3D Printed Go Kart Designed to Fit in a Suitcase
[Ivan Miranda] is famous for his large-scale 3D printed vehicles. Theyβre pretty fun, but theyβre also pretty big and heavyβwhich can make transporting them around rather impractical. Hence, when he had reason to travel with a 3D printed go kart, he went back to the drawing board to create something light enough to pack in regular plane luggage.
The build started with some major compromises compared to [Ivan]βs previous go kart build. Notably, there are only three wheels instead of four, and a simplified control layout that eschews a regular steering wheel. These decisions were made to save weight and allow the design to be more compact. The kart uses a set of handles either side of the rider to handle steering. Drive is via a brushless motor, with power supplied from a series of 18 V drill batteries. Parts were produced on [Ivan]βs massive printer which comes in handy on large-scale projects like these.
All in all, the final build weighed around 20 kg. Thatβs light enough to be broken down across checked luggage and carry-on for a typical flight. Weβd consider the project a success on that basis, even if quite a bit of assembly was required upon arriving at the destination. [Ivan]βs other builds in this realm are pretty fun too, from the printed scooter to the ride-on tank.