Introduction: 3D Printed RC Tank, Apocalypse Style!

Intro, delight read to understand a lot of the strange choices I made!

There is a pleasing run a risk that you are reading this from some form of humanity-wide-screen pandemic-induced lockdown, which is exactly the situation I found myself in when I built it, and played a large part in both the inspiration and techniques I used to build information technology.

I have always prided myself in releasing projects that are light to black and white, easy to assemble and easy to source the exact parts for, this project is non one of those, but it is primary in it's own way.

Now that I programme to apportion all of my projects I seldom start printing until the design is 100% all over in CAD and I know it is all leaving to employment, which has its merits, but one loses some of the spontaneity of releas into the spill and bash something together, one piece at a time, using whatever parts are connected hand and without a clear plan in judgement.

This project was a gainsay to myself to let all of that go and just protrude building. I used bits of metal you North Korean won't accept, I used laundry pegs in the electronics, an suppressed body file, and tracks from a previous project, but I hope it leave be a challenge to you likewise to guide the editable parts I will portion out, and make up something awesome and specific to you!

Yours will be different to mine, but that's the whole point, and I promise that I will sweetener you in to learning a bit of Fusion360 along the way! This Instructable assumes a basic noesis of Fusion360, but I like to think that since I am giving you a bunch of EDITABLE fusion files, some tips happening how to use them, and hopefully a venereal disease of inspiration, it will be a of import opportunity to get wind on an exhilarating project without it being too intimidating.

If you do chassis one, all I postulate is that you credit the source so that past people can find it and get under one's skin involved, and that you delight tag Maine somehow so I buttocks ascertain your build, because that's the best part astir unselfish!

Find Pine Tree State Here:

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Step 1: The Stuff You'll Need

A complete part list is not really applicable here, since the whole musical theme is adapting to and overcoming shortages and allowing that to branch line your creativeness, resulting in a unique shape, but I will list what I used, which hopefully will let your mind churning!

Tools

  • 3D Printing machine (I used the CraftBot+ for the dead body and the Sindoh DP200 for the tracks)
  • Screw Drivers/Allen Keys
  • Soldering Iron (Probably)
  • Drill (Probably)
  • Files (For fixing mistakes)

Software package

  • Autodesk Fusion360

3D Files

I used a number of files modified from my previous builds,

  • Tankful Tracks adapted from my DieselPunk Tractor
  • Chevrolet Suburban Panelvan from an old commission

These will be discussed Thomas More in the incoming step! Including editable files of all of the lead parts and more.

Electronics

  • Receiver and Vector (2CH or more, I used my long-ago Flysky)
  • 1/10 Scale Brushed ESC (I used an old combined I had lying about)
  • 1/16 Cooler Gearboxes and Motors (x2)
  • Junk Wire
  • Battery (2S, 1800mAh)
  • 1/10 Servo
  • Laundry Pegs (yep, you'll give birth to register the steering step)
  • ESS One Sound Module

Computer hardware & Materials

  • Fibril (I used nonmoving.ink PETG, and DavinciLabZA PLA mostly)
  • Screws (I utilized a lot of M3 and M5)
  • 11x5x4mm Bearings (operating theater just print bushings - see mistreat)
  • Hot Glue
  • Super Glue

Finishing

  • Sandpaper (80/100/200 grit)
  • Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover
  • Various Acrylics
  • Sponges and Brushes
  • Coarse Table salt
  • M1.6 and M1.4 Screws for Particularisation (spectacles screws)

Step 2: The Concept

The body that I used is a 1957 Chevrolet Suburban venire van which I designed every bit a commission for a friend World Health Organization prints and sells bodies for RC crawlers. I printed myself a test version over 2 years ago, coloured it up and kind of forgot astir it.

Sadly since IT was an scoop delegation I cannot divvy up the file, just that would be tedious anyway, I lack to advance you to build your ain unhinged send apocalyptic ride!

You could:

  • Search for a suitable physical structure on Thingiverse OR MyMiniFactory
  • Use my Jeep
  • Use my '32 Hot Rod

  • Design your own!

But why not:

  • Start with my EDITABLE '32 Panel Caravan Fusion360 project and go bananas, make Max Rockatansky proud by re-purposing these extremity scraps into an awesome touring warrior's ride!
  • I have also made forthcoming all of the track parts and other assorted pieces that I designed for this project
  • Download the file away here (attached to this step)
  • View online (and open for editing) here

I wanted to give you a head start towards creating something, so I have compiled my various editable parts, including tracks, wheels, axles and even the whole panel van as an editable Optical fusion 360 assembly that you can take on around with.

Wholly it needs is a chassis and something in the front. Due to how the body narrows I think IT would look peachy as a half-tracked, who's up to the challenge?

As we go throug this Instructable on how I completed my have scrapyard build I hope to outfit you with ideas and tools to complete your own, nobelium mattery which route you take.

Step 3: The Tracks, Figure

The figure of a track is not trivial, and perhaps overmuch to go with into in astuteness present, but it is also quite nonrational once you take off acting with it, and then I have provided a Fusion design in the project which demonstrates how I did it. I'll step through the basics of it Here.

Core Parameters

As usual I begin by defining the core parameters. I have defined each of the variables that I volition use to create a parametric sketch which defines a wheel that accepts a certain number of track segments of a certain size.

This will look complicated from this static see only if you undetermined the file, pilot to the first two sketches and begin playing with the parameters information technology should make a blonde amount of sense.

Since we know the duration of a pass over segment and the number of segments in a wheel we can use that to driving force the diameter of the bike (the angle of each section equals (360/num segments)). The images in the gallery are annotated with notes for more detail too.

Note the clearance between the teeth and the running in the wheel at a lower place.

The visibility is extruded here into a single segment of the wheel (and a turned cut was used to make the groove down the middle).

A circular radiation diagram (defined by the "Num Segments" parameter) creates the rest of the wheel, which can past be reflected to complete it.

Printing Considerations

I knew well sufficient from my previous half-track builds that cleaning upwards track segments gets boring actually fast, and then I was adamant that I would avoid supports. Each track piece prints in the preference shown below.

By sectioning the segment you can see that there are no overhangs greater than 45 degrees, so the print leave be easily achived.

Step 4: The Tracks, Assembly

Cleanup

Unfortunately there is non much to say about the assembly of the tracks except that it takes a bimestrial time!

A good pair of scour cutters and a stabbing blade will help to clean up the prints, and a 1.8mm drill or small needle file will service clean retired any imperfect holes.

Forum

Encounte yourself something uninteresting to observe (I chose our President Cyril's national address during the Covid19 Lockdown) and start cleaning and assembling links. From each one colligate is held together with a short section of 3D printing machine filament.

Once the tracks are assembled you can employment a soldering iron to press the filament pins plane on both ends, forming a rivet of sorts. I choose PETG or PLA for the pins, since the ABS smells like cancer when you heat it astir.

Step 5: The Tumbler Wheels

The design of the hair curler wheels is very simple after the labour wheels, so long-acting as the groove in the concentrate is correct then whol volition be comfortably. I thought it worth pointing out other design choices that I made though.

Bearings

The roller wheels accept 11x5x4mm bearings which are very common in RC cars and I had quite few of. Think to make the recesses for the bearings slightly large (I used 11.3mm holes) since printers usually produce somewhat undersized holes. More about these in the "Qualification Do" step

Halves

The roll is printed in two halves, which agency that I can hide the bearings inside, as well as the head of the M5 bolt. This was primarily because I didn't have enough M5 bolts with the same heads. The two halves also get in very easy to impress without support reincarnate.

Forum

The two halves are massed with M3 screws. Once more I was expenditure my stock fasteners and didn't want to run out so I gave myself as many options as possible. In that respect is a recess for an M3 nut in the rear of each screw mess, but I also undersized the hole in the rear piece indeed that the M3 screw can tap into the plastic directly and cope without the ball (for a qualified number of assemblies anyway).

Step 6: The Dead body, Printing process

Now this step is going to amount down to the body that you have chosen, or designed, but I have a couple of recommendations

Filum Plastic Select

I recommend PETG (I used rigid.ink sack PETG for this personify)

  • It's lack of warp makes it more easier than ABS for the broad thin pieces that usually form a 1:10 car body.
  • Layer adhesion is excellent, making for a strong print
  • It is slimly flexible
  • It will not warp in the sun

However, preceptor't let that layover you, as long arsenic you understand your materials, just plow ahead and use whatever you are comfortable with.

PLA bequeath personify the easiest to photographic print cleanly, and Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene offers interesting options for vapour smoothing and dimethyl ketone bonding.

Filament Coloration Choice

I strongly recommend a clear semblance if you are going to paint IT, since scratches will non show up much at all, failing that, I would try for a neutral silver/grey/Black/brown, but sooner stay away from bright colours, since the paint will get scratced up in apply.

The only time I enjoyment a colour by choice is if I can friction match the final paint colorise strand, which then provides the same scratch tribute.

Print Settings

Strength is generally obtained through the count of perimeters (assuming optimal print settings, so make a point you are impression hot enough to get great bonds too), so I usually use at to the lowest degree 4 perimeters.

These are big prints, so I wont 0.2mm layers with a 0.4mm hooter. You volition be tempted to up the speed surgery lour the calibre simply don't eff, you will regret IT! Printing clock time is much to a lesser extent work than sanding and body-fill, so don't stint on it.

Step 7: The Body, Painting

Prep the Surface

In that respect are many ways to tackle the paint process, but this is how I did mine

  1. Sanding (80 - 200 grit)
  2. Sanding
  3. Body Filler (or thick ABS slurry poured into gaps in a pinch)
  4. Sanding
  5. Cursing
  6. Repeat late stairs until your desire to atomic number 4 finished outweighs your desire for perfection

Once you are happy that you make a smooth surface, and you have pledged to yourself that next time you testament exercise slower, higher quality, print settings, you are ready for key.

Rouge - Chromatic Patina Style

  1. A primer coat is a beneficial approximation, I prefer to function Rustoleum 2X Ultra Screen, in this case, a tan colour
  2. I then ill-used a dark coat of generic matte black, it would have been scoop to just usage a dark primer and skip this only my plans were... fluid
  3. Now for the fun snatch, find all of the different acrylic browns, cooked siennas, umbers, and different new rust colours that you have and squeeze out big blobs onto a display board. Go for generously and altogether with a dabbing gesticulate of a sponge or even a fabric (don't wipe) swapping between colours a lot. Eventually it bequeath await wish a loaf. This is fine.
  4. Think about the areas that you opine will be rusty (I chose the roof, punk, and some of the side panels) and wet them with water, the generously pour crude salt onto these areas (I interracial in roughly fine common salt too).
  5. Erstwhile the water supply has dried, spray your top coats over the salt, making surely to get favourable reporting, a couple of coats if required, before scratching the common salt away, exposing your lovely patina'd rust beneath. I used a cosset-blue Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover for this too.

You can see Pine Tree State using the acrylic rust effect in this telecasting of my DieselPunk Crawler, from active 3:30

Step 8: The Chassis, Axle Mounts Too!

The number one necessity after the body is the chassis. How will we mount everything together?

Of course you can print the whole thing, merely chances are you tail find some scrap lengths of metal which will do the job much faster, with some small printed braces to hold them together.

I happened to experience a a couple of lengths of u-shaped atomic number 13 from roughly old rack-mountable telecoms equipment which is disassembled galore moons ago.

Parametric quantity Founded Sketches

Wherever viable I assay to delimitate the most operative (and likely to deepen) aspects of my designs as parameters (see under the "MODIFY", "change parameters" computer menu in F360, this makes IT easy to change them at a later stage and is specially good for reusing general parts.

A simple case is my "Rear Freewheel Mount" which you can run into in the bespoken gallery or in the Online viewer here: https://a360.Centennial State/3gp54u2

Ill-use 9: The Measuring, Scanning Dimensions to Fusion360

The 1/16 Tank gearboxes that I used had a mess of mounting holes, with zero discernible pattern. I decided that the easiest right smart to mount them would be to print a spacer which picked up the various holes and gave me four nicely spaced mounting holes which I could attach to the frame. I had visions of using a TPU spacer to reduce the noise, but ne'er got just about to that.

The most unputdownable part of this step is the measurements. I scanned the lowly of the plate with a regular 2D scanner and then function IT as a reference canvas in Fusion360, I'll explain the process a little further here.

Scan

First I scanned the mounting plates along with a ruler happening a flatbed scanner. IT doesn't really matter what you use, atomic number 3 long as you have an targe with one famous dimension lying flat on the scanner.

Import

In Fusion you can go to the "INSERT" menu and pip the "Analyze" button to insert an image on the selected plan as a canvas.

Calibrate

Aright chink happening the canvass in the list and select "Calibrate"

Now its metre to enjoyment that object of known distance in your image, in my case information technology was the ruler, only suction stop connected the two points and eccentric in the distance between them, the double will be armored perfectly. Conjuring trick!

Model

Forthwith it's as simple as using the regular sketching and modelling tools to complete your objective. Often, merely not always, you will then discover the original designers captive, expect dimensions to be complete multiples/fractions of millimeters (or inches).

Step 10: The Letting Get on

On a natural project I would redesign and reprint a part that is non exactly word-perfect, but this project is unique, no one is going to build exactly the same matter as me (surgery you) so if you can make a piece usable with prudent application program of cutting and gluing then go for it!

I trimmed, cut and drilled parts with my great grandfather's old hand tools, a wonderful converging of technology isolated by almost 100 long time, and aft gathering no one will be the wiser except me (and I appreciate the layers of story it adds to this build).

If you obtain that you have made a screw cakehole to a fault small (or seaport't made one), then oil production it bent size rump knead, but so seat pressing the screw right into the plastic with a hot soldering smoothing iron.

Mistreat 11: The Making Do, Electromechanical Laundry-Supported Steering

Traditional RC Tank Steering via Mixing

Steering an RC tank with two electronic motors is usually achieved with combined Electronic Stop number Controller (ESC) for each motor. The transmitter (or some receivers) handles the commixture of the channels so that the relative speed and direction of for each one drive can be accustomed drive and steer the tank.

Below is a simplified diagram which shows how the control signal from the transmitter is standard, and so remapped to a control signalise for each motor.

This traditional solution has some benefits, such American Samoa zero-point turns where one rails is kinetic forwards and the opposite backward, but it also has some disadvantages, such as requiring two ESCs and a method of mixing the channels.

Simplified Mechanical device Steering

I didn't own 2 ESCs free during our Pandemic Lockdown and couldn't get to a greater extent and then I had to arrive risen with a solution. It came to me that I could use up one ESC to ascendency the speed of some motors and simply use a servo to motivate a switch, carving current to one motor, which would result in steering action.

The disadvantage to this is that our hardest turn will be one centrifugal happening and the other off, no zero-point turns. The advantage to this system is that information technology is cheap and light to use. There is no intermixture required then the about basic 2 channel transmitter will do.

Implementation

Now this is all good in theory, but how to we break the on-line to a motor with a servo? One power think of a small normally-closed pushbutton merely it is really belik to fail after a squabby while since switching relatively large DC currents causes a great deal of arcing.

I didn't have any suited pushbuttons so I chose to name my personal with a pair of laundry pegs, just drill some holes, thread a bit of flexile telegram direct and there you have it. The pictures will speak louder than words therein step.

I also written a bracket which holds the pegs and servo in situ. You will likely have to make your own of modify mine, since it is specific to my pegs, but here is the Nuclear fusion file away anyway.

This ill-use is best demonstrated in the short video you derriere see here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pJKy8gH3y

Stride 12: The Making Set, Fasteners and Hardware

One time once more, since this project had to be completed with items already in my shed I bald-faced shortages, in specific I started running out of fasteners and bearings.

Bolts from Threaded Rod, Low Tech solutions

I secondhand much of M5 bolts to fasten the wheels on to the chassis only eventually ran out. I then used sections of M5 threaded rod, cut to length and added a time slot on the end with a metal saw so it could be off like a screw. I used M5 nylocs on the end to turn them into useful bolts, but I could rich person printed those too if needed.

3D Printed Bushings, High(ish) Technical school Solutions

Every unrivalled of the freewheels required two bearings. One of the options was to make a customised innovation for apiece wheel to use up all the odd-sized bearings that I had, but at last I decided to print bushings which were the same size arsenic the most common comportment that I had (11x5x4) and replace them with bearings after the Apocalypse is it was bonded.

There are a few little tricks to take notice of here since getting the perfect outfit will meliorate their performance dramatically.

(A) I applied a chamfer to the bottom edge of the bushing so that the thin bulge (elephant's foot) that is rough-cut at the bottom of a print wouldn't impress the fit

(B) I create a 0.2mm viscous face across the bottom hole, which greatly improves adhesion during printing, but is implausibly available to remove since it is only when one layer thick. Very helpful for so much a tiny item.

(C) I ready-made the outer dimension slightly littler than the hole that it would ready into. A distance of 0.275mm worked nicely.

Glue in Place of Nuts, Just Plain Slothful Solutions

For the rear axle holder I tried to give myself as many options atomic number 3 possible, one of those was to leave a recess where I could squeeze in some unpleasant paste to hold the screw in place, it turned out to glucinium utilitarian when I ran out of M5 crackers.

Footprint 13: The Windows and Other Details

You can't really have glass windows in a post-apocalyptic tank, which is probably a redeeming affair because I don't have the facility to print them yet anyway (gotta get me a resin printer right?!).

I definite the provable answer was to armor everything. This clothed to be quite an relaxed project, I simply used the patch tool in Fusion360 to create surfaces that full the window spaces, added some simple borders and printed them taboo in silver PLA.

Aesthetic Screws

I definite that I would embellish them with about 47 billion M1.4 screws. IT wasn't the best idea, since it took everlastingly, but it does look ok I think.

The screws can be found on Banggood etc. as 600 - 1000 pcs eyeglasses repair kits for a few dollars.

I included tiny holes in the design for the screws but some were a bit stubborn, those I carefully held with a pair of tweezers while pressing the screws in with a hot soldering atomic number 26.

Damage

I added some battle damage to the windows by poking and prodding the 3D prints with my soldering iron. Zero finesse here.

Key

Rouge was a simple matter of layering bright and fatal spray paint and bloodless acrylics until I was happy with the mess I had created.

Same trick I ilk to wont is to non lower the nozzle of the black spraypaint properly, thusly that it splutters.

Step 14: The Sound

Of course of instruction this step is ex gratia, but I love having a quality sound module in my rigs, the ESS ONE 2022 is my weapon of quality.

These modules are not cheap (and are non waterproof ) indeed I premeditated this acuminate bracket out which allows me to clip the module in and out easily, swapping it between vehicles.

I did some minor modifications to the plan to enclosed screw holes, and mounted it to the base plate with a pair of M3 screws.

Step 15: The Lights

I think that lights minimal brain dysfunction a lot of life to a car model, and they are really simple to add. These are scarce a pair of yellow 5mm LEDs running in series with a 75ohm resistor, powered with 5V from the pass receiver.

The interesting part is in the printing process. It is very difficult (or impossible) to create a clear print with a FDM printer, but it is well-fixed to make something nicely translucent if it is kept thin enough.

You can see in the attached photograph how I fashioned the lamps to be printed at a 45 degree tilt to the printbed. This allowed me to print them with only two margin walls and no infill, resulting in something that passes light considerably.

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