads on the bottom, as the initial goal is just walking on flat ground. Having a big flat foot helps ensure the foot remains parallel to the frame, and the leg perpendicular to the ground. A pointy or rounded foot would increase the risk of the robot "twisting it's ankle" which is the weakest link in the excavators. They aren't designed for angular forces. - Why didn't we do more FEA calculations? FEA calculations are great, but sometimes are just theoretical for best-case scenarios. For the excavators, we didn't design or manufacture them, which makes them an unknown variable that makes it really hard to calculate things for! - Are we going to revisit it? *yes* but it might be a while. We want at the very minimum for it to be able to stand up on display, and walk one leg at a time (the slowest, but most stable hexapod gait)

That's really cool. I'm glad you guys stuck with it, I'm sure it was really hard. And thanks for the FAQ!

Ty for faq

I’m not 100% sold on the idea that larger ‘mechs are “impossible” due to the force multiplication of their immense weight. It’s really a matter of current materials research not being on par with the physical requirements of such a colossal machine. That being said, even IF we had the materials and technology to build such machines, you’re still putting up a MASSIVE target in a combat environment with significant stability challenges. And then firing massive weapons from said platform. It’s just downright infeasible in any theoretical combat environment we’ve ever devised.

How are you guys doing? Dont forgot to take care of you both your mentle and physicale health guy good luck and thank for your hard work

ty for the FAQ and this project was ABSOLUTELY *INSANE*

Holy cow. What an awesome jobs guys! That was amazing. I’m becoming a Patron right now to support these bigger projects. Annnnd I have to admit it makes me feel so lucky that I only have to record my screen in my videos and there’s minimal costs to start projects. That budget had to have been wild. Even better reason to support. EDIT: Just noticed they consolidated mainly to YT memberships over Patreon. So I’m becoming a member!

Awesome! Thank you!

@@theHacksmith hey hack smith I’m a big fan of your work I can’t become a patron but I will watch you guys vid

@@theHacksmith hi hacksmith I am enjoying your YouTube channel video

Patrol paw paw needed check this system DBL.

Our society needs engineers like this

@@calvindejong6060 I disagree but ok

How much money do yo have?!??

@@calvindejong6060 a false sense of what with technology?

@@calvindejong6060 how is this a bad thing

Not really. Pretty disappointing. This thing is just wobbling around. Absolutely useless.

The patience, ingenuity, and problem solving involving is nothing short of inspiring.

This video makes me imagine what would happen if Hacksmith, Flitetest, BPS Space, and Xyla Foxlin were to join forces to make extremely cool stuff.

And Collin Furze

+ Mark Rober

And Elon Musk

And styro pyro

this type of machine has no useful function. So what's the point?

Love your videos and I love seeing you guys make things that can seem impossible, but be able to make them possible. One failed project can still lead to a successful project later down the line.

Bro no replies or no heart, lemme fix the reply part

The world needs more engineers like you, you serve as an example for young people in this society.

Don't typically do donations like this. I just wanna say thank for taking on this ride.

Bro this comment is so underrated, you gave $100 only for 2 likes!

I feel like they bot comments

It's looks like money! It's smells like money! It's tastes like money! It's MONEY!

@@FarmingJD-MF it’s only a hundred bucks. Bros acting like he’s rich.

@@crankysuits886 only a hundred bucks ?? Dude get some concept of money that’s couple of weeks food

This project maybe in your eyes was a fail, but if you look at the bigger picture, it was definitely a success. You guys laid a foundation for innovation and inspired so many people to continue improving on this. Thank you for the courage and determination to pursue this project and ultimately bring it to life. You guys are amazing!

This video proves that Mechs aren't impossible to make but that it is possible but a way needs to be discovered, my guess is they need to make the frames stronger on the hydraulics or maybe use industrial strength frames.

I don’t see it as a failure. Everyone working on this project learned something, millions entertained/inspired, the video itself has about 10M views, so that probably helped them recuperate some of the financial loss. They didn't succeed in the sense that they got a 100% working mech, but they succeded in other ways

They could try something like the Just Cause mechs to where they have individual legs but all use their own wheels

Thank you for the awesome ride! Wow! Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

This is just so incredibly complex... I can't believe what a smart and talented group you guys are! You need to work for NASA!!

This was truly amazing to behold it may not be working constantly but it works! It’s a proof of concept & I absolutely love seeing the process & constant trail & error, just goes to show what it takes to make things work! Thank you guys for doing awesome things hopefully one day I’m more financially stable to support y’all!

you guys are incredible for even attempting this and genuienly blown away at the insane amount of work! you guys should be proud!

It's insane how you can build something like this. Major props to everyone at Hacksmith Industries :)

Wait how was this comment 2 days ago? This upload was 6 minutes ago🤯🤣

@@biginfluencer5252 members get videos a few days erlier

@@biginfluencer5252 Don't you see the membership logo beside the commenters name?

@@biginfluencer5252 Don't you see the membership logo beside the commentators name?

bro it almost choo choo charles

As a Canadian, I LOVE PRINCESS AUTO. They always have what I need at a reasonable price, glad to see they are sponsoring content creators!

And with this, we are one step closer to building a real life *Metal Gear.*

I don't comment on videos that often but I want to give this some more fuel in the algorithm to bump it up. Great videos and you all have grown so much and im so amazed at what "YouTubers" accomplish. 10/10 engineers.

This is incredibly brave to post, I love it! It was a success in many ways, and though it didn't get to the desired outcome, so much was accomplished that it is truly amazing! Can't wait to see what comes next!

Hugely inspirational, and an amazing amount of grit and effort to make the impossible possible. Its always interesting to watch this and see what different decisions on parts or configuration could be to improve outcomes, but really impressive the amount of engineering and troubleshooting. Thank you for sharing!!

This thing is INSANE

Agreed on that one.

Kyle, this means you need to upgrade the ones in your facility. Big ones like this are way cooler. Might help with whatever ... something ... they are doing at the moment.

Hi Kyle!!!!

now whats insane is the smith's haircut

no surprise that the worlds biggest super villain would be watching this and commenting for his own builds to take over the world with

True engineering requires great minds and patience, You guys got it all! This was inspirational

its a shame in the end that the project got scrapped but its still really cool that you guys made it work as long as it did and dedicated so much time and money to it. good job you guys!

This looks like it would be the most fun job in the world!! Great work guys!!

As a creator I struggle with a single failure let alone the sheer volume of failures that you faced while attempting this- and yet you kept going? All of you are beyond impressive, thank you for sharing.

that's a good video, usually we're all trying to skip the problems and go to the results, sometimes we brush over them and how we solved it. This is maybe the first video that really takes the time to explain what's the problem and really ends making it the main focus of the message. Really amazing to see.

I am studying Robotics and I am blown away by how far you were able to get with this thing. I was implementing a closed loop walking algorithm for Hexapod as part of my thesis and I know how hard it is in simulation let alone irl. You have my biggest respect. I hope people will see how much time and love is needed for things around us to work robustly. Thank you for what you are doing.

Money?

W

I could use some money as well for my robots I'm building an octipod

500 bones Pog

@@cameronrich2536 get that wendys job application

love the honesty and integrity shown throughout the video. Honestly it's awesome, and just the fact that you got all the engineering (software or otherwise) down to get it to even walk in the first place is nuts. It's a shame the joints weren't strong enough to deal with the load bearing, I would love to see another attempt in the future, working ground up where you could attack some of these core frame issues. But I also can't even begin to imagine how absurdly expensive this was, or how much more expensive another project would be. That being said, seeing things like this is why I'm a member in the first place, and I'm happy to see it going to the cause. Awesome work as always guys, keep it up!

Yo creo que deberían continuar, de eso se trata este tipo de cosas, proyectos que tienes que asumir que fallarás miles de veces pero cada paso que se da y vez como va evolucionando independiente de cuantas veces falle es un logro importante, hicieron más a ya de lo que se hizo en un comienzo y terminaron con el proyecto funcionando aunque fuera solo por un tiempo muy limitado, los ultimos errores presenciados son solo detalles, miren todo lo que han hecho, bajo mi punto de vista no le falta mucho, falta jugar más con la lógica, saludos desde Chile. Buen proyecto.

Lo que hicieron difícilmente sea solo ingeniería sino también arte! me encantó el proyecto, soy ingeniero mecánico y es hermoso ver como varias rama de la ingeniería se conectan, trabajan para un fin y los desafíos que se presentan al momento de resolver un problema. Ánimo a continuar con su trabajo y recuerden que si en camino aprendiste algo, no es un fracaso. Saludos y éxitos 🦾

Not sure if this will change anything, but a stronger alloy of steel for the frame *might* have been all it needed. Here's a project idea that could be pretty cool; building a one-man, drivable tank similar to the one that the guy over at Meanwhile in the Garage built for his son, only yours could be able to withstand some pistol or even rifle fire. Just some food for thought.

someday these guys are going to build their own metal gear

This is the best robotics/mechanics video I may have EVER seen. Congrats and thank you for this. I've dreamed about these sort of things for 35 years.

this is insane , congrats guys, you have a lot to be proud of. it would be cool if you guys did maybe a simpler sturdier mech and teamed up with a designer for a very cool functional body kit!

Realmente esto fue inspirador chicos, muchas gracias

There were no great inventions that has no trials and errors. Patience and dedication is one of the core principle that boost up our engines. Keep up the Greatest projects that will soon help the humanity's motivations and imaginations. Always subscribing you guys.

this is literally the best channel ever. You are ushering in a sci-fi era with lightsabers and mech spiders bro.

we already done ride on mechanical spider and lightsabers back in 2017

The sheer amount of dedication, resilience, and tenacity this took was remarkable. It's always painful when the idea in your head takes longer than anticipated. But have to say, the result is one of a kind. Your team pretty much did the impossible! I love the result, or at least the result that was temporary!

thank you! it was quite the journey

@@theHacksmith yes, it most certainly was. We put a piece of ourselves into every project, and the project leaves of little piece of itself, in our hearts. Even on unsuccessful projects. Basically, I’m sure your team learned so much from this- and you’ll walk away with an even broader knowledge base that will only benefit you going forward. Keep it up all. We should chat plasma thrust some time.

@@Blutankalpha the waffle house has found it's new host

I would leave a like, but I like the nice even 700

It looks like the feet need more grip maybe some spikes on the bottom of the feet would help and probably rounding the edges of the feet as to minimise the chance of the feet to get caught just some ideas to help so keep up the great work you guys are doing

I also like how you guys controlled it like senator Armstrong controlling the metal gear he had

Eu admiro a sua persistência irmão, continue assim que você chegará longe ❤️🔥

What I admire about you guys is you have the right mindset. You don't let ego get in the way and know when to let go instead of keep piling more money, time, resources to it when you can allocate all this to different project. You did awesome job, with strong determination, you reached the goal and you let it go to move to other things. Not a lot of people have that mindset and let their ego get in the way to bankrupt them. Respect!

this is just incredible work, you guys are awesome!

Incredibly impressive! I wish i had the means to donate, but I hope to in the future. Folks like you bring applicable innovation to the public when so much is hoarded for the military only. I love all your content! Keep your chin up! I enjoyed this thoroughly and look forward to more great projects. Long live Hacksmith!

I'm so here for projects like this. Seeing the engineering work, the pride when it was working, the enthusiasm and effort. Yes, it was expensive, and I'm hoping beyond hope that, in the balance, it doesn't leave you in the red.

Money

*sniff sniff* moneeeeeeee

Hey!

hmm

@@lionspride9763 I said that same thing lol

You say you shouldn't have taken this on, but I think its safe to say that most everyone loves this project. This is the sort of dream big project this channel excels at and I can see how close this got. I just hope you will keep revisiting mechs with legs in the future.

Everything the failures in this video makes you guys greater, keep it up🔥❤

I'm interested in the numbers. Would be interesting to see a break down of the costs

You must have learnt so much, if it had an end purpose to serve i. e. Climb up, climb down, steep or uneven terrains, chop, saw and dig... you would be able to get this project of the ground and get funding. You guys are immensely knowledgeable, and some of the potentially greatest achievements often hide within our biggest failures

Y'all are GOATED for this. Inspiring both current and future engineers all around the world!!!

As an engineering student myself it was really awesome seeing you guys highlight not just the successes, but the learning opportunities too! I loved having Bogdan walk us through the thought process and emotions at each step, as it gives us a very valuable insight into what truly goes into these videos. Personally this is probably my favourite video you guys have done, kudos to everyone involved! I hope you do more of these mini documentary-style videos instead of the flashier reaction-based videos, so long as they're fun for you guys to produce as well :-) Small side note, seeing you guys just dragging it back and forth on the concrete like that made me laugh as much as it made me grimace 😂

Even the biggest failures can be a road to success

how are you donating $50 as an engineering student I literally have like $20 rn 😂😂

@@beans726 I donated my last 3 years worth of savings for this, I *really* liked the video 😂

$50 dang

Very well said! I agree, 100%

That's the kind of content I always dreamed to watch. Thank you guys.

I think a huge upgrade would be modifying the feet to have some kind of flexibility so it can maintain a solid connection with the ground and not come down at an angle. obviously this would create a potential point of failure since it has to hold a lot of weight but I feel like it could be solved.

Adding cables to the legs would help it to move them easier. Also you could use cameras to map the ground as it moves and code it so the robot can calculate where the legs need to go. Great project though, very interesting to think about improvements.

Felicitaciones xq an sido sinceros en su vídeo mientras tengan el apoyo del los miembros no tienen xq preocuparse, muchos pasamos por momentos así en los proyectos siempre buscando mejorar en cada prueba en lo personal también e pasado x esos episodios y eso q solo hago mini proyectos... Mis felicitaciones por ustedes saludosss

This and your Bucky arm design has inspired me to start studying robotics and biotech to try to create some amazing things thank you

You guys are really doing what nobody else could conceive of accomplishing. The existence of this channel is a huge inspiration for people wanting to get into engineering!

Put some more armor make it more stronger put a tank turret then bamm

Hex pod walkers have been around since the 80's

Repent and believe in Jesus Christ bot

@@deepdoop7271 ye I mean I'm christian but still it gets annoying

Except there's a guy called Matt Denton that goes on tour with the rideable hexapod that he made over a decade ago. So this isn't exactly unheard of. It's just a rehash of someone else's work.

Y’all every progress that any company makes on mech projects the information learned is extremely valuable and the more these types of projects get worked on the more the future is made to become a reality

Imagine what these guys could do with military backing and budgets lol

True. But to be fair, mechs with legs are highly inefficient in terms of resources and energy which is why they still use tanks as the main ground unit. I still think mechs with legs could be better than tanks if they were actually more power and cost efficient

It's really stunning the power of creativity and determination combined - good job guys!

I love that you guys include links to everything. My toxic trait is thinking i could buy all the tools and just "figure it out" lol

Its so cool to see things like this attempted. Maybe cheaper and more efficient to leave mechs in video games though lol

The fact that this started out as 6 excavators is absolutely mind blowing. I have no words for how cool this is!

perhaps in the future hydraulics will be powerful enough to have full on Metal gear solid esc. mechs/Jak II Blast bots/Gundams…but for now it’s not meant to be ; ( Great effort though! you guys made a definite advancement in robotics right there!

@@user-jf4lt4uk7u There are actually some hydraulics that can support things like the hexapod mech very well but they are EXTREMELY expensive and needing to get six of them will cost more than what its worth

@@aru-YT i guess if they'd like to they could start a sinking fund for it? so we might get a actual walker ?

That video is amazing ! You could change the design, to build a more solid mechanichal structure. Based on the operating principle of a scara robot. So the heavyest parts will move horicontally, with less power need. It stands on vertical hydaulic cylinders, that moves the feeds up and down. For the horicontal parts oft legs, also 3 hydraulic cylinders can be used. Futhermore you should consider that you have a bizar und stiff mechanics. That makes you short but destructive force peaks. You should integrate some springs or elastic elements to avoid destruction on hard collision.

This video was truly outstanding as fuck! I learned stuff and I have an expensive degree because I supposedly know how living things work. lol It's much more complicated than any of us thinks, I think. You earned yourself a new subscriber though. Cheers, guys, and I look forward to seeing all the other cool shit you build!

I mean with everything you did .. you paved the way to future engineers thay want to try out another version of what you guys did.. i hope you guys keep all the notes.. becouse that knowledge is gonna be worth millions

Y'all are the future, I respect everything that you all do.

Crazy project, hope y'all keep sending stuff like this. It's cool that y'all tried to make this thing work through all the trials and tribulations.

This thing is insane, don't know how you kept this a secret for a year and a bit

They were some hints, you could see it in the back of the powerloader video

Also in the video about James depression and up coming changes.

That was awesome. Even though it was not a sustainable build, it was definitely a learning experience, and a braggable experience for sure. This is totally something you would find on Star Wars, right along with all of the other gaiting transports like the AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) of Empire Strikes Back, AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) from Return of the Jedi, the AT-TE (All Terrain Tactical Enforcer) from Attack of the Clones. Just a thought: what if you built a smaller scale version, like a 1:6 scale model? I mean, a concept like this, even if it doesn't go full scale, could be a great effect for a great movie prop.

These guys could literally form their own army with a fleet of custom designed future vehicles

It’s a shame it failed, but it was awesome before it did! If you guys had a much higher budget, I’m sure this would’ve succeeded!

This is a HARD CORE engineering. Good job !

Anyone remember Wild Wild West, reminds me a smaller cousin to the Spider lol well with less pulleys the like. But completely awesome to see this come to fruition! Been following your channel a long time, keep it up guys!

The level of ambition and ingenuity is off the charts on this one boys. You successfully made a Giant freakin' walking spider-mech prototype! It's mega frustrating when budget and labour constraints inhibit a passion project like this, but your team must have gained a ton of valuable data on things to avoid in the future.

It's the definition of grit. When you get kicked down, and you keep on going. Over and over. Absolutely incredible

You know when i was thinking of a spider mech, i was thinking about using models of actual spiders or perhaps a crab . When i saw the feet , i thought it had too much flatness when all spider like creatures use a ball like surface point for their legs. But im glad you guys took the time to attempt this.

Definitely put some wheels on it. It increases complexity, but I've seen small spider bots with wheels to increase movement speed. Could also put wheels on the bottom of the platform to cushions the platforms fall.

You guys did an amazing job👏👏👏👏 my only suggestion is please use angle joints in between the leg and the footplates. It will help to reduce the damage on footplates while lowering and raising the body. Also, it will bring more ground contact to the footplates.

Me encanta este esfuerzo, soy algo así cuando planeo un proyecto, rendirme ya es la última opción, obviamente gastado y todo, siempre pienso en hacer más proyectos, muchas gracias por darnos este placer.

Just by watching the video and seeing how it works, there are a few changes I would have made. The first is the transportation - by dragging the legs, it would have added more stress to the frame than was needed. If the femur was raised vertical and the other segments folded in, then it could have been rolled out much easier. The second thing is the feet. Rather than have them digging into the ground like that, I would have allowed them to articulate / rotate using heavy duty springs (Side effect would have been added stability). The final thing would have been to watch high FPS videos and motion capture data for spiders moving and use that mocap data to "animate" the walking.

Thanks for pushing boundaries and keeping the inner child alive. Love you guys and keep going!

this has to be a reference bro 😭😭😭

Inner child.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Red sun over paradise

@@dinglebord golden rays of the glorious sunshine

This channel brings me so much joy. I'd love to have skill like this

Great project a few things that stand out to me that would make this easier/more successful, while expensive, solenoid controlled proportional hydraulics would be much more suited to fine control. Small excavator hydraulics like that have very basic/jerky hydraulics. Also, one larger motor and pump would probably be simpler. I loved the fact that it went rogue and decided to kill the trailer! 🤣

Damn, I was going to ask you to the Dragon Fly ship from Dune. A titanium steel frame covered in a carbon fiber or resin mesh would be a good starting point for the project, this would keep the weight requirements down so that the ship could actually fly.

My God. Just seeing the process makes me frustrated! Trying to imagine the level of passion and patience these guys have. Salute!

This project was amazing, if you manage to make something similar in the future, i think it wont be long until you make some walker from star wars. I believe in you guys

The level of endurance you guys have for these big projects, and the sheer amount of programming and engineering is amazing to see! Too bad this didn’t work out, but I can’t wait to see what you all having coming up next!

It's looks like money! It's smells like money! It's tastes like money! It's is MONEY!

esse projeto foi simplesmente incrível

Very inspirational and motivational. Thanks alot guys!

You don't have to give up, eventually you can find a way. New materials, a new design with what you have learned in the process, maybe a bit more light materials for the legs and a sturdier frame you have lots of possibilities and potential.

awesome.. always dreaming being people like you guys, doing things like this..!!

I would love the see a next gen version of this, how ever man years in the future that is.

Mechs on a large scale like this are insanely impressive.

And impressively insane. Heck yeah!

Even if their project fails now, it will be a great guide for someone in the future.

It would be awesome to see a bigger scale project like this that’s stronger with more advanced programming. Better dynamics along with better sensors like knowing when a foot is actually touching the ground.

cutting the scale in half while maintaining all of the torque improvements would go a long way towards improving tensile strength.

These guys are going to take over the world soon I swear

My dream is to one day have one if these monsters. I legit want to have a spider walker Edit: it would be cool if next time you take us through the process before you finished. So if along the way you think on quitting you have the community to back you up. Id also love to see pitfalls and solutions and see when its time to drop out.

you probably should've made the feet rotate freely on at least one axis so that it adapts to te orientation of the leg compared to the ground. an optimal version of this would be a sphere mount so the feet can rotate in all directions around the sphere.

I am genuinely so proud of Bogdan in being able to sit here and walk us through his project knowing he has to give in in the end. It’s an extreme showing of his strength of character.

if you get anywhere close to that i think it would be an achievement for anyone. thats not giving up actually. its just stopping. time money etc. they actually taught they can do it easy hehe.

it very big and complex and you were ahead of time. But I want to say this is seriously crazy and well executed project. Once you redesign may be it will improve the design. I hope in the future you will get sponsor and time to make up this.

he tenido esa sensación en algunos proyectos de que arreglas una cosa y se descompone otra, muy frustrante pero no se compara con la alegría de verlo funcionar

Heyyooo new person here! If you ever return to this I have a few suggestions that may help! Maybe instead of the feet being steel plates use a sturdy thick rubber compound in the shape of a ball I think your walking and movements will be way smoother and it well help absorb a lot of the shock that inevitability destroyed your frame. But that was super freaking cool! And awesome to watch y’all!