CO2 CAR DESIGN REPORT

Design Criteria

 Min size requirements: L= 8.5” x W= 2” x .5” H

 .5” Solid HDPE black plastic for structural chassis
 A 3D printed aerodynamic cowling or body cover must be designed to snap fit to the
front and the back chassis with .18” dowel pins. (see diagram below)
 Important Note: The back body must have an insert to hold a Co2 cartridge
securely. The CO2 cartridge must be able to be removed.

Materials
 High Density Polyethylene (Chassis, Wheels)
 Aluminum (Axles)
 PLA (Front Piece, Cartridge Holder)

Procedure

1. Research the aerodynamics for drag and weight to create an effectively paced CO2
car
2. Sketch a mockup drawing of said car

3. Use Autodesk Inventor to model the car whilst meeting minimum dimension
requirements, while simulating the weight, all with help from Busca, and using
research
4. Model the front piece and cartridge holder with strength, weight, and drag in mind,
meeting the different minimum size requirements of the 3D Printer
5. Export the G-Code of all projects with the proper USB with help from Sam Zapke
 6. CAM the chassis with supervision from Busca and/or helpers (Sam Zapke) with the
CNC Tormach with high density polyethylene
7. Print the front piece and cartridge holder with help from Eunchan on the i3 Prusa
with PLA plastic

8. File the 3d printed parts edge lines to fit into the dowel pin holes on the chassis
9. Gently push the dowel pins from the 3d printed parts into the chassis to avoid
breaking (if broken, superglue it back together)
10. Make a small hole in the car to be attached to the track
11. Find two big enough aluminum axles, cut it down with help from Jason, and find
wheels that pass the wobble test, to attach to the car
12. Race

Conclusion
In conclusion, building the CO2 car was a learning experience. Each process for designing
this car taught me a life lesson. Designing the chassis showed me how sometimes you must
use some of the things you’ve never used before (chamfer, fillet) to meet your goals (15g
weight). CAM’ing the chassis showed me how you must consider the CAM when designing
the car to make it easy for yourself, you must consider the future even in the present, and
set yourself up for success. Designing the 3D printed parts showed me how you have to
perfect multiple pieces of a product to achieve a masterpiece, these additional parts and
axles/wheels add an additional 25+ grams to the car, they must be designed properly for a
successful car. 3D printing the parts showed me how objects of different materials can still
be compatible to create the optimal product.
Some of the issues I had with my car was that the 3d printed part didn’t fit in the dowel
holes without immense filing. I still have no clue how this happened as I scaled the file
properly into the 3d printing software and used the proper settings. Since the fitting of the
dowel pins varied for each of my friends as well, this issue might be caused by the printer
itself.
Although my front piece didn’t break, designing it so thin might not have been effective for
structural stability. My thought process was that the minimum thickness was structurally
sound. In the future, I will ask Busca if the minimum thickness really is good enough, or if
going higher might be the play.
Additionally, I was one of the last people to race. In fairness, my G-code for all my parts
have been ready for a while, I just didn’t have the time during class. In the future, I will be
one of the first to finish my project because I will come after/before school to print/CNC if
necessary.
Another infamous issue I faced was that I lost my car in the mouse bin. I will take better
care of my car in the future, only leaving it on the shelf next.
My biggest problem throughout the project was just how to do things. I had been going
blind through most of the project since I had never taken this class before, and I was away
for the lessons, but soon I realized if I wanted stuff done, I would need help from others
(and would need to take notes from the example car), as Eunchan helped me print, Sam
helped me CAM, and Busca helped me race. In the next project, I will reach out for help
when I need it more often.
In the end I had a very thin (but amazingly not broken during the race), fast car (in
relation to the class times), that was done on the second last day for it to be due. I fit all the
projects criteria, although barely, and that is a success to me.