You can buy all sorts of RC cars off the shelf, but doing so won’t teach you a whole lot. Alternatively, you could follow [TRDB]’s example, and design your own from scratch.
The Lizard, as it is known, is a fun little RC car. It’s got a vaguely Formula 1-inspired aesthetic, and looks fetching with the aid of two-tone 3D printed parts. It’s designed for speed and handling, with a rear-wheel-drive layout and sprung suspension at all four corners to soak up the bumps. The majority of the vehicle is 3D printed in PETG, including the body and the gearbox and differential. However, some suspension components are made in TPU for greater flexibility and resistance to impact. [TRDB] specified commercial off-the-shelf wheels to provide good grip that couldn’t easily be achieved with 3D-printed tires. An ESP32 is responsible for receiving commands from [TRDB’s] custom RC controller running the same microcontroller. It sends commands to the speed controller that runs the Lizard’s brushed DC motor from a 3S lithium-polymer battery.
The final product looks sleek and handles well. It also achieved a GPS-verified top speed of 48 km/h as per [TRDB’s] testing. We’ve seen some other great DIY RC cars over the years, too, like this example that focuses on performance fundamentals. Video after the break.
Nice design. I wonder if the builder is aware of the OpenRC project, which encompasses many builds similar to this:
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=OpenRC
I have a brick wall that disagrees about the indestructible comment
Speed is largely just a function of the electronic components you choose to put in it and how big a space you have to drive where you’re not going to explode a pedestrian’s ankle.
Anyway, I don’t think anyone’s positing that this is some record-breaking car. As with most 3D printed anything, the point of it is the self-sufficiency and the accomplishment of doing it yourself. It’s not really about driving the car, it’s about having gone through the whole design process and being able to continue to modify it and experiment.
after market suspension arms, diffs ,oil shocks . A brushless motor and esc . And ya got a winner
Not to step on your toes, but that is not really the goal of a 3d printed rc car predilecto. The idea is to have fun with 3d printing and maybe learn something about printing orientation toughness of materials while getting a fun little experience. Also before you say I have no clue, I enjoy rc drifting Wiz a reveD rdx chassis, so I do very much understand the limitations of such a 3d printed car.
Options for a brushless motor and using an existing RC control (some folks prefer the wheel-type controllers) might be nice.