RC Ice Monster Like in Black Mirror

Hi everyone! This is a little story about how I built a scary, creepy 6-wheeled monster for racing on a frozen lake. Enjoy watching, and I'd be happy to hear your comments!

I Used:

1. Geared motor 550 https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3HBbCoV

2. Motor driver https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4nP0GdX

3. Remote control https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4MEXIDf

4. 3s li-po batteries https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3a1fTCD

5. Battery charger Imax B3 LIPO https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c30hCeBb

6. Bevel gear 1,5m 12t https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3NrE1jR

7. Guide gears 10t https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3Dfgt17

I definitely wanted to start with the wheels, since this project was conceived for their sake. As usual, I come up with unconventional solutions and make things out of other things that nobody usually makes those things from. And here too, I decided to make the wheels out of sewer pipes, self-tapping screws, and polypropylene sheet.

The weight of one wheel turned out to be 470 grams. And all 6 wheels weigh almost 3 kg. That's so heavy that I was puzzled about what motors to use for such a heavy chassis. But more on that later.

The wheels were so sharp that while I was making them, I cut myself until I bled several times.

The body had to be strong but light. In this project, I was interested in trying aluminum plates with rivets.

And inside the outer shell, there was a body made of polypropylene plates and windows made of plexiglass.

Cutting polypropylene and plexiglass with a hand jigsaw was an absolute pleasure.

So, it was decided to use 550 motors like those found in screwdrivers. On AliExpress, you can choose any shaft rotation speed, since the motor is sold as a complete unit with a gearbox.

I figured that for my wheel diameter, motors with a shaft speed of 1450 rpm would be suitable.

To transfer torque from the motor to the wheel axle, I used bevel gears. One gear has a 6 mm bore diameter (matching the motor shaft), and the second one has an 8 mm bore (matching the wheel axle).

By the way, I made the wheel axles from aluminum tubes with an 8 mm diameter. They turned out to be soft and would bend, so I glued steel studs with a 6 mm diameter inside them, and it became much better.

To transfer torque to the other wheels, I used an old bicycle chain and bicycle derailleur sprockets. They are plastic, and I cut slots in them.

I connected the two halves of the body to each other with a 10 mm diameter aluminum tube, running all the wires through it.

1. Motor driver. I chose a brushed motor driver for an RC car. The rated power is 60 amps. That was enough, and the driver remained completely cold even under extreme loads on the motors.
2. Radio control. I bought a transmitter and receiver set with 10 channels. Of course, for this car, 2 channels (left motor and right motor) would be sufficient. But in my future projects, I might need to control other motors or mechanisms.
3. Battery. I used a 3S Li-po battery sized to fit inside my body.
4. I attached all the electronics to the aluminum with double-sided tape. The test drive showed that this was more than enough.
5. Headlights. I made them from white and red LEDs for license plate illumination on cars. They are designed for 12 volts. I attached them to the monster's lid.
6. This transmitter has a tank mode. It can be enabled in the settings. This means that when you turn the steering wheel, one of the motors brakes while the other accelerates, thereby making the car turn.

So, we close the lid, mount the wheels, and get ready for a test run!

So, the long-awaited moment! I spent so long building this monster that the ice on the lakes had already melted... But I definitely had to test it no matter what. I wanted to find weak spots, break something, so that by next winter I could refine this project and make it truly reliable.

Of course, I drove far into the forest so as not to scare random passersby.

Watch the video if you haven't already!

The test run didn't last long.

Here are the problems I discovered:

1. The gears didn't mesh tightly with each other and would sometimes crackle. Later, I added washers and the problem never recurred.
2. The front wheel axles would bend. Since all the impact from hitting obstacles was transferred to the front wheels, the aluminum tube axles couldn't withstand these impacts and would simply bend. I glued steel studs inside. It got better, but even those I managed to break on the next run.

So, thanks for watching, and I'm off to make another 3-4 wheel variations for this chassis. I already have a few crazy ideas for that ;)