Personal · Mechanical systems
Custom RC Car
A printed all-terrain drivetrain built around four horsepower
01 / Challenge
Build the mechanical platform instead of buying a rolling chassis.
The goal was an entirely custom, largely 3D-printed RC car using hobby-grade electronics. The structure and driveline needed to handle a 2,800 W brushless motor and outdoor terrain while remaining serviceable between tests.
02 / Design
Package a high-power drivetrain into a printed assembly.
I modeled the vehicle in Fusion 360 using assembly tools and built a 14:1 gearbox with custom bevel gears, herringbone gears, and steel shafts.
The chassis carried a 3S 5,200 mAh 80C LiPo battery, suspension, steering, and the drivetrain as a single integrated system.
03 / Testing
Broken parts turned into specific design rules.
The finished car was rugged and stable at speed, but testing exposed limits that CAD alone did not: printed universal joints were unreliable, TPU tires lacked grip, and bevel gears required thrust bearings to control axial load.
Those failures made the next iteration more grounded in bearing loads, material behavior, and maintainability.
Tools and methods
- Fusion 360
- Assembly design
- 3D printing
- Gear design
- Steel shafts
- Field testing