Ikea electric train

thingiverse

Inspired by a few designs out there for electric trains using wooden tracks. I had an old rechargeable toothbrush with USB socket so decided to incorporate it into my design. This is a complete redraw of the train using Prodesktop 8 and Tinkercad. I decided to try to design with small drive wheels by using gears and one of the small dual axle electric motors from EBay. By cutting off the lugs on the motor case and removing the motor strap I was able to beef up the sidewalls a little and make the motor just click in with no screws but held by the single round plastic lug on the motor. To keep the motor in place I use a drop of superglue. The drive wheels have a small groove so you can superglue a small elastic band for increased friction. The motor gear is friction fit after a little work with a Swiss file but could be held on with a screw. Mine stays put. The front wheels have a cover which can be glued onto the shaft. I was impressed that the prints needed no support on my Xvico X3S enen with the 8 mm axles which I cut back on assembly but support and blockers could be added in Cura. I made the Engine top separately so it could be glued on after the Lipo circuit was placed inside with a slot for USB charging. I added a ball bearing weight to the front of the engine and it climbs bridges well. If a hitch is needed one could be printed and glued on later using the hitch1 and hitch2 files. Looking on Ebay one candidate for a rechargeable power unit is rechargeable bike lights £5 or so for 2 but you would have to add a switch and ignore the led circuit just using the Lipo recharge as a power source. I have included an STL of the motor which other designers may find useful. https://youtu.be/U7hfnQzM6BQ