DIY 3D Printed Pi Solar Car

Hello people in this Instructables i will show you how i made this Pi shaped solar powered car that is ready to rock and roll on your outdoors, This is a project that will run completely on renewable energy source!

Off course we are talking about the most cleanest type of energy source that is the energy from the sunlight.

This car completely depends in the energy from the sun and this car runs as long there is sunlight and the terrain that will help this car glide smoothly.

You may think why did you design this in the shape of pi? the answer is simple why not! if it works fine with this design there is no wrong in using that design.

I have designed this frame using Tinkercad application and if yo are willing to build this project i have given stl files below you can use that and build this pi car.

If you want i will give you stl files for the wheel part but for the grip you have to add elastic bands separately so to avoid this time consuming process i have directly used the wheels.

In your spare time challenge your friends to build this project and test whose car runs faster to test the best project maker!

Don't miss to check the working video of this car in the last step of this Instructables.

These are the materials that are needed to build this project, Keep it handy so you can build this project in less time(Since time is precious)

DC Motor(DVD Motor)x3

Wheels(Thin ones are most preferred)

Solar panel(6v and higher 150ma recommended) from here

3D printer

PLA filament(color of your choice)

Wire Stripper

Hot Glue

Cables(jumpers will do the best job here)

Tinkercad application(if you are willing to modify the design further)

Cura Slicing software

Tiled floor or any flat surface outdoors to test this project

Note that these are affiliate links and upon successful purchase i may receive a small percent of sale at no extra cost to you

I have made this design final after doing several trial and errors, This height and width of the pi suited well for the components that i will be using in this project.

I made a note of all the dimensions of the components first before opening the design application, i will use Tinkercad for the design and it took me quite some time to finally design and export the STL file.

I later exported the stl to cura slicer, you can follow the settings that i used to print the model.

You can simply download the STL file that is given on this step below and import the same to cura software and finally slice the design to be able to 3d print later.

There is no need of any rafts or supports at the time of printing, The choice of color is left to you, i will use black pla filament to print this model.

The print time is under 1 hour and i will be printing 2 of the pi and you will see it why i did this in the next steps.

The pi that i 3d printed was thick enough so that only one frame was sufficient to support the entire car, I will be making sure that the frame is very strong.

I will print two of this frame and add a thin layer of hot glue between these 2 frames and press 2 pieces separately untill the glue is fully dry and now the frame is ready to be used.

The alignment should be proper since a slight difference will cause the weight shift thereby causing some issues in the working of car when it is exposed to sunlight.

If you want to skip this step increase the thickness of the pi design in the stl that i have given! Don't know how to do it?

Export this stl that i have given to the Tinkercad application and increase the thickness to 2x suppose the thickness is 1.5mm increase it to 3mm and now you are good to go.

Also you can add creative touch by printing the pi frame in different colors and later joining them using hot glue and now we can head over to next steps

This is my favorite part and in my point of view i feel like adding the engine to the car in the assembly phase on the industry! and if you sit and think you will also feel the same.

I will be using the DVD type of motor and you can find these motors in the DVD writers and these motor are known for their efficiency and they utilize all the energy from the panel to drive the wheels.

To make the dc motor work very smooth without any obstructions i will enlarge the frame of the pi using a small screw driver, Now with the help of hot glue and super glue attach the motor to the frame.

The frame will already have holes, Just you have to enlarge it and in the end of the process you will have 3 wheels on the pi frame.

Increase the adhesion of the motor with the frame using hot glue, add extra layers of hot glue and allow to dry completely.

The rear dc motor needs to be added with care because you have to keep these motor aligned that will allow both the rear wheels to be in balance.

You also can replace this open circuit with a Simple small PCB that looks like Pi, Complete your electronic projects in the best way from PCBWay

Why them? They have provided me with the best PCB and The quality is just amazing compared to other providers in the market, They also have Color PCB printing check it out

Check Here for their Multicolor 3D printing service with this your project becomes more interesting

A revolutionary solution that combines the best of both rigid and flexible circuitry to elevate your electronic projects to new heights.

Don't miss to check their assembly offer here , For a Limited time only 29$ for 20pcs

PCBA & Online quote available with 24h delivery services

Their expertise in advanced manufacturing techniques offers a seamless integration of rigid and flexible components, ensuring enhanced reliability, durability, and space-saving benefits.

This is very important part of the pi car since we are using a single solar panel that will power this entire solar car and will take along 2 other wheels.

The circuit is really simple and straightforward.

Strip the wires of the dc motor and mark the red and black also called as positive and negative pins, Now solder the wires to solar panel if it is not done earlier.

Connect these 2 wires to the solar panel, and to make sure everything is working as expected later i recommend to test the solar panel using multimeter.

In my case i was using a 9v solar panel and i was able to get 7v when the panel was exposed to sunlight during 10am, when you test the same during 1,2 and 3pm you can expect solar panel giving out maximum output.

After we have done this step next you can connect solar panel to the pi frame, use hot glue and gently place the solar panel on top and hold it for some time until the glue is dry completely.

Don't forget to insulate the open wire joints that connect the motor and the panel, Use a drop of less of hot glue and gently blow air until the glue dries up completely.

Use hot glue to the extra wires that are suspending freely around the body of the pi, Now simply the project is ready for using, If you have a room where there is sunlight then you can see the dc motor working thereby the wheels spinning.

Now we can finally test the project, And let us see how that can be done in the next step.

Here is the detailed working video of the solar car that is in the shape of Pi, Also you can see how fast this car works and i have tested this car in different sunlight conditions and to my surprise all of the results came out really great.

To use this car all you have to do is take this car out to the place where there is sunlight and make sure since we are using small wheels prefer to use smooth floor or tiled place.

I recommend you to build this project since this is not only just a solar car but in the other hand will teach you lots of concepts that involves physics and electronics and the art of balancing.

That is all for this pi car and if you are willing to build this project there is almost everything included here, if you think i missed anything ask me in the comments and i will be happy to help you out, Thanks and have a great day.