PLA Spring Motor, Rolling Chassis

myminifactory

A rolling chassis version of the PLA Spring Motor, printed entirely in PLA, spring and all, requiring no batteries, bearings, screws, power supply, electric or drill motors to operate. Wheelie, an updated wheelie pulling dragster version of this thing is available. Video of upgraded wheel design (see UPDATE below) showing a 40 foot run is here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w1LrRPG0Uo&list=UUv_zm49u-RjnCJVwhUO-ecA&index=1. With the wife's assistance, it hits the baseboard at 40 feet, but has enough energy to run further. Video of original wheel design is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzcdfTisBjk&index=1&list=UUv_zm49u-RjnCJVwhUO-ecA. I did not have a large short carpet area to run it on, but I estimate it would run 30+ feet on short carpet. As you can see in the video, it spins out once it reaches the hard floor, indicating a waste of whatever energy was remaining in the PLA spring. I did not have a large short carpet area to run it on, but I estimate it would run 30+ feet on short carpet. As you can see in the video, it spins out once it reaches the hard floor, indicating a waste of whatever energy was remaining in the PLA spring. The first photo is of the original PLA Spring Motor, Rolling Chassis. The second is with the updated rear wheels and axles. The original prototype works best on short carpet with the original wheels as it will spin out on hard floors or when wound to 100%. With the updated wheels and axle (see UPDATE below) it works best on hard surfaces and will run 40 feet plus. UPDATE: I've uploaded two new files, "Axle Rear Slotted.stl" and "Wheel Rear Slotted.stl". The new wheel allows for a rubber band tire, and the new axle allows for the new wheel width, both of which allow the PLA Spring Motor, Rolling Chassis to run on hard floors. The prototype runs an average of 40' (approximately 12 meters) across a hard surface before coming to a stop. UPDATE 2: I've uploaded "Pawl New.stl", use this if your slicer has trouble with "Pawl.stl". Use safety glasses when operating the PLA Spring Motor, Rolling Chassis. While I've operated the mechanism well over a hundred times without a failure, I always recommend erring on the side of caution as the spring could snap and send pieces flying where they shouldn't be flying, and that's never a good thing. Designed using Sketchup 8, and printed in PLA on a Makerbot Replicator 2 using Makerware 2.3.3.42.