3D Print One of These 108 Different Wheel/Tire Combinatons for Your RC Car

When I was a teenager, I went through a phase where all I wanted to do was race around one of my several RC cars. Perhaps it was because I didn’t quite have my driver’s license yet, and I wanted to mimic the action of driving the best I could, or maybe it was my desire to see how the modifications which I made to my vehicles effected the way they would perform. Whatever it was, til this day I still have a love for RC vehicles, and I can’t wait until my son is old enough to enjoy this pastime as well.

3D printing has begun to make an impact on RC vehicles as well, in allowing hobbyists, makers, and designers to create and 3D print their own modifications. There are many people taking part in this process as part of Daniel Norée’s OpenRC Project — an open source project dedicated to designing, sharing and 3D printing RC cars and components

Over the past year or so, we’ve covered several stories concerning a man named Thomas Palm. Palm, is one of those innovative minds within the 3D printng space who just so happens to play a major role in the Open RC Project. You may recall back in February, he designed 36 different combinations for RC tires and wheels. Consisting of 6 different wheels that could be fitted with 6 different tires, these various combinations left RC Truggy owners on Cloud 9. Now Palm is at it again, as he tells us he is about to release a whole new set of RC wheels.

“In a few days I will release a new set of RC-wheels (resulting in 108 combinations), reinforcement parts and similar designed rims but with a new axle interface,” Palm tells 3DPrint.com.

The 108 combinations will be the results of 6 additional tire designs and 3 new wheels, bringing the total number of tires available up to 12 and wheels to 9. The new combinations will be released to Thingiverse (link will be active shortly), and will also be part of the Open RC Project.

“Based on an idea from Jarosław Seroczyński, I also included some reinforcement parts for the rims,” Palm tells us. “The reinforcement can be a good thing, as it is addressing the issue that, due to the short wheel-axle on RC cars (see image below), the wall thickness under the center nut (holding the wheel) can not be optimized for strength. Another solution could be to instead use my own new rims. These rims do not have the hex recess but instead fit directly on the car axle, resulting in a stronger rim.”

The idea of being able to print 108 different rim/wheel combinations is one which I know I would have surely loved as a teenager, and my son will one day adore once he’s old enough to join me in this continual evolution of RC vehicles.

What do you think about Palm’s creations? Do you look forward to 3D printing your own combinations of tires and wheels? Discuss in the 3D Printed RC forum thread on 3DPB.com.