RC Helicopter Made in Tinkercad

Hello everyone!

In this instructable, I will show you how to make an RC helicopter out of old cheap toy parts. All of the electronic components in this were taken from a broken cheap helicopter toy. I designed the project in Tinkercad.

This project may seem pointless because I used a helicopter to make a helicopter. However, the original toy was only 5$ and never flew properly. So, you could consider this an upgrade of functionality and maybe even design.

Supplies

A 3D printer

2 different colors of filament (I used black and white)

3 M1 screws

1/16 inch (1.59 mm) steel shaft

Super glue

A small rubber band (8-10 mm wide)

Clear tape

Xvb sky wheels helicar remote control toy

Step 1: Tinkercad Design

Take a look at the Tinkercad design above for a closer look at the parts.

Step 2: Disassembly of the Old Helicopter

Unscrew the 7 M1 screws from the body and carefully separate the two halves. Next, take out the propeller assembly and electronic components.

Step 3: Print the Parts

Cone, tail, and tail end should be printed in white.

Frame 1, frame 2, and landing gear should be printed in black.

Cone, tail, tail end, frame 1, and landing gear require supports.

I recommend .15 - .2 mm layer hight and rafts.

The part previews below may look strange, but the files are fine.

Step 4: Main Propeller Assembly

Photos 1 and 2: Insert the propeller assembly into frame 1.

Photos 3 and 4: Screw frame 2 into frame 1.

Photos 5 and 6: Glue landing gear to the bottom of the frames.

Photo 7: Cut off the battery holder.

Photos 8, 9, and 10: Insert the motor and battery.

Photos 11 and 12: Attach and glue the cone on using a 33 mm piece of steel shaft.

Step 5: Tail Assembly

Using the photos above as a guide, assemble the tail. The first 4 photos show how to glue the tail on. The rest of the pictures show how to insert the motor and propeller. I used a different propeller because it looked better, but the original propeller will work as well.

Step 6: Fly It

Below is a video of it flying. The flight is not very controllable, but it still flies and can land pretty well. Just a warning: this thing only responds to the controller if you are literally right next to it. For example, I was flying it around outside and I tried to go a little higher, and it went up about 20 feet and then plummeted down into the grass. Thankfully, only the landing gear broke. This is why I couldn't get a good video.

Step 7: Conclusion

Thanks for reading this instructable! I hope you enjoyed it.

This project was a lot harder than I first thought, it ended up taking 2 hours to assemble and I had to re-solder the wires so many times. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.