Oh fancy seeing you here! I don't mind me, this is just my tank and this is my 100th video. If you want a high-end robotics platform that is easy to expand, it does not get better than goBILDA. Hey gang, Tim here at Core Electronics and in front of me right now is the goBILDA Outlaw Chassis Kit. This guide will go in depth with the build experience of this kit. I'm going to share the lessons learned during assembly so that your build experience is going to be as streamlined as possible and at the end, we're going to expand on the base chassis to create the ultimate robotics platform all driven by a Raspberry Pi.

Go Builder is a complete built system designed for makers, students, and Educators. From curated kits, many structural aluminum components to control electronics for radio control to Big servos and Motors as well, everything is metric, lightweight, and easily interconnectable thanks to the goBILDA pattern found on almost every single aluminum part. This allows for an endless amount of configurations. The rigidness and ruggedness of aluminum components can now be added to your projects without the need of a furnished machine shop. With one foot firmly in the land of industry and the other firmly in the land of the maker, the opportunity to create phenomenal, long-lasting, and impactful projects has never been easier with Go Builder.

Now there are heaps of other goBILDA kits to explore. This tracked vehicle is only one of the available options, but the lessons that we learn here are applicable for the other ones. First step is to arrange everything that comes with this goBILDA kit and lay it out on the table before me. I've had a little bit of a sticky beak beforehand, but I assure you when I got this all the parts were suitably wrapped. This whole bag full of fasteners. components in a way that would make it easier to keep track of them

We got out four yellow goBILDA Motors and we've got a number of tracked components. In front of me is everything that comes with the goBILDA Outlaw Chassis Kit and I'm going to assemble it exactly to the spec in front of you plus I'm going to provide a little commentary when needed as I go along. I have my coffee so wish me luck! Most importantly, I have the instruction manual which comes with these Allen keys, but don't be afraid to use your own tools. So let's get this kit together.

Step one is to assemble the tensioner kits. These track tensioners are made from Ace tile, commonly known as delron, which is a very rugged engineering grade plastic. All aluminum components are fabricated from 7005 T6 alloy, which often finds itself used in bike frames. Note here that the supplied bearings only come in two different types for this kit; the only difference between the bearings are the internal diameters. All the supplied bearings have a flange on one side, so know that there is always a correct orientation that they should be installed in.

Once you have done that, step two is to assemble the sprockets and connect them to the tensioners. Let me state here that the instructions are great and a quick speed read before assembly is going to be highly advantageous. Doing so will let you know beforehand that both tracked sides of this kit are mirror images of each other. If you follow the instructions to a T, then it will require you to go back and repeat assembly instructions again to produce the other mirrored track pod. Having a good understanding of the process beforehand will make it possible to share the building process more fairly amongst a team or approach assembly with better strategies. For instance, if I had known beforehand, I would have assembled both sides simultaneously, naturally organizing components in a way that would make it easier to keep track of them.

Components before the build based on when you're going to require them is going to help the build go faster and better. Step 3 we will assemble the hardware to the left track U channel. Knowing that you can use the many holes in this component to thread the Allen key through to easily gain access to the bolts for tightening makes the build with these two provided Allen Keys significantly easier. If you're watching closely, you can see the moment I realize this and here comes the 300 RPM 12 volt go Builder Yellow Jacket Motors. As you can see, they perfectly screw into place on the U channel. When tightening these bolts, do so in stages and fully screw them down in a diagonal pattern to best share the tension when under operation. These motors will be the source of a lot of vibrations, so do take the time to ensure all the bolts are properly tight. I highly recommend using Loctite for these bolts.

Here and now at step four, this is where we will attach the pinion gears to our Yellow Jacket Motors. Start by pushing the two pinion gears as deep as possible down onto the motor shaft and loosely locking them into place with the locking screw. Step 5 is the build process for the belt drive assembly. I tighten the locking screws on the belt pulley but not on the main gear. This is going to look like a spinning top once you're done. Now at step six, we feed the drive assembly into place with the tooth belt drive. As well, you're going to see right now why we pushed those pinion gears all the way down. If we hadn't, there would be no wiggle room to get everything seated correctly. Also make sure to face the bearings the right way once the Rex axle is in the correct location. What prevents it from falling out is the main gear locked into place, so push it all the way up the axle and screw. possible so that the tracks are even and the tank moves straight

Step 7 requires us to assemble the sprocket hubs to the timing belt. These Rex axles do not require the sir clip. Make sure to use the right size spaces in the right locations. With the provided tools, I found it impossible to add the two tiny fastening screws for the sprocket hub belt leak as the drive belt gets in the way. The instructions don't require this and so far it has not impacted the performance. The belt fully does not tend to wander.

Next is Step 8 and we are adding the modeler to the system. Idlers can be added or moved in order to tune the handling of your tank. Idler has stopped the tracks from deflecting at the point they are installed, creating lift when traversing objects. So at this point in the build, we have to build the mirror opposite of this. And thanks to the magic of TV, here it is. So we now have the two sides of our goBILDA Outlaw kit built. Now we just need to put the two sides together. Let's get back on in Step 10 and we are getting close to completion. The goal here is to join the left and right tracked pods. I found a little disassembly of the Quad block mount let me get at the screws significantly easier. You are provided with extra bolts, washers, and fastening hardware, so it is not an issue if some go missing during assembly. And there's our main body all assembled.

All we have left to do is put on the tank tracks, so let's get right to it. There's some tricks here that I might as well inform you at this point. When you're tightening these, you want them to be the same tightness as possible so that the tracks are even and the tank moves straight. Down to lock it into place, then mesh the two pinion gears so that they are perfectly in line. This will let the power transfer through as efficiently as possible. You may find yourself tugging at the pulley to rotate the motors just a touch to enable the gears to line up and mesh.

The rest of them are too tight, so just ease back on it for freedom with low friction like the other ones. Perfect, and then you'll be good to go. Another tip to do with putting it onto here is because there's some pre-tensioning going on right here. This part actually has the capability of squishing just a little bit and it's going to squish by a couple of millimetres when we put this onto it. That makes it a bit hard to assemble unless you do my trick. You're gonna make sure that the go Builder pattern is the same way. That's looking good, it's right here. You just have to squeeze it while also trying to push it and it's just a bit too much.

If you assemble it like so and then roll forward, we'll get actual aluminum take that slack and now it's an absolute breeze to connect these two parts together instead of trying to hold it together and force it. And that's it, that's the end of the instruction manual. We have our go Builder Outlaw kit completely built and this is the first time I've ever made a tank so I'm actually really excited. Look how cool it is! We now have complete mechanical build and it's time to drive these motors.

When it comes to electronic control, know that go Builder does have a fully fleshed out RC control ecosystem. We could use that hardware to create a really cool RC vehicle right here right now. However, with such a phenomenal build material, I just had to provide it with an equally phenomenal brain to control it. So, I'm going to upgrade my chassis with a Raspberry Pi control system. And here's what I did.

As you can see, we have a Raspberry Pi model B as the heart of the electronic stack with a pololu motor on HAT and a Pimoroni pan tilt HAT stacked on top. Plus, for good measure, we packed in some AI smarts thanks to the OPI light spatial AI camera attached.

Today, we have properly taken our robotics platform to the next level. We covered how to use all of these parts in previous guides. I mounted everything using our PiicoDev mount for Raspberry Pi and Go Builder. We have also strapped a large Romoss USB power bank and a 12 volt rechargeable battery to our robot to ensure that it has enough current to properly rip zip ties. I would love to properly 3D print a proper waterproof hole for all of our electronics here.

I whipped up a fast Python script to run on boot based on my previous DC motor control guide which will let us drive our goBILDA kit with an 8-bit Do Pro Plus controller. Keep in mind this is the slow setting, it goes a lot faster. Oh boy does it freak!

Today, I'm just ecstatic that there's a new fully operational tracked robot in this big world and it's all thanks to goBILDA and Raspberry Pi. With the amount of freedom and jaw-dropping features that goBILDA offers, there is truly no other robotics platform that can compare. So with all of this, until next week, stay code!