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Jimnytrak

Jimnytrak is a remote controlled tracked vehicle based on the Suzuki Jimny 2019 - but modified to have tank tracks. This version is controlled over wifi, and it's great fun to crawl it around your living room.

Mechanics

The chassis is 3D printed, and finished using enamel paints. I'm no expert at doing this, and I discovered that when a metallic-finish-paint says that you can't overpaint it, then you shouldn't try overpaint it.

I printed the chassis at 0.1mm layer height, and the layer lines are still visible because I wasn't motivated to sand it all smooth. I've since discovered that you can 3D print at even lower layer heights and get prints you pretty much don't have to smooth, so if I were to do it again, I'd definitely take that approach.

The tracks are made by molding hardware store silicone. I 3D printed a mold that screws onto the end of a normal silicone tube. Then you can use a caulking gun to fill the mold very easily. After filling it, the silicone will cure at about 2mm/24 hr, so after waiting a full day a track can be removed from the mold.
I'm rather pleased with how well this process works. If you give it a go and have issues removing the track from the mold, make sure you are using acetic cure silicone, and if necessary rinse the mold with soapy dishwater before filling.

Electronics

The main brain of this vehicle is an ESP8266 microcontroller, and it is wired into a DRV8833 microcontroller. The motors are N30's geared at 300RPM. It's powered by a 300mah lipo I salvaged from a cheap USB-chargeable bike light.

Downloads

You want to build one? Here are all the STL's you need. Alternatively, have a look at the project on github or thingiverse.