Project Construction

Materials

* = exact amounts will vary with suitcase geometry/size

( ) = model/brand I used

Basic

  • Suitcase
  • Steel plate*
  • Various screws, washers, nuts*
  • Small brackets*
  • Electrical tape*
  • Tie wraps*
  • Strong adhesive
  • Wood 2x4*

Electrical, Basic

  • 12 AWG electrical cable*
  • 22 AWG electrical cable
  • 3.5mm and 4mm banana plug connectors*
  • 5V voltage regulator (LM705C)
  • 1μF capacitor x2
  • Small breadboard
  • 15A Switch


Specialty Items

  • Brushless DC motor x2 (RC aircraft motors)
  • Flywheel x2 (custom)
  • Electronic Speed Controller x2 (Mystery Pentium-60A)
  • RC transmitter (remote) (Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx V2)
  • RC receiver x2 (HobbyKing 2.4Ghz Receiver 6Ch V2)
  • Lipo Battery, 3cell x2 (Turnigy nano-tech 4500mah 3S 25~50C Lipo Pack)
  • Lipo Battery Voltage Tester (AOK-BL8S)

Construction

1) Attach flywheels to motor shafts. Mount motor to some kind of metal frame. Attach brackets to metal frame.

2) Cut out steel plate in shape of suitcase interior. Drill holes in plate to allow the brackets of the motor's frame to be bolted down. Secure bolts in holes. The upper brackets are to secure the battery packs, though their placement depends where there is available space in the suitcase.

3) Use a strong adhesive to bond the metal plate to the suitcase. The type used will depend on the material of the suitcase's interior.

4) Use nuts to secure motor frames to bolts on base

5) Attach batteries to base-plate with tie wraps. (As shown in the previous step, there are bolts in between the motors. I had to cut a 2x4 such that it could fit over them and drill holes to allow securing it with tie wraps.)

6) Attach electronic speed controlers (ESCs) to suitcase interior (only one shown above). My suitcase was hollow between it's interior and exterior, so I was able to drill holes and secure them with tie wraps.

7) On breadboard, assemble the circuit shown, which converts the 12V of the batteries to 5V for the RC receivers. Ensure the inputs can connect in parallel to the battery outputs.

8) Secure breadboard to to motor frame using tie wraps (I covered my circuit with an old electrical tape roll to protect it)

9) Secure RC receivers to motor frames with tie wraps.

10) Attach ESC input cables and 5V power cables (from the breadboard circuit) to the RC receivers (See receiver instructions on correct orientation of cables).

11) Attach switch to suitcase interior. Again, I drilled holes and secured it with tie wraps.

12) Attach Lipo Battery Voltage Tester to suitcase interior to allow easy checking of battery levels. I secured mine with tie wraps and electrical tape.

13) Using the 12 AWG cable, connect the switch, one of the batteries and one of the ESCs, shown above-left (shown without the suitcase internals, for clarity). The other ESC and battery should be connected much the same, but with the inputs of the voltage converter attaching onto the + and - leads before they connect to the ESC (not pictured), as shown above-right.

Below are photos of the completed suitcase. Note, the circuitry is very hard to observe due to the compact design of my project.