Big Rock Added 3D printed lights to my Big Rock

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sideshowgaz

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I wanted to share my lighting project on my BRCC. I like to drive at night and the lights help see which direction I am facing. I wanted it to look as stock as possible, mount the lights to the chassis rather than the body so there are no wires to get snapped etc when removing the body, ensure they do not stick out and get hit, and can be controlled from the controller if possible, and be as cheap as possible

For the rear lights, I have simply drilled 5mm holes in the rear bumper, filled the surrounding space with hot glue , and cut off flush to make neat with a sharp knife. I finished them off with a bit of wiring, soldering, and a 33ohm resistor (before both LEDs wired in parallel)

For the fronts, I have cut out holes in the stock bumper (small drill bits and a Dremel helped), and 3d printed some inserts with accept 2x 5mm LEDs, and a butt load of hot glue, trimmed with a knife again. I went with a 68ohm resistor this time, for 4x LEDs wired in parallel. I will post the STL files on Thingiverse if anyone wants them.

For power, I looked to the receiver, but the motor fan is already using CH3, so I have a servo Y lead (couple of quid), and a CH3 LED controller (bout a fiver on eBay), so I can plug both in. I have shortened the wires because getting all the wires in the receiver box was bloomin' tough.

The result is though that I have power to my fan still, and I can switch my lights on using the controller. For some reason I need to press UP and then DOWN to cycle through the lighting options? No idea why, but I'm sure I can live with that.

Let me know what you think?

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Those look awesome, I like the idea of using the hot melt glue as a lens, never thought of that. I think you have your resistor values backwards though, I think the you should have the smaller resistance for the set of 4 diodes.
 
Those look awesome, I like the idea of using the hot melt glue as a lens, never thought of that. I think you have your resistor values backwards though, I think the you should have the smaller resistance for the set of 4 diodes.
Hi there. Cheers for the reply, glad you like them. As per the LED's I looked at the voltage drop down across them to work out the resistance needed. I seem to recall that if I had them wired in series rather than parallel that would be correct. I did the same for my last car (FTX), but had 2 lights on the rear (red and amber) and 1 light on the front and that worked out similar, i.e. lower on the rear.
I've had a member asking if I would print a set of the front light housings for him. I said I would send them for £6 posted. 3d printed part only. No LEDs for that price :)
 
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Cheers dude. Me and my brother got exactly the same truck, so I cut green for mine and orange for his as a way of telling them apart.
So, did you make the decals yourself or order them from somewhere? I know my son would love to get decals for his Big Rock.

Also, do you find the 3d printed guards on the top and back helpful? I have a 3d printer and have been considering giving them a go.

thanks!
 
So, did you make the decals yourself or order them from somewhere? I know my son would love to get decals for his Big Rock.

Also, do you find the 3d printed guards on the top and back helpful? I have a 3d printer and have been considering giving them a go.

thanks!
I did cut them myself. I am lucky enough to have a sticker cutter, so it is an easy job. For the price of a beer, I'd happily send you some, so long as I have the colour you are after, and you are in the UK?

The skid plates, again I printed them myself as I do have a printer, however I have not used the car in anger yet. This might sound silly for a 41 year old man, but the car is a birthday gift so I am not allowed to "play" with it until 5th July. I am prepping it as much as possible so it is ready to run on my bday.

I was thinking though, that a 50p 3d print is preferable to a £40 body, even if I have to change them regularly. I have designed and printed a couple of bonnet skid plates since too as there were none I liked on thingiverse
 
I did cut them myself. I am lucky enough to have a sticker cutter, so it is an easy job. For the price of a beer, I'd happily send you some, so long as I have the colour you are after, and you are in the UK?

The skid plates, again I printed them myself as I do have a printer, however I have not used the car in anger yet. This might sound silly for a 41 year old man, but the car is a birthday gift so I am not allowed to "play" with it until 5th July. I am prepping it as much as possible so it is ready to run on my bday.

I was thinking though, that a 50p 3d print is preferable to a £40 body, even if I have to change them regularly. I have designed and printed a couple of bonnet skid plates since too as there were none I liked on thingiverse
That is cool that you have a sticker cutter. Not in the UK, sadly. I live in the American Southwest.

Being a 45 yr old man, I understand completely. My son and I each have a Big Rock, but we haven't run them either. They are part of a homeschool course we will be starting in a few weeks. I just got them and will be disassembling them before the course starts. We will build them together and I figured if I had upgrade and 3d printed parts in the build, we could do it in one. I would agree that the bonnet skid plates on thingiverse aren't my style. I'm interested in what you designed and would love to see a pic.

Cheers!
 
That is cool that you have a sticker cutter. Not in the UK, sadly. I live in the American Southwest.

Being a 45 yr old man, I understand completely. My son and I each have a Big Rock, but we haven't run them either. They are part of a homeschool course we will be starting in a few weeks. I just got them and will be disassembling them before the course starts. We will build them together and I figured if I had upgrade and 3d printed parts in the build, we could do it in one. I would agree that the bonnet skid plates on thingiverse aren't my style. I'm interested in what you designed and would love to see a pic.

Cheers!
Sounds like an amazing homeschool project to me!!

These are the guards I did. I wanted them to match in as much as possible to the ones on the rear. I did stick little bit of glue under them too to stop them spinning
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They look nice but they aren't gonna protect the front/top of the hood at all.
Yep, totally agree. The problem is that those that have the best protection, look by far the worst (in my opinion). I'm choosing to go for minimal (ish) protection on the outside, as the whole shell has been drywall taped and glued on the inside. Fingers crossed it holds together for a while.
 
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