Project: Chaser

[Alex97]

Air break? Parachute?

[-BEZ-]

The way the body is designed would mean a parachute would mess up the aerodynamics and I'v thought about an air brake but there really isn't the surface area on the car to make the most of that concept.  A floating disk and calliper on the opposite hub from the spur would probably be the most effective setup its just finding the right method/mechanics in place for it to work.

[Tug]

Front discs too small and fiddly? They'd probably explode!

[-BEZ-]

So its about that time when chaser is due a bit of an update

 

I'm due to get some runs in this week coming but there will be some added pressure as the guys at Ultimaker have taken a keen interest in the project and are coming to film it running and interview me ....... gulp lol Its all very exciting but gives me butterfly's at the same time mainly because I'm hoping everything works as it should do, These custom builds are never simple lol

 

So I get a email the day before yesterday saying "can we put a gopro on the car?" Nothing like a last minuite requests to add a bit of stress to the pot ...... Not that that was a huge issue but its like sticking a brick on the side of the car.   I set about doing some drawings and printed out a simple pod to sit on the car to help reduce the drag as much as possible, After 4 hours tweaking a design in CAD and a 18Hr print (0.1mm layers at 70mm/s) I ended up with this:

 

 

I will simply tape it down with Jaffa tape (handy its orange) so it can be easily removed without damaging the car ....... well that may be neither here or there depending on how smoothly the runs go ..... the pot holes in the run off at the track are car killers. I have also upped the braking profile and made sure the "loss of signal" feature on the ESC is programmed to apply the brakes more aggressively.

 

I swapped out the rear Titanium Axle as I discovered it was bent, fitted some new super bearings I bought from saabmania a while back, I have some new knuckles to trim up for the front which have captive axles so the wheels wont fly off ........ stupid e clips!  Once the knuckles are tweaked I'm ready for running on Thursday.

 

I Still have plans of a mechanical brake system but its finding the time to sit down and draw and print loads of prototype brackets and setups. I also want to try and design a front wheel like what I used before I lost one

[Carpmart]

As ever Bez, the ingenuity you show is VERY impressive. Looks like it's been designed with that appendage for the GoPro from the start...

[revo madnesss]

Looks amazing mate, a lot of thinking has been put into this project and it really shows!

 

It may be a good idea to mount the gopro on some rubber just to try and help absorb some of the vibrations 

[-BEZ-]

So last Thursday I had a day of filming about the 3D Printed aspect of the project for Ultimaker. It was a fun but very loooooong day we called it a day just gone 8pm.

 

After filming segments here at home we headed off to the track to do some more filming of the car at the track. I'm always nervous about things like this as I never know how well things will go lol.   It did'nt help that a few days previous I was going some maintenance on the chassis and I got distracted and accidentally ripped off the program port off the controller

[-BEZ-]

So it was a bit of a pain not being able to run the project agressivly this year, but on the pro side it has taken an interesting turn. The car has gone on a bit of a holiday with Ultimaker and is doing the rounds over in the states at various 3d printing events 

 

https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/view/17525-recap-ultimaker-at-the-3d-printshow-california

 

I will be doing lots of tinkering over the winter, and maybe a few upgrades for running again next year when the weather starts to warm up again

[chewbacca]

That's pretty impressive stuff Bez. Bit of an ego boost for you? Nice bit of publicity for our favourite "local" hobby shop too 

[-BEZ-]

Well since the forum died all sorts of interesting things have been happening. It seems the project has taken a lot of interest since being displayed at the New York Maker fair a couple of weeks ago, to be honest its all been rather humbling and with the video at over 68K views in 2 weeks the term no pressure comes to mind lol. 

For those of you that haven't seen it here is the link to the Ultimaker Story: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/view/17623-the-worlds-fastest-3d-printed-r-c-car#videoplay

Here's a list I received from the guys at ultimaker of places that took an interest in the project.

 

·         Digital Trends (UMV: 5,328,841) http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/3d-printed-radio-controlled-car/

·         CBS News (UMV: 4,868,554) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/watch-a-3d-printed-rc-car-go-100-mph/

·         Motherboard (UMV: 341,842) http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/this-3d-printed-rc-car-can-go-100-miles-per-hour

·         Atmel (UMV: 174,685) http://blog.atmel.com/2015/10/15/this-3d-printed-rc-car-can-go-100-mph/

·         3D Printing Industry (UMV: 103,835) http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/10/12/worlds-fastest-rc-car-3d-printed-on-ultimaker-2-extended/

·         Ooyuz (UMV: 68,000) http://www.ooyuz.com/geturl?aid=8713989

·         3Ddozzer.com http://www.3ddozzer.com/2015/10/14/worlds-fastest-rworlds-fastest-rc-car-3d-printed-on-ultimaker-2-extendedc-car-3d-printed-on-ultimaker-2-extended/

·         My Local 3D Printing https://mylocal3dprinting.com/blog/tag/3d-printing-car/

·         Asia Tees https://www.asiatees.com/article?%5BVIDEO%5D-Watch-A-3D-Printed-Car-Go-100mph&id=2332

·         Rapid Ready Tech http://www.rapidreadytech.com/2015/10/rc-car-enthusiast-aims-for-world-record-with-3d-printing/

-   3DPrint (UMV: 1,710,607) http://3dprint.com/99778/3d-printed-fasted-rc-car-ever/

·         Speed Society (UMV: 1,165,343) http://speedsociety.com/worlds-fastest-3d-printed-rc-car-ultimaker-3d-printing-story/

·         3Ders.org (UMV: 173,328) http://www.3ders.org/articles/20151008-take-a-look-at-the-world-fastest-3d-printed-rc-car.html

You have also been hosted on CNET: http://www.cnet.com/news/3d-printed-rc-car-tops-speeds-of-100-mph-tomorrow-daily-258/

So what does this mean for the project .......... well it basically means no turning back until I beat Nic Cases record of just over 202Mph.

 

Following the success of the Ultimaker Story I have been contacted by the guys at Colorfabb and They will be working with me on the project and I will be testing some brand new materials that are not yet on the market so I'm really happy to have them on board with the chaser project. I'm also looking at seeing where I can loose some of the ally parts and replace them with redesigned parts printed in CF20 their Carbon laced filament and following some motor mounts I printed for project X it looks like there could be some interesting developments coming soon.

[Carpmart]

Kudos to you Bez...

It's nice that this media profile is directly going to assist you; as proven with the new sponsors on board! 

[K]

Spent an hour or so reading this thread, amazing is all I can say. 

Britain has a heritage of men in their sheds building crazy machines, this epitomises that to the tee. And is a credit to you. 

Hope you succeed in your goal of 202+mph. I'm sure it'll come. All the best. 

K