Feb.2, 2015 | By Alec

Despite all the ingenious 3D printable parts and accessories you can find on the web nowadays, I think its quite safe to say that the majority of desktop 3D printers are being used to print fun little toys. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But truth be told, most of these end up in on a shelf somewhere or at the bottom of your kid’s toy box, probably as there’s relatively little to do with them. But what if you 3D printed a competitive game with actual replay value? Now that’s something any kid (and most adults) would enjoy.

That must’ve been what the Italian duo Marco D'Alia and Davide Marcoccio must’ve been thinking when they started developing their 3DRacers game. As the name suggests, this is a quite elaborate and fun racing game, featuring little 3D printed RC cars that can be controlled with a 3D printed controller or simply with your smartphone. And as every race can have a different outcome (or feature a different track), the replay value is enormous. But perhaps the biggest perk? Every car is completely customizable and 3D printable, so you can add some real character to your racing events.

It’s secret? Inside every racing car is a plug-and-playArduino Mini (either a v0.5, v0.6 or v1) that is pre-programmed and ready to race. The little car is also crammed with the other necessary components, a battery and charger, lights, motor control, DC motor, a servo and Bluetooth. Everything you need to race for a good 30 minutes or so.

This connects to their home-made racing app, that is compatible with all smartphones that have Bluetooth Smart 4.0technology meaning the Iphone 4S or later, Ipod 5th or later, Ipad 3rd/Air/Mini or later, Galaxy S3/Note 2/Nexus 4 or later. Alternatively, you’ll need to print or purchase their remote controller that can connect to the little car’s Bluetooth. But as it’s in essence just an Arduino, the hackers among you can also simply plug it into your PC through USB and tinker with it to your heart’s content. In short, it's a 3D printed, fully moddable and open source racing game, featuring gameplay mechanics typical for racing games on smartphones, but then with an actual racing car.

These very cool 3D printed racing cars first debuted at the Rome Maker Faire 2014 in October 2014, and looked very impressive, especially as 3DRacers allows you to define the parts you want, modify each car and print them out at home (or through their official and mostly excellent partner, 3D Hubs). And now, through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, the 3DRacers team hopes to gather the necessary sum of $ 25,000 to bring their product to the people.

And as it’s looking right now, they’ve sorted out all the final problems and assembled an excellent team to make this product as success. Aside from the business-oriented Marco and the technical engineer Davide, the team has also been strengthened by electrical geniuses Matteo De Cicco and Fabio Panetta, who together designed the the Arduino board setup, two 3D designers ‘Mad’ Marco and Matteo Pignatelli, 2D artist Francesco Segala and 3D Printer and papercrafter Monia Patacchiola.

Their collaborative effort has resulted in something that looks very promising. Not only is it a very impressive-looking game that I can definitely see catching on, but they have also developed a 3D printable product that has more functions than simply sitting on a shelf somewhere.

You might ask, why 3D print this? Why not simply sell it to some toy manufacturer? Well, the biggest perk of the 3D printing side of 3DRacing is the extreme level of hardware customization that they seek to include. For with the game comes a free online editor, that can already be played with right now. In it, users can easily create and customize a car online, through a wide choice of accessories and car bodies. Users can choose their car online (at this stage only a few basic models, like Corvette and Pick-Up, are available), add subsequently add bumpers, front and rear wheels, exhausts, paint job and so on. This can all be exported as an STL file and easily printed (either at home or through 3D hubs).

This adds a very fun dimension to your racing activity, that can even be enhanced to include your racing track. Sure, you could order their optional track (a 1.5 x 2.6 m (4 x 8.5 ft) PVC mat, including a startgate and accessories), but what stops you from designing your own elaborate track featuring 3D printed railings and ramps? The little cars can run on any surface after all, provided there’s a bottom clearance of 5 mm.

All this makes 3DRacing a very cool looking game that has everything in it to succeed. There’s only one obstacle, and that is the relatively high crowdfunding goal of $50.000 (before the 5th of March, with shipping to begin in September 2015). If you’re interested, check out their Indiegogo page here. A pledge of as little as $35 will allow you to get your hands on a 3D printable car plus all necessary parts, so you can already start racing with your phone. 

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

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