A 3D printer is a very useful device that allows one to be very creative. Do you remember the time when we had to work with paper, glue and scissors? Those days are long gone!
Some like it big. I like it small and funny. And I have a penchant for original key fobs. They’re ideal to present small, compact artworks and miniatures and prevent them from becoming dust catchers in your shelf at home. As my drones and multicopters got smaller and smaller over time, it was also obvious to make a Mini FPV Racer in keychain format – including a miniature remote control with movable levers:
Video
What do you need to get one?
Actually only a 3D printer. In my case the Anet A8, which I bought as a kit and assembled myself. If you like it simpler, you can also get a pre-assembled printer. They’re easier to install, but also keep in mind that the purchase price increases three to five times.
If you already have a 3D printer at home and don’t want to model this yourself, you can download my Mini FPV Racer from Thingiverse and throw it through your own 3D printer:
Ideally, the Mini Racer is printed in three different colours – in my case black, white and orange (I have these three filaments always in stock). The racer and the remote control can also be printed with two colours only, but monochrome would be too dull. It’s supposed to be eye-candy when you carry it on your key fob.
To make sure that the little copter doesn’t feel lonely, a small remote control had to be invented as well. One of the challenges was to make the control sticks moveable. I solved this problem with ball joints. These are designed in such a way that they come out of the printer ready-to-go.
Background Info
Warning! If you want to buy a 3D printer, ensure that there are no children in your personal environment - otherwise you will end up printing kids' toys all the time and nothing else
You should also make sure that you are not the only guy around with a 3D printer, otherwise you will end up printing gadgets for the entire circle of friends.I use Cinema 4D to model my own 3D prints. The finished 3D models are then made "waterproof" and optimized with NetFab so that there are no nasty surprises while printing. I use cura for slicing. In my opinion, the best slicer by far. My experiences with Simplify 3D have sobered me up a lot and let me switch back to Cura because it has a much better mesh import engine.
I usually print with PLA. I can fully recommend the filament from Anet, the manufacturer of the best-selling 3D printers. It's available in many different colors on 1kg coils for ~15 EUR - an unbeatable price compared to other manufacturers, which only offer 800g coils with higher prices and then deliver significantly poorer quality at the same time. Unfortunately the Anet filament is often out of stock due to the high demand, so it is worth ordering a couple of units at once as soon as they are available.
Pictures
3D Printed Mini FPV Racer
