The Unknown Land

The manufacturing process used for all the components designed for the drivetrain was 3D printing with PETG plastic. This was decided upon due to the material properties of the PETG plastic being durable yet lightweight, as well as the precision the 3D printer allows.

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Majority of the drivetrain components were bought parts, although mounts were designed to hold these parts in place (Motor Mount, Center Spool Mount, and Controller Mount). Production of the drivetrain components progressed well. Early on printing from PETG plastic was not ideal, because the molten filament had difficult adhering to the glass print bed. Masking tape was used to improve bed adhesion, as the molten filament had difficult adhering to the glass print bed. The PETG material also started to accumulate on the nozzle and then fall onto the part in the form of a large blob, which would result in a defect or a print failure. This problem was mitigated by using cleaned and new nozzles, which then decreased accumulation.

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The first print Joe completed for the chassis was found to have weak layer adhesion due to the low print temperatures. Increasing the print temperature resulted in much stronger prints, which was used on the drivetrain components. Some shrinkage (a normal occurrence in 3D printed parts) caused the need for the printed holes in the parts to be specified larger. For instance, holes made for M3 fasteners were designed to be 3.2 mm to account for this shrinkage.

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There are a total of 3 drivetrain components that were constructed for the RC vehicle, all of which are shown below with descriptions. Additionally, a video representing the construction is displayed following the images.