FT Dart Motor Pod

3/21/2018 - I added a v2 version. The original fits and works...but was a tiny bit longer than necessary and while the walls were the same thickness as FT's ply version I felt that when printed it was plenty strong with thinner side walls to save weight. So this version is a few mm shorter and the sidewalls are slightly thinner.

Printable motor pod for the Flite Test FT-Dart. I tried the version @JGPlanes shared earlier here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2828661 But found the dimensions on it were a bit off. Rather than wait for him to modify it I whipped up my own.

I printed this is Taulman 910 Nylon for strength and light weight since Nylon is less dense than PLA ABS or PETG and weighs less for the same print in those materials. However while 910 is usually pretty good about not warping for me this design is prone to warping. I tried printing with a brim to help prevent it but the corners still pulled up a bit. PLA would be less prone to warping but may not hold up as well in a crash.

OnShape design here:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/f714d4622445ee274557bf6a/w/3e3e11175bcd358fd2ba78f8/e/4763e647dfd028791159db53

Print instructions

Category: R/C Vehicles Print Settings

Printer: FolgerTech 2020 i3

Rafts: No

Supports: No

Resolution: 0.24mm

Infill: 5%

Notes:

Even at 5% infill it winds up being basically solid. I may try modifying the design to have thinner walls since I think in Nylon it will still be plenty strong even if it was thinner.

I did print with a brim to try and help prevent warping as the design is prone to warp in some materials.

How I Designed This

Designed this in OnShape using FT's original PDF plans as a source. I opened the plans in Inkscape and then resaved the parts I was interested in as a DXF. I then imported the DXF into OnShape and used them in a sketch to re-create the original plywood parts which I then assembled.

I then used that as a model to base mine on picking bits of the geometry off into new sketches I used to model my mount. Toss in some fillets, export as STL, print...and fit first try.