THIS IS AN OLD VERSION OF THE PAGE. Please click on the following link to go to the new page: K'nex Radio Control Car

Building a Remote Control Car from K'nex

Introduction

Inspiration for building a car from K'nex came when I wanted to make an R/C Car easily and cheaply. My dad has an old Tamiya Cheetah which I used for parts like the servos, and Remote Control Equipment. If you are planning on doing a project similar to this you will probably need good quality proportional control Radio Control System and a basic knowledge of R/C vehicles.

The different Parts

	Steering I used Ackerman Steering instead of differential steering because I only had a single motor. K'nex doesn't have any specific parts for steering so I had to build my own framework. This is not as sturdy as I would have liked however and I spent much of the time building reinforcing the axels so they would not bend under the weight of the car when the servo turned it. This leads to a slightly ugly front end but as I was not out for realism this doesn't bother me. The K'nex rod is attached to the horn of the servo by thread wrapped round tightly. It would be better for some kind of glue but I didn't want it to be permanent.
	Motor I had an old motor from an off road K'nex toy that I got as a present a couple of years ago. Sadly the model is no longer being produced and the other K'nex motor not as powerful. I suggest using a couple of small motors together as you would not be able to get much power from one. Turning a motor into a remote control motor is relatively simple, you'll need a speed controller. The speed controller I used is an old mechanical one which works but some power is lost in it and it takes up more than an electronic one.
	Remote Control Equipment I used an old remote control system that belongs to my dad. The most important thing is that it has proportional control because you often need to fine tune the steering as the vehicle moves. The videos show that car with 4xAA Ni-MH Rechargeable 2300mah batteries. Unfortunately they are rated at 1.2v instead of the standard 1.5v of Alkaline batteries. This .3 of a volt difference in Alkaline and Ni-MH batteries make the car run much slower when using rechargeables. However, as the car was never built for speed I'm happy using them.

Parts Needed

• Remote Control
  • Handset
  • Receiver
  • Speed Controller
  • Servo (For Steering)
• K'nex
  • Basic Parts
  • Joining pieces for the steering
  • Gears or Rubber Bands (Unless your using direct drive)
  • Motor

Final Thoughts