Ducted Fan Pinewood Derby Car

thingiverse

This is an outlaw-class pinewood derby car powered by an electric ducted fan. - I used an ElectriFly 56mm ducted fan by Hyperflow. - The is fan is powered by a 7.4V LiPo drone battery - I used a Venom 430. The fit was a little tight... a little smaller (mAH) would fit better and still provide plenty of battery life. - The fan will accommodate brushed or brushless motors - I used a Dromida brushed motor. Brushless would be faster but the electronics are larger/more complex. - The rocker switch in the back of the car enables power to the system. The microswitch in the front of the car cuts power while it rests on the track starting gate and flows power when the starting gate drops. * The rocker switch is a NTE Electronics micro rocker SPST 6A 125VAC * The micro switch is an Omron SS-01GLE 0.1A 125VAC (using the NC contact) - The wheels are modified BSA wheels from the standard PWD kit. I turned the front wheels on a lathe to reduce their width. The hubs were left in tact allowing the car body to be narrow in the front. - The trigger in the front is a smooth rod threaded for the lock and wing nuts (This piece needs to slide freely - I think a completely threaded rod would provide too much resistance) The car worked well and the pack loved it. It runs roughly 50% quicker than well-built regulation cars. The parts were around $50 - $60 and were purchased from Amazon or Microcenter. It's a fun project - Enjoy!