RC Airboat / Boat (rc helicopter conversion)

thingiverse

For the build, I sourced a donor helicopter for its controller, motors, and battery. The helicopter itself was acquired at a local chain store for $5. My total cost to bring this project to life was under $10. This innovative idea came to me after experiencing repeated failures of similar helicopters and pondering ways to recycle their functional components. The motor assembly is designed as an independent module, making it easily reusable in various projects or boat designs. It boasts sufficient power to propel itself across a table or countertop. All the parts were printed without supports; however, I encountered issues with the canopy warping, which led me to print it with build plate adhesion enabled. The turbine rotates at an extremely high rate. To optimize performance, print this design at your printer's finest resolution. Higher-resolution propellers consistently delivered higher output during testing. The gears proved to be the most challenging aspect of the project to perfect. The small motor has extremely low torque and spins too quickly, necessitating a gear reduction to decrease speed and boost torque. Ensure that there are no catches in the gears when assembled; inspect them carefully and remove any stray burrs. The gears are held in place with push pins, which must be loose enough to spin freely but not so loose that they wobble, as wobbly gears can catch on each other. The gear assembly slides into position beside the small motor. Some fine-tuning is necessary to prevent binding between the motor gear and the gear assembly. When attaching the propeller and gear to the motors, exercise great care; excessive pressure can cause the back of the motors to rupture. For the small motor and gear, I employed a push pin to enlarge the hole slightly. The bottom was somewhat tight due to contact with the build plate during printing. The propeller kept detaching from the motor shaft. To resolve this issue, utilize the factory nylon gear provided with the motor. Round the nylon gear tip slightly using sandpaper, remove it from the motor, and then insert it into the propeller. Finally, slide the propeller/gear combination back onto the motor shaft. Three small screws are used to secure the motor assembly; those originally part of the helicopter should suffice. The boat canopy and motor-to-boat assembly require slightly larger screws; I employed #4 x 1/2" L for this purpose. Shorter screws could be used, but these were the shortest available #4 screws. All parts were created using Autodesk 123D Design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-p4s5PVl0Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDrgtaf3O0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpy4KFC4BIA