Post How can i build a R/C car (possible) without using a kit?
 

Hello,

I want to pursue engineering at university, so i was hoping to do some kind of engineering related project over the summer.
Making a R/C car seemed like the best idea(other ideas are welcome).
So, what parts would i need to make one?


Thanks

maybe you should design or draft the drawing ideal car first before knowing what material to use.

By materials i meant parts, sorry for the confusion.

What do you mean making/building? Buying random parts and putting it together? Or actually designing it in CAD program?

I am new to this, but i thought i could buy some parts and put together a car.
But from what i have found on the internet, it doesn't look possible.

Its possible, but you do know it is going to be a bit hard to get everything right. Good example being mantisworx f104 with a custom chasis, rear suspension, front suspension, motor mount, etc. The car only hat the wings and body from an F104.

You CAN buy all the parts needed to build any car sold in kit form. That's not engineering, though. Starting from nothing, and designing a car THEN building the parts and assembling them into a working car would be a great engineering project. If you don't have a CAD program, you can use the old school method of drafting each part in three views to scale. Once you have settled on a design, which may take many revisions, you can begin to build the parts. This may take some special tools, or a budget to have them built by others with the skills and tooling to do so.

Unless you have molding capabilities, you are going to nee to buy parts like knuckles, arms and shock towers as an example.

There are plenty of people who take existing designs and tweak them to get better driving dynamics. If your engineering forte fits this scenario then you have the basic framework to take an existing platform and improve on it.

I'm the type of person who enjoys creating what i call "franken-RC"...cobble together various RC models together into a working prototype. I'm presently trying to build a micro-rc and a 10th scale top speeder but they are a slow process since I'm essentially imagining how to put items together instead of building from a computer model.

I guess what i'm saying is it can be done but what your end goal is depends on your knowledge of vehicle dynamics.

I like the idea of designing a car then building it(if by designing you mean sketching the car first). so, what would i have to do/need to do this. Like after i have a sketch of the car what items/parts would i need to make this.
I dont have any equipment at home, so i can only buy whats on the internet.

I made an electronic keypad from scratch last year like using an etching station etc and then using the computer to design the circuit.
So, i have some experience in this field.

if you dont have any tools or anything at home it will be difficult/expensive to try and design your own car.
though there is nothing stopping you from trying. a program like google sketch up is free and gives you enough options to draw up bulkheads, strut towers, chassis pans and decks. you could go as far as designing more complex parts like steering knuckles, differentials, shock bodies ect, but why bother. there are any number of those parts on the market that work just fine already and cost nothing.. control arms for my tc5 were $5/pair. designing my own would be a rather pointless process unless i wanted them out of some other material and didnt wanna pay the price for alu ones.

you could very easily design your own chassis parts, and just bolt up factory mechanics to them.
I plan to do this to make a nitro tc5 sometime down the road by making a custom chassis pan and mishmashing parts from ntc3 and tc5 together.



there are custom cars on this forum though. also check out custom scale modelers forums.

So, do you think it will be best if i buy a kit then? Also, Do you think it is better to make a car using a kit- it just seems too easy using a kit because i would like to write something about this on my university application.

So, i am kind of confused as to what to do. I have the whole summer ahead of me and doing a project which will help my college application seems like the best idea. So i just wanna make something which is both challenging and fun.
I made a boat with remote control out of a tissue box about 3 years ago.
search for "Boat with remote control tissue" on youtube

Sure you can do it. First you need to figure out what you want to build. Once you know what you want to build start researching it and go from there.

I built a scale RC of a snow cat(I have yet to finish the styrene work). I used the full size cat to figure out everything I needed to build. It was a fairly simple build due to not having complex suspension.

http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/sho...ght=bombardier

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...arisonside.jpg

I am now looking at building a custom F1. I will use parts from other cars but the layout/design will be custom.

So, should i like buy a random kit and learn the functions of each part then use the part to make the car according to my design?

No, first you need to decide what you want to build. Parts will not do you any good until you know what you are building. Then get the parts needed to build it.

Lets say, i want to build an off road buggy.
what would i need then?