Remote Control Car

With a budget of $50 and a set of components including a battery, motor, remote, receiver, and servo, we embarked on a project to build the fastest remote-controlled car possible. The budgetary and manufacturing constraints led us to purchase wheels, axles, and bearings while designing and 3D printing the remaining components in-house. My primary role was focused on conducting finite element analysis to guarantee the durability of the chassis during high-speed impacts and developing a steering system that seamlessly integrates with the overall design.

Final Chassis Design

Design Process

  • Sketches

    To maintain structural integrity in the chassis, we needed to design the steering on top of the thick piece of plastic, rather than a standard system that runs through it. This was accomplished with a system of a crossbar, two arm bars, two bushings, and five press-fit pins.

  • CAD

    After figuring out how to integrate the steering with the chassis, we modeled the initial design in SolidWorks. After multiple iterations, we found a design that worked well with our system and wouldn’t get damaged during use.

  • Final Product

    After some final adjustments, the parts were printed and assembled. After assembly, we raced the car against other teams.

In Action

Our car was lightweight, fast, and handled well. We were able to win some of the races and ended the project in style with some victory donuts which can be seen below.