RC tank tracks

thingiverse

I finally nailed down a few designs others had made. They all turned out to be less than satisfactory in the end. I will print these models without supports because I dislike how annoying they are. The added rubber pads can help with traction. Each printed track is designed to be 75mm wide, 15.5mm tall, and 30mm long. It uses a single 3mm pin to connect each link together. I plan to add the sprocket as soon as I complete printing it so I can test it and prove that it works like I envisioned. Idlers and suspension will follow when I'm done testing each part. The drive sprockets are designed for simplicity, using Traxxas Tmaxx 14mm hex drives. They're posted in the .stl format. 10/29/14 I'll be adding parts one by one every day or two unless life gets in the way. I've been distracted from my project because I had to design and print some RC car spare parts for a friend's kid whose 7-year-old car broke last night. If anyone needs tracks with wider or narrower spacing, you can use Repetier to scale these designs according to your specific requirements. Bigger models are often easier to make when scaling up parts. I'm still unsure about my current idler design... Working on a better one that might be more compact and effective in general, so I recommend waiting for the new design. NEW DESIGN UP NOW 10/30/14 I still haven't printed out the two-piece idler yet; it's supposed to use the same bearing size but this time it will fit inside the track instead. Printing this part and adding my friend's new ectsbot printer will keep me occupied for a while. 10/31/14 Error with uploaded design: replacing idler.... Sorry if anyone had already printed the original design. 11/2/14 Pictures of the new idler system are now available... Those funny colors, though! I've finished nearly working on the fully functional idler assembly. This will feature a cartridge style setup where each pair of idlers is connected to a mount, an arm, shock/coil spring, and a brace that can be attached or screwed onto your chassis. Alternatively, I'll create a suspension-free bracket for those who want simpler suspension. For now, I'm using HobbyKing's 1/16 scale oil-filled shocks but will switch to aluminum ones as soon as they're available so that my son's buggy can get an upgrade. Please bear with me because this has taken more time than expected. Many people here aren't experienced designers themselves. Have a nice evening... Very little will happen before Thursday of this week. 11/7/14 I recently realized that the original idler wheels didn't always perfectly align tracks, which was frustrating. So, I came up with an optional design where sprocket teeth enforce track alignment, eliminating the problem of them slipping off wheels. Included are autodesk123d and .stl files so users can customize it. Before continuing with suspension design, the redesign necessitates adjustments to this setup as well... Would anyone like me to upload additional Autodesk123D files for my designs going forward? Please let me know so I can provide that feature... Hope everyone printing these models will tolerate the extra time it's taken and accept any modifications I find necessary. Instructions: - Attach idlers with either glue or a press fit. - Designed around minimal supports during building, idler designed to hold O-rings around for soft contact area.