When I first encountered the Scalextric 4 Schools competition I was tempted to dismiss it. It seemed to me that they may be too small to allow deep engineering thinking. Three years further on I am starting to wonder if I will ever plumb it's depths.

From a teaching point of view it is manor from heaven unlike many projects it has been described as being an onion, you no sooner remove one layer then you discover another.

The Scalextric 4 Schools started some three years ago and the very first finals were held at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. The first year told us just how much technology could ultimately be put into a car as the winner was "Helped" by he UK slot car champion. The second year this team was no longer there but the Sandbach team brought all the lessons they had learned from the first finals and swept the two top prizes. The third year included the new Land speed or Bloodhound challenge and the formula continues to grow.

At keystage 3 I would expect the pupils to assemble a pre-cut chassis and then design their own body. It is interesting how much the pupils can lear about industry when they have to interface with an existing product. Much like you would in industry. Electric motors are almost always bought in and the manufacturer will have a standard interface template which you will have to match. I would also use the wind tunnel to test their shapes.

At Keystage 4 I would be expecting pupils to design and manufacture their own chassis and body. They G&T pupils may also wish to get involved with the Bloodhound challenge as this is very free form designing. If G&T pupils are looking for an extension exercise then the production of the wheels tyres and bearings are parts of the project they could get involved with. As yet we have not addressed front wheel steering to reduce drag in the corners and differentials to reduce counter lock in the corners. I am currently looking for small bearings that will allow the front wheels to free wheel and one way bearings to make the back wheels effectively have a differential and on the engineering goes. Some might say that the front wheels need to be glass as any friction they make is counterproductive, this assumes that the pick up is the main load bearing unit, once you get to the point where we are trying to govern the ideal pressure on the power pick up plate a little like a needle on a record we are starting to enter the world of shock absorption and sprung axles. We will come back to all this as time permits.

Scalextric Finals 2011

Scalextric Finals 2010

Scalextric Finals 2019

Big Tracks

Scalextric Land Speed Record

The Scalextric car system has a number of teaching opportunities in addition to the Scalextric for schools challenge.

The basic car design includes, Chassis Design, Body design, Motor choice and drive train engineering, Electrical pick up design, axle friction, grip and suspension dynamics.

Once you get into this project there are a number of motor choices in addition to the Scalextric units these include the SCX system which is an all in one motor and axle unit with brass bearings.

There is a depth of product analysis possibilities within the Scalextric off the shelf track and cars. The track has a number of features which will allow the addition of track furniture which might include skid slides barriers etc.

A whole area of track furniture development could be undertaken as additional or extension projects.

In addition the production of in house track can be undertaken using a 4mm cutting tool for the slot and sticky back copper strip for the electrical strips.

Finally the analysis of the electrical system would be possible and we propose to build a track control system in the near future.

As part of the Scalextric's 4 Schools challenge we decided that it would be nice to have a few cars that were almost shop quality produced on schools equipment to show how feasible they were.

Porsche 911 Carrera

911

911 911

Lamborghini - Gallardo

Lambo

Gallardo Lambo

Boxford Bugatti Veyron

Bug

Bugatti Buggatti Veyron

Boxford 1983 Ford GT90

GT90

GT90 GT90

Making high definition car moulds is no harder than cutting the standard moulds and can be done as a series of simple steps the first being to convert the 3D image to an STL file should it not be found in that format.

There are a number of conversion programs depending on what your first file is generated in.

SHould you wish to find some vehicle alternatives there are a number of free download vehicles on the website artist-3d.com.

Many of these are in 3D studio MAX so conversion of the file to STL is required. This can be done in 3D Studio MAX using the export facility and if the file is in the 3DS format from studio max it can be done in the Zcorp software too.

Once you have an STL file it can be loaded into 3DGEOCAM inside the Boxford User Software. A Help PDF will guide you through the GEOCAM software.

Geocam Video

If you are looking to manufacture the cars in high detail as in the pictures you may need to purchase a smaller tool. These files were machined with the Taegutec RIB 2020 - 3.0 x 20 TT1040. This tool is 2mm wide with a 3mm cut depth but its design means that it is very long as the shank is 25mm long. Using a converter to hold it in a 6mm chuck this tool is very useful at high detailed projects with deep holes. It is important that you protect the tool when you define it to ensure you allow for its small cutting area.

Tool

The Production Files

The files for The Porsche Carrera 911

911

Porsche Carrera 911 Master File in 3D Studio Max Format - Download

Porsche Carrera 911 Vacuum Forming Mould In STL Format - Download

Porsche Carrera 911 Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

The files for The Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti

Bugatti Veyron Master File in 3D Studio Max Format - Download

Bugatti Veyron Vacuum Forming Mould In STL Format - Download

Bugatti Veyron Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

The files for Lamborghini Gallardo

Gallardo

Lamborghini Gallardo Master File in 3D Studio Max Format - Download

Lamborghini Gallardo Vacuum Forming Mould In STL Format - Download

Lamborghini Gallardo Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

The files for The Ford 1980 - GT90

GT90

Ford 1980 - GT90 Master File in 3D Studio Max Format - Download

Ford 1980 - GT90 Vacuum Forming Mould In STL Format - Download

Ford 1980 - GT90 Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

Chassis assemble Video

Replacement Chassis For the PTC Moulds In 3mm Acrylic

PTCChassis

PTC Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

"Magadhesion"

Chassis For the PTC Moulds In 3mm Acrylic With "Magadhesion" These chassis cannot be used in the Scalextric competition but it is worth researching the effect.

MagAdhesion

Laser Chassis - 3mm Acrylic - Download

Finishing Tips.

To achieve the finished look of these cars the vacuum forms needed to have some transfers added. This can be done in a number of ways, by far the best is using the waterside decals system mad by Lasertran. The transfer paper comes in packs of eight for about £13 in A4 or for about the same price 4sheets in a3.

Having used this medium i can say its use is impressive. Initially you need to develop a set of features that you wish to print on your cars. (I have included ours for the moulds above). Then simply print on the white "Chalky" side with an inkjet printer, allow at least 30 minutes to set and then as you cut each of the transfers out they can be soaked in water and the ink is released on a gossamer backing which will normal grip to the plastic with no further glue. Should the edges curl up then a touch of Easy Fix - Thin from Bindles will capillary stuck the transfer down, use it sparingly as the transfer is so thin it soon dissolves into nothing.