What will it do?
My Maker Derby Track will be a race track for custom made race cars. The track will have a built in starting gate and timing system to indicate which car crosses the finish line first. The track will be reconfigurable so that the start and finish lines can be at either end of the track making it work for gravity powered down hill races or motorized up hill races. The rest of the track will also be made of modular sections that can be rearranged to create different elevation changes and track layouts. For now the track will only have 2 lanes but I would like to be able to expand up to 4 or maybe even 6 lanes in the future.
I want to be able to run this event as a weekend long workshop at a maker space where participants get a kit of materials to build their car on a Friday evening and have until Sunday evening to build their car and race. This could either be a simple gravity race or a motorized car kit for up hill racing.
Who’s done what beforehand?
I’m taking inspiration from the Boy Scouts Pine Wood Derby races I did as a kid. There is a lot of information out there on how to make tracks and timing systems with both DIY and commercial solutions available.
There is a similar event called Nerdy Derby that run similar gravity powered races at events like Maker Faire making cars out of recycles materials.
I was introduced to a more complicated but related race series of Tamyia Mini 4WD racing with motorized cars on what look like scaled up hot wheels tracks. This is a step further than I want to go with this project.
What will you design?
I will design the modular track system with at least 4 different interchangeable segments with different elevations, angles, and curvature. As well as an interconnect system to lock them together securely and quickly.
Integrated into the track I will design a mechanical starting gate and optical finish line sensor system to determine which car has finished first. I will design the microcontroller board that connects these sensors and write the software to determine the time for each car.
What materials and components will be used?
Where will come from?
How much will they cost?
What processes will be used?
Track Construction:
| Material | Quantity | Source | Cost | Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/4" Plywood | <1 4’x8’ Sheet | Boulter Plywood | ~$80 | ShopBot |
| 1/4" Plywood | ~3 2’x3’ Sheet | Boulter Plywood | ~$50 | ShopBot & Laser Cutter |
| Dowel | 1 | Parts Pile | - | Hand Saw |
| Wood Glue | ? | Lab Inventory | - | - |
| PLA Filament | ? | Lab Inventory | - | 3D Printing |
Electronics:
| Material | Quantity | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR-1 Board | 1 | Lab Inventory | - |
| ESP 32 Microcontroller | 1 | DigiKey | ~$3 |
| Button | 2 | DigiKey | - |
| Headers | 6 | DigiKey | - |
| IR LED | 2-4 | DigiKey | - |
| IR Phototransistor | 2 | DigiKey | - |
| Resistors | - | DigiKey | - |
| Capacitors | - | DigiKey | - |
| Ribbon Cable | ? | DigiKey | - |
| Ribbon Cable Connectors | ~4 | DigiKey | - |
| Voltage Regulator | 1 | DigiKey | - |
What questions need to be answered?
How will the modular track sections be connected?
What algorithms will be used to detect cars crossing the finish line sensor?
What is the limit to how far from the microcontroller can the start gate button be?
How will it be evaluated?
This project will be a success if the timing system works successfully. Cars can race down the track and it will indicate which one arrived first. It will also need to be able to be reconfigured into multiple track shapes.
