TOPIC:

Berfore dealing with the bodyshells, it is time to deal with the wheels... The simple way to have proper foam tire easy to source is to rely on Kyosho Fantom wheels. The carrier would simply required to be drilled with a 10mm diameter for the center hole, the carrier has the same hex definition.

On my side, I'll have at least a set of printed rims/tires for the shelves (not sure the Recreus Filaflex 60A would be good enough to run the car), so I designed something in CAD.


I intend to provide the files for the tires, and for the rims in 2 versions. If someone have a way to make proper foam tires, he could ultimately using printed rims for that... The version I'll use for the TPU tires have some areas designed to lock the tires on. I also designed a nut which won't require any tool.


I printed the rim, and also the nut to check everything was fine...


But the nut color was not standing out enough... I printed all nuts in orange for that reason.



I'll print the tires in TPU by the end of the week, and will add the tie rods very soon. Then it will be time to work out Bumper, led supports and bodymounts...

I printed tires with Recreus Filaflex 60A.


From what I can see on my desk, it could actually work, so I'm eager to try them on asphalt to see if workable this way. Backup plan will be Fantom EP-4WD re-release wheels...

I do still have to do something about the holes in the chassis. This is not complex, but if we want to make all the holes similar, this is just about having the right tooling...
First iteration.

Then a second one, with a centering tool and a way to fix the ball bearing in place to drill at the right place.


It will be soon time to work out the bodyshells topic. I plan for 2 bodyshells. The fist one is already in.




I satrted to work out a bumper... Bodyshells will be mounted with screws, removing the issue with the body post being too fragile due to weak point in Z.


I planned for a lip under the bumper at the front of the chassis to protect it...

Next : rear bodymounts and leds holder...

I did a rear body mount that is targeted to be printed in TPU and will include leds holder, exhaust, and flaps behind the rear wheels...


I believe the inspiration of this bodyshell is a Ferrari 333SP, but I decided to not use any wing for some reason (something I'll precise once I come to the bodyshell paintwork because the reason wil become clearer - spoiler there is 2 cars, one will be blue, and the other one will be red )
The part was slowly printed (TPU is slow)...


... and quickly put on the chassis



Although the bodyshell is not trimmed we can already do some checks...





This morning I designed washers with a slop on the bodyshell side (printed in TPU) to fix the bodyshell using 4 M3 screws. And the fit is perfect (I made 4 holes with 3mm drill bit)...


I will need to trim the bodyshell next... And for this I may need to design some guides for the blade, at least for the arches...

My last post on this topic was last Sunday... Since then, I had quite a time to move some stuff around...

First, arches were unmarked on the bodyshell. I did a small tool (and I believe I can improve it for next time)...


The principle is simple : mark, drill, fix, cut following the line.


And the result is a near perfect arch marked and it is easy to cut. Small note for next application : reduce the gap for the blade as 1mm gives to much space....


Initially, I thought about not installing any wing neither roll bar... But the fact is, I know this bodyshell is highly inspired from the Ferrari 333 SP, and each time I went next to the car, I could see there is something missing... I had to do something, and this meant a wing and a roll bar.



The roll bar was printed in TPU


The first version of the wing showed me that something was missing to maintain proper position.  The wing is printed in TPU so it doesn't break in case of roll over...


I then added two parts to fix the position of the side wing, fixed on the top of the led holder... The roll bar is fixed with screws/nuts on the bodyshell



I will need to find a driver and do the paintjob next...




 

After the bodyshell, I decided to extend a bit the chassis project: create a forked version of the project with no dependancy on Kyosho EF-209 Fantom rear shaft, with the target to allow more people to access this chassis and to print it.

For that, I decided to use a long M3x70 full threaded screw and 2 M3 locnuts as a basis : i needed to have the right side allowing the use of a modified carrier and the modified diff main gear. I had a solution in mind, and I had to try... The two nyloc nuts are set precisely distant of 20mm, the screw being fully engaged in the first one. The shaft will be made of 2 parts, and will be ketp together by the carrier, ball bearings and bevel gear on the left side.


I've printed it and proceeded to the assembly to check




The left end is a square driver, and I included a hole to fix the carrier.


And I designed the carrier to keep this together...



At the end, I had just to modify the diff to allow for the different shaft diameter : I included 2 flanged ball bearings 3x6x2.5mm on each side of the main diff, and the carrier uses the same ball bearings on both ends (while it is a different one on the version with the Kyosho shaft.


Should I consider a printed version of the chassis plate next?

I needed a statement color for the next step of this project, which will turn in my first very own design... Bright orange will go nicely with a black Kydex chassis


The nut in the deep area of the upright is used to control the centering of the screw. The fit is tight, and a gentle push is required to put in place


The rest is quite easy... I do not mount yet the pivot balls for the steering rods : this has to be sourced using regular hardware. 2mm rods and small pivot balls are far enough for the weight of the car. Here with the first version of the rear shaft.. While building this chassis, with a different servo than the one used initially to model the right hole position, I noticed another hole was required. I changed the design to put a slot on the right side, and highlighted Jeff from Factory Works so he can take the updated file in case one want a G10 chassis...


The rear shaft was revised and rely now on a 160mm M3 rod (shorter would be too short - this is very tight fit - you need to be sure about the supported faces tolerance, if not a 161mm rod will be required) and few M3 nylstop (nylon nuts). The fact there is two of them enclosed is making sure you can tight the nut outside of the shaft without it moving inside the printed shaft.





Once the shaft is in place, the left wheel driver gets fixed on the left side by another M3 nut


Last the diff take place on the right side, and the nut is at the very end of the rod. I had to move the rod by around half millimeter so it fits perfectly...


And for sure the bright orange goes very well with the black kydex chassis...



I'll print rims and tires for this chassis, and I should be in situation to publish the files for it soon...

It's more work than most people imagine to organize files in a proper way before a pulication...



Specially considering that it was required to do something so it is easy to build (or at least not too complex - not everyone is a puzzle world champion ). I ony show some of the pages here (everything is on the final publication in one single pdf).









I also have a second chassis to complete now (kydex 3mm based this time)




The files are live for the chassis part already and can be found here : 
makerworld.com/...ls/1086493

Another publication will follow within the week for the body mounts, bumper, and bodyshell accessories as they are really specific to the bodyshell...

The hardest is the design and modeling for me. Congrats. 

After the chassis, it is time to work out the bodyshell accessories...


And there is a lot of screws...


(and that is just the first one, I have other bodyshell to accessorize...)

And I just published the accessories set for the bodyshell (BL2909 Turismo WSC par Sabula tech).
makerworld.com/...ls/1098301

I have other plans for the bodyshell as well...
Teaser :