Designing a Real Level One Sentry from TF2 

If you like videos like this, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/mr_volt Really excited people like more CAD videos, since I enjoy making them. Here's a quick Q&A for your top questions: Will the files be available for download? Yes, I'll include a complete STEP file and a bill of materials with the build video. It's not a tutorial, but everything will be free (to download, parts cost is approx. $400 USD) What is this modeled in? Everything is modeled and animated in Fusion 360. Why servos for (X) mechanism? Servos are cheap and easy to source. I like to build things that are more approachable and if I use exotic/custom parts, then fewer people can replicate it. This also keeps costs and wiring complexity down since everything's designed to run off of a 2S LiPo. I like the simplicity of that.

Real question now, is do you keep it realistic firing wise or do we go the aperture route, using the whole bullet for 65% more bullet, per bullet?

What would be cool is if it detects the colour of the clothing someone is wearing and shoots at them if they wear the enemy team colour

I just found this channel and love what I am now calling “bullying valves understanding of mechanical engineering” - the series

This looks so much more advanced and sensible than WETA workshop's own version. Outstanding job!

I think you could have managed to get the horizontal turning action on the top hinge without compromising the hinge design at all. Using flywheels and gyroscopic procession, you may be able to get it to rotate by placing said wheel in the round housing of the head assembly. This would likely be even more expensive, wildly complex, incredibly unnecessary, and may not even be possible with your launching mechanism and barrel action assembly, but I thought it was a cool idea.

Dude, you are seriously underrated. All your projects are amazing, and you manage to explain everything in a way that makes sense. I love this video, nice job!

this is wild. in 16 years of tf2 the closest we’ve got to a real sentry is the one in the valve office and other fanmade projects, but this is the best one. i honestly haven’t played tf2 in a hot minute but i was a proud engineer main and admire your work. keep it up, man. you’re doing great.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM AN ENGINEER WHO HAS 11 PHDS! OF COURSE IT'S COMPLEX!

After doing FTC there is a frequency bias in spotting GoBilda components. Spotting them in your build was fun

This already looks like such great build. Can't wait to see it all come together! And, don't think I don't spot that wrangler in the background at the end you sneak!

love this guy, barely even had an intro just got straight into the video like a chad

He's gotta make the wrangler work like in the game too. I imagine that he could paint the target with an infrared laser pointer (or automatic garage safety laser) in the wrangler, and the gun will detect and aim at the invisible dot with an infrared sensor.

"The sentry is perfect, well, except for all of the flaws" You could say that for literally anything

Dude, CAD guy here. I am seriously impressed at how well presented this video is! I've only been at my job for two years, and I would consider making a model and animation like this to be a major project. How long have you been doing this to make everything seem so easy?

absolutely incredible job. I cannot wait for the next part. you should try making tf2 nerf guns. I've only seen one made.

This seems like an amazing project! I really hope this is going to fire Worker Gen 3+ half length foam darts (yes they are in a sense off brand Nerf darts, but they are so much better and higher quality)

Barrel recoil makes sense as a solenoid, i feel.

I'm so deeply disappointed that you didn't just make a full, uninterrupted video for this thing.

Great choice for a new project! Great VO work and editing as always dude, you're making great strides and I'm here for it!

Incredibly cool project, as always. And the wrangler in the background at the end there, oh man. I can only guess what awesomeness you will present us with next time.

Amazing build as always. Great job putting in strength where needed.

Dude I just found your channel., you literally build all the coolest things from my favorite games you have earned yourself a sub.

Awesome video, really detailed and well done production, I can feel you really like what you do

You earned my subscription! What an amazing build! The decisions made in the design were intuitive and effective. I'm looking forward to its assembly!

wake up guys Mr Volt built a new valve robot

thanks for showing this stuff, it really gives me a sense of how complex these kinds of projects can get

Brilliant project along with an amazing video!! Very inspiring, watching these videos become higher quality!

I do have an insterst in engineer, but all I can do is watch and nod as I try to grasp the complexity of the sentry in your video. Its great to see your channel and your work grow :D keep it up !!

really cool video! it's interesting to see how you work around the silly aesthetic to make something more functional. reminds me of that common pitfall in the early days of any field of science/engineering, where people try to mimic natural things and then gradually realize how impractical that is and modify the design. planes that flap their wings like birds, that sort of thing.

Such a hype for the next one!! I really love this videos, seeing videogame tech come to life is so exciting

I'm a software engineer and info sec person. Mechanical engineering is like black magic to me. Still, videos like these are like catnip for my brain.

Superb work, man! Looking forward to see the next episode!

First time seeing your channel, I really wasn’t expecting you to jump right into the thick of the video like you did. It was a present surprise compared to other similar videos that also focus on designing things! As an engineering student in college, I loved the video as it scratched the itch that I have for seeing things designed and constructed, even if just in CAD, I enjoyed the video!

I was coming into this video, thinking it would be a review of the design of the in-game model. And then you started describing a real-life design, and I absolutely love this.

This stuff is so cool. It's crazy to see you have over 100k subscribers with just 40 videos. You earned my sub

This is not only fantastically designed, but also fantastically presented! Great job 👏👏👏👏

I am very impressed at how much you said "JLCPCB" without messing up for that sponsorship. Also, as a TF2 fan, thank you for making this thing a reality.

DUDE! I was just thinking about you and thinking I hadnt seen an upload for a bit. I"M SO HAPPY!

this is a surprisingly good video. make more, yt needs more quality like this

Fun little fact: Valve actually made a replica of the level one sentry gun that was fully made of metal, it could look around and make shooting sounds. Granted, it looks like it’s on a metal base (Never mind, I checked the video and it didn’t), but I think it’s still cool. It’s a video on their channel!

Bro is the engineer

Man this guy is literally awesome.

the execution is SERIOUSLY impressive. it is seriously well plotter

Dude. This project is awesome!

I literally was thinking about your channel and turned on the notifications for it yesterday, then you upload!

Next video: The Surprisingly Complex Design of a TF2 Titan

Barrel recoil makes sense as a solenoid, i feel.. Amazing build as always. Great job putting in strength where needed..

i love these videos, they are so fun to watch! keep up the good work!

Hey dude I’ve been watching your videos since your first couple uploads and I must commend you on your much better editing / video flow. Great to see

This is really amazing! I would love to buy one of these!!

Cool video can’t wait to see the finished product

I don’t know anything about engineering but this is fucking awesome and you manages to get me really invested

It's insane to me how much detail is packed into the models for the sentry guns.

The fact that the Engineer can assemble this with only a few whacks of his hammer shows his prowess with engineering. Truly marevelous work

god this gives me flashbacks. i tried to make a sentry in high school CAD/Eng class. i made some parts of it but quickly ran into so many things it surprised me. i orignally wanted to print it so it could fold up like it did in game and i did print some of the parts. they're long gone now tho.

Found you today, going to binge your entire channel because this... is beautiful work.

As a 16 year old trying to self-learn 3dmodeling and engineering, i would love to know if this program you used to model the design is fusion 360 or some other program. The work you do is insane! I couldnt imagine even modeling a single screw of this terrific turret!

when I saw this pop up on my recommended field, I had no idea it was going to be about a custom build, I thought it was just going to be about the in-game model.

So excited to see this finished man!

This is incredibly well done, bravo!

it's early in the morning, i'm having breakfast while watching how to make a lvl1 turret from tf2 IRL, idk why but i feel like today's gonna be a great day

Made my own lvl 1 sentry with my cad for my printer as well. Had the same issues with the feet and I'm kinda bummed I didn't use the slots like you did! Mine was tiny though and I made almost all the joints felxable (which makes it floppy!!) including the turret itself sliding into the head. What you have done is beautiful, the steel and electronics make it mint.

seriously underrated channel, you could be a big as hacksmith industries

Been thinking about this myself!

Amazing job as usual!

damn i was already a simp for ur stuff before but now i dont know what to call myself, this is beautiful

Usually all I have to do is hit my toolbox with my comically large wrench. 😅

Impressive! Great work

that was amazinggg!!

instant subscription that was comprehensive

Now to make an Aperture Science turret

I expected just an educational video about the complex design of the sentry, but instead I got an amazing video about an actual sentry!

just found your channel and you to amazing projects, really great work! would also love to know how you're doing these animations as well

Holy crap, you just rushed straight through the magnet in the ball foot like you didn't just blow my mind.

Will definitely watch part 2!

Im a simple person - I see CAD model, I click and watch video 😃 Jokes aside I like the way you've presented each section of the model, and explained what changes you made and why 💙

i didnt expect what i got clicking on this video, it was really informative and cool!

Ooh, that's sweet. Looking forward to the rest

The secondary arm under the drum of the turret could be a sort of complex spring-loaded linkage that lightens the load of the drum to allow for more precise quick aiming

Damn, this is exciting! Can't wait to the next video!

This is so unbelievably cool

subscribed, love this sorta content

“Spies sappin my sentry!”

I was like dayum, this guy puts so much work into this?? And then i saw ur face in the middle of the video, And i was like, riggggth this guy 💪💪💪 awesome work as always 🎩👌

The recoil on the barrel could also have been done with a motor and cam shaft type thing, then you could make it retract quicker than it resets (I feel like that would be more realistic?) based on the cam profile, and set rate of "fire" with motor speed

amazing. i designed a little sentry which turns and beeps, but i just put the axle of a stepper motor straight through the tilting bracket onto the base

this is really cool, I'm glad someone submitted the alternative title "Making a real life model of the TF2 Sentry (Part 1)" for this video to the DeArrow extension, otherwise with only the creator's original title (The Surprisingly Complex Design of a TF2 Sentry) I probably would have never clicked on this lol

My dad would love this tool for hunting squirrels and birds.

Nice video! You should make the level 2 and 3 sentries as well as the other engineer buildings next!

Man, this project makes me want to build a dispenser then laugh at a wall

Man, no intro. I was expecting a analysis of the in game sentry, then I quickly found out you were building one for real.

I have the feeling he knew what he was saying with “I have some balls of steel”

Do JLCPCB supprot laser cutting or only CNC? If they don't, where do you recommend laser cutting?

modeling and engineering skills aside from the animation in fusion here is godlike. better than just explosions, there's so much storytelling,

When an 11 min vid feels like 1 min and doesn’t go for long enough 😪 Makes you realise how dead the engineer would be if he had to assemble one in real time. “SENTRY GOING UP!…so, the M10 bolt goes through plate A and plate B …BANG” 💀

You GOTTA make it's bullets have 65% more bullet, per bullet just as the other guy said!! (This is a threat)

yes i love this shit, im thinking about going into cad as a career. and i played tf2 for like 6 years. please make more

My man is making Valve technology real

Fascinating