R/C Car Make Course

This instructable was created in fulfillment of the project requirement of the Makecourse at the University of South Florida (www.makecourse.com)

Step 1: Step 1: Gather Materials

1x sheet of plexiglass

3x 8"x11" sheets of birch plywood

1x r/c car

1x Arduino uno

15x Arduni wires

1x ir reciever

1x stepper motor

1x uln 2003 driver board

1x breadboard

1x 9v battery

1x tv remote

hot glue

super glue

To start with the project i bought a rc car from target to get an idea of how they work. From this car i used the wheels and axels in my project to save me time make this project more efficient. I also used birch plywood for the body of the car because it was easy to cut and glue to the shape of the body. For the bottom i decided to use a peice of plexiglass because it was what i had on me at the time. You could also use the plywood for the bottom.

Link to r/c car: https://www.target.com/p/jada-hyperchargers-big-time-muscle-remote-control-rc-vehicle-2017-ford-gt-1-16/-/A-53041004

Step 2: Step 2: Print Sides

The second thing i did was design the sides of the car to print. To get as close to the car i wanted i imported a picture into inventor and traced around the picture to the best of my ability. The exact dimensions i used for each side are shown in one of the attatched pictures. You will need to print each side or 2 pieces twice so in total you have 4 pieces. The reason the only 3d printed part is the sides is because i wanted to get as close to the actual car design as i could and by 3d printing the sides i could get that. Every other piece of the car is just to make it come together, they dont really alter the design.

Step 3: Step 3: Glue Sides Together

This step is pretty simple. All you need to do is glue the front and back pieces together. I used hot glue do to this but it was not the most reliable way. You can use any type of glue that works best for you.

Step 4: Step 4: Cut Bottom Piece

During this step you cut the bottom piece out of whatever you're using. I used plexiglass for the fact that i had it on me and it was decently easy to cut. Make sure that you cut out wheel wells big enough for your wheels to fit in withough rubbing.

Step 5: Step 5: Attatch Sides to Bottom

To attatch the sides of the car to the bottom i drilled small holes into the 3d printed parts and through the plexiglass. I quickly put hot glue where the pieces connected and then screwed them to secure the into place.

Step 6: Step 6: Work on Arduino

The arduino circit schematic is shown in the picures. As you can see i used a 9v battery to power the arduino and motor. Instead of using the breadboard power connector in the one picture i just connected a wire from the 5v power to the breadboard and another wire to ground. This setup is as simple as it gets for what i am doing with my project. The ir reciever was mounted on top of the car to recieve signal easier. Whenever a putton i assigned on my remote was pressed, the motor either spun forwards or backwards depending on which button.

Step 7: Step 7: Program Arduino

The exact code used for the arduino is shown in the pictures above. The only changes that are needed to be made are for your remote. Since each remote has a different output, you need to find the code that is gotten from your specific remote.

Step 8: Step 8: Glue Ardunio and Wheels Into Place

To make glueing everything in easier. I first glued each piece to a different piece of the plywood. This make it so everything is on one flat surface when i went to place it into the car. Then i glued that to the plexiglass.

Step 9: Step 9: Cut, Paint, and Glue Body Peices.

Measure the plywood for each panel of the car and score with a razerblade. After getting each individual panel i painted them black and painted on windows, tail lights, and headlights. Finally i glued each panel into place and completed the car. For the top and back windo panel i used velcro to secure them into place so i could later remove them to work on the ardunio and plug in the battery and to also make the car a convertible if you want to feel the wind flow though your hair.