Tamiya - Tire for RC car rim - model 01 V-groove

A nice model for a RC car wheel with a diameter of 60 mm. Designed for tamiya rim of Dout 42 mm, width 24 mm, which is typically used in the Tamiya M-size. (Eg. M-05/06 MF01-X)

The tire was designed as test for using flexible filament ( SUNLU TPU flex 95A). The design is such that it can be printed without supports (However support is integrated in design - red). I printed this with 0,15 mm layer heigth.

The design took some iterations due to the flex material. In the end the tire profile is shown in yellow. In red some support is present which needs to be cut/removed after printing. 

The tire side wall thickness is only 0,6 mm (1,5 mm gives way to sitff design), which I found to be insufficient for printing with flexible filament as holes kept appearing in top sidewall. Therefore I added the internal rims - orange.  With 24 rims the holes were minimal and bumps appeared. Therefoer I added the blue rim, which does not bring stiffness in the side wall, but ensures no holes appear.

Printing tips:

• I used Sunlu flexible TPU (95A)
• Layer heigth 0,15 mm
• Nozzle 0,4 mm (so vertical wall thickness is 0,85 mm)
• I used maximum cooling at end of print - fan speed
• I printed the tire in the arrangement as shown in the sooling fan sketch.
• I allowed a lot of ventilation around printer to keep temperature down, because main reasons that the holes appeared in the print is a combination of hot filament and lack of support, so cooling should be maximum.

Take a look at the print process (PDF added) which shows several iterations I made.