Radio-Controlled Car

My team of five mechanical engineers designed an RC car from scratch to compete in a drag race between all of the Machine Elements classes. My roles through this project were design, manufacturing, and assembly.

More info on this project coming soon!

Steering System

Steering Design V1

  • Used Ackerman steering geometry in our design to ensure a small turn radius and give us an advantage on the track.

  • Our first steering design proved ineffective. The wheels wouldn’t turn more than a few degrees in either direction.

  • We determined that there was one link too many via Grashof’s Equation, and redesigned the steering to remove the center link connecting the servo arm to the turning bone.

Steering Design V2

Steering Design V2 - in action

Full CAD Assembly

  • Used a timing pulley to power the drivetrain.

  • Calculated the Torque-Speed Curve of the car and chose a 4:1 gear ratio to reduce the car’s speed to a manageable 17.9 m/s.