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3D Printed
The Project To Start It All...
The Project To Start It All...
I have Mr. Martinez to thank for my dive into the RC world. While I was taking his hands-on programming class in high school, I fell in love with programming electronics and using them to create machines. In order to pursue this passion at home, I convinced my parents to get me a 3D printer for my birthday. Soon enough, I wanted to create an RC project! I stumbled onto this 3D printed air boat design from RCLifeOn, and I knew it would be my perfect start in the RC world.
Build Process
Build Process
Printing and 3D Modelling
Printing and 3D Modelling
Printing this RC air boat was a considerable task as my first 3D printed project, and the two halves took over two days to finish printing. You can see the un-painted hull being test floated to your right.
Printing was only half the fun though, for I happened to be taking a multivariable calculus course at Harvard. One assignment required 3D modelling with Mathematica software, so I was inspired to try designing a simple air boat. You can see the result on your left.
Research
Research
I had never touched any RC electronics before, so I was completely lost at first. This was nothing a little YouTube couldn't fix! After watching countless explanatory videos, I finally began trying to decide what would best fit the air boat's needs. It is important to match the motor and the ESC, which is the part that regulates how much current the motor receives. If I choose too big a motor for the ESC, then the ESC could quite literally catch fire and melt the air boat. When I was confident with my selection, I began attaching pieces like the motor that is shown.
Testing
Testing
Ice Boat?
Ice Boat?
Unfortunately, I decided to start the RC hobby in the middle of a New England winter. The Charles River was frozen over, and my gloves were useless against the frigid air. Still, being stubborn and eager to test my creation, I let it loose on the ice. Take a look!
On the Water, Challenges!
On the Water, Challenges!
When the water thawed and I finally tested the air boat on the water, a problem immediately presented itself. Due to the motor's positioning so high above the center of gravity, the air boat had a tendency to nose downwards and spin out at higher speeds.
In order to solve this, I believe adding spoilers to the rear of the hull could help prevent the nose from tipping downwards. This is obviously not the best solution because it introduces more drag that worsens the air boat's speed, but it also important to note that the air boat design is not normally intended for high speeds. In Florida, they are used to slowly but reliably traverse the swampy areas that typical boats would get stuck in.
The air boat was a success in my book, and it introduced me to the fundamentals of electronics and 3D printing. I was ready to pursue the next step, aviation.
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