FlexCar (Transformed from Flexbot Series)

thingiverse

I spent a lot of time playing with Flexbot, it's a 3D printed copter kit that I assembled together and had a great time flying every day using my cellphone. But then I started thinking about what else I could do with Flexbot. Can I play it the other way around? Since I have a 3D printer and Flexbot, I came up with an idea to turn Flexbot into something new that's fun as well as cool. The electronic part of Flexbot is based on Arduino and it's open source, which means many potential uses can be applied to the PCBA board. But since Flexbot is a flying application, how about building something that can move on the ground? That's when I had the idea of making a four-wheel racing car out of Flexbot Quadcopter. The quadcopter can fly in different directions by adjusting the spinning speed of its four propellers. Similarly, my car can turn left or right by adjusting the speed difference between each two wheels on opposite sides. But there are many specific details to consider when building this car. The gear set is needed to slow down the spinning speed of motors and increase torque. Also, the anode and cathode wires of the motor need to be exchanged to change the rotating direction of the wheels. Here's what I did: I removed the gear sets from the Flexbot copter, took off the propellers, and installed four wheels instead. Then, I designed a chassis that can contain all the parts: four gear sets, Flexbot PCBA, and battery. The chassis has several lines beneath it to strengthen the whole structure. Four self-tapping screws are needed to fix the four gear seats in place. And then, I got my FlexCar, all designed and DIY by myself. It works well, but there are also some problems that need improvement. Some of the problems I encountered include: The gear sets didn't work very well, so the speed was quite fast and it was hard to control the car. This part needs further improvements. Also, the gear sets were a bit fragile, so they can easily bend if there's a crash. The axises should be stronger or have a certain shock absorption design. This is just a test version, maybe we'll call it FlexCar Beta : ). I will keep on working on it to make it better looking and structurally sound. If you like what we're doing, find us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/flexlabshare Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hexairbot/?ref=bookmarks Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/DesignMakeShare/ Website: http://flexlab.cc/ Flexbot is an open hardware based on Arduino, so we're also on GitHub: https://github.com/HexAirbot And we're on GrabCAD too: https://grabcad.com/flexlab.team-1 Print Settings: Printer Brand: Up! Printer Model: Up Plus2 Rafts: Yes Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.2 Infill: Solid