Gallery: A Ridiculously Expensive Remote-Controlled Car That's Powered by a Rubber Band

  • Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Car Automobile Wheel Machine Sports Car Hot Rod and Race Car
    Takayuki Kasuya
    01

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    Max Greenberg, Ian Cullimore, Sameer Yeleswarapu developed a miniature radio-controlled car that is powered only with a single, 16-foot-long rubber band.
  • Image may contain Electronics Camera Wheel Machine Transportation and Vehicle
    Takayuki Kasuya
    02

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    Teams have 13 weeks to devise and fabricate a design that must feature an elastic powertrain and two servo motors to control steering and breaking.
  • Image may contain Machine and Wheel
    Takayuki Kasuya
    03

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    Machined aluminum gears allowed the team to keep the rear wheels in proportion with the rest of the car while providing substantial torque.
  • Image may contain Tire Spoke Machine Wheel Alloy Wheel Car Wheel Wristwatch Transportation Vehicle and Automobile
    Takayuki Kasuya
    04

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    The holes in the wheel appear random, but were carefully placed to achieve balance.
  • Image may contain Machine
    Max Greenberg
    05

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    The team bounced back and forth between Solidworks for the precision work and Rhino, a 3-d modeling tool, which allowed more freedom of exploration in the design.
  • Image may contain Vehicle Car Transportation Automobile Wheel Machine Sports Car Race Car and Formula One
    Takayuki Kasuya
    06

    zine-cropped-0006-Layer 13

    The streamlined design allowed the team to stick with a 1:1.5 wheel diameter between the front and back axles.
  • Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Automobile Car Formula One Wheel Machine Sports Car and Race Car
    Takayuki Kasuya
    07

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    The nosecone of the car detaches and allows the racer to wind it by hand or using a power drill.
  • Image may contain Wheel and Machine
    Takayuki Kasuya
    08

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    "We would have been cast out of Art Center had we not started with some more traditional design tools, like sketching and foam carving," says Greenberg.
  • Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel and Clinic
    Max Greenberg
    09

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    By 3-D printing the frame the designers were able to minimize the use of fasteners like screws.
  • Image may contain Tire Wheel Machine Car Wheel Alloy Wheel Spoke Axle Vehicle Transportation and Formula One
    Max Greenberg
    10

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    As the team honed in on the design approach they began investing in 3-D printed parts, like the gearbox at the rear of the car.
  • Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Sports Car Automobile Race Car Car Wheel Machine Formula One and Toy
    Max Greenberg
    11

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    The original, plaster like material was too weak to support the strain created by the rubber bands.
  • Image may contain Human Person Wood Plywood Wheel and Machine
    Max Greenberg
    12

    zine-cropped-0011-Layer 8

    Teams had 13 weeks to devise and fabricate a design that can steer, brake, and ultimately race across a 500-foot-long course.
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