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RC Car – Spare Parts
I have (very much accidently) collected several RC cars over the years. One, an FTX Colt is particularly fragile.
Recently one of the steering uprights broke. Its a fairly complex part that undergoes a fair amount of load, especially in a crash. But I thought I’d give printing it a go anyway. Even if just to hold until proper spares arrived.
I began by reverse engineering the upright from the side that wasn’t broken. Then made a second part that simply mirrors the first. That way, I can make updates to one and both parts will automatically update. This could also have been done with different configurations.
Camber and Toe-In are handled by adjusting the support lengths but the part does incorporate the Castor (angle of the pivot highlighted in green) of the wheel.
I printed the parts in ASA (an ABS like material) on a bit of a funny angle so that no one direction was esspecially weak.
I undersized all the holes so that they could either be drilled out could be tapped straight into using a screw. After the first failed attempt, I heated the screws up with a hot air gun before inserting them; a technique that worked really well.
How Well Does it Work?
Functionally, perfect. Got me up and running again, driving around outside.
How Long Did it Last?
Not long. A couple of drives until I crashed into a curb. Hard to say how much better a proper injection moulded part would have held up but in general, the moulded parts are always going to be stronger.
Is it Worth it?
As a permanent replacement part…absolutely not. As a temporary fix while waiting for parts…why the hell not.
The replacement parts cost a few quid and, while in raw material the printed parts are way cheaper, the time that would go in to replacing them every time they broke would quickly cancel it out. Not to mention that each time it broke you’d be forced to stop playing and fix it.
However the upright is a relatively small & complex part that has to deal with a lot of force. This car already has a few other printed replacements like the Steering Connector which has held up just fine for several weeks. And for those simpler parts, its a great way of saving a few quid.
These, and any other parts I create in the future, will be uploaded here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4346429
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