Project Description: This individual project was part of a CAD-focused course colloquially called Toy Design, which I took in Fall 2022. We were tasked with designing and building toy cars around provided COTS motors and electronics to perform in a race and a BattleBots/sumo-like competition.
Software Used: PTC Creo, Arduino (programming)
Big Wins: I am very proud of my design here. I had a visually striking design based on my decision to drive the wheels using a gear ratio to increase top speed, which no one else in my section did. I had a lightweight, skeletal design that still printed with no supports due to good design-for-AM planning and understanding, which protected the electronics and allowed for clean wiring, while also being the sturdiest car there. I decided to use TPU for the tires on the project, which was my first time with it, and it impressed me with how much flexibility and softness could be tweaked by iterating on design parameters such as infill.
Challenges: While my car was the fastest in a straight line, the driving was limited by latency for the web-interface-based remote controlling we were instructed to use. The car was next to impossible to control due to turning so rapidly that stopping in the right direction was almost random. When it came to the course races, I only took second or third due to these issues. I also didn’t do great in the sumo event due to lack of traction and torque, given my choice to gear the car for speed.
Key Takeaways: TPU is a wonder-material with many applications. Try and be conscious of external factors that may limit optimal performance (control latency, in this case)
Here’s my assembled car. Unfortunately, I don’t have any videos of it zipping around 🙁
Here’s a view from the other side
And here’s the CAD render of the car