How to Make Propeller Racer Cars : 4 Steps

Propeller Racers are small propeller driven vehicles powered by a battery pack and DC motor. They're a fun DIY STEM project for beginners or kids! The included video will really help you in the building process. It has a little more detail and visual guidance than the instructable alone.

Step 1: Parts/Tools

Parts:

- (x1) 2-AA battery Pack with removable cover (3V)

- (x1) Two-wire toggle switch

- (x4) Plastic Bottle Caps

- (x1-2) Wooden Skewers or other thin rod

-(x1-2) Drinking Straw

- DC motor and Propeller (These kind: https://goo.gl/k7IsW1 and https://goo.gl/k7IsW1)

Tools:

-Scissors

-Glue Gun

-Tape

-Wire Strippers

Step 2: Design

Step 3: How It Works

The video will be very helpful with this part.

1. Hot-glue the motor to the front/center of the battery case. Make sure it's hanging off the edge so the propeller has room to spin.

2. Attach the propeller to the motor

3. Glue the switch to the back of the battery case

4. Cut the straws to two pieces, the width of the battery case

5. glue the straws to the bottom of the battery compartment. The one closest to the motor should be about 1/2 an inch away from the very front, but the back one can be all the way towards the end.

6. Cut skewers to pieces about an inch longer than the width of the battery case. They can be cut down later.

8. Slide the skewers through the straws

7. Poke holes in the center of the caps with a sharp object

8. Push the caps onto the ends of the skewers

9. If the caps are not firmly held in place on the skewers, then use glue or tape to secure them

10. Connect the red wire from the battery pack and one wire from the toggle switch

11. Connect the other wire from the toggle switch to the positive wire on the DC motor

12. Connect the blue/black wire on the battery pack to the negative wire on the DC motor

13. Insert the batteries

14. Flip the switch and you should be ready to go!