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Tizer

TA01 3D Printed Long Arm Suspension

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Hey guys, I thought I'd share my new project here.

A while ago I designed some lower suspension arms and rear knuckles for my Top Force build that I raced at the IconicRC Revival this summer. Now I've been asked to display my designs at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven end of the month with Shapeways.
My designs are very very random at the moment, I usually just make whatever I need at that moment. Because I want my display at Dutch Design Week to tell a story that's deeper, I started a new project yesterday. What I want to show, is that with 3D printing you can create parts that help modernize old vintage RC cars and make them relevant to race again.

And because I LOVE TA01's, it will be my chassis of choice for the display. What I want to do is create a long arm suspension conversion, much like what Tamiya did themselves with the TL01, that fits the TA01, TA02 and FF01. I will be basing the geometry on the first generation TA05 simply because I had it laying around to measure up. Important to me is that it will still look like a TA01, so I will try and keep as many design clues from the original suspension as possible.

The first part I finished drawing up yesterday is the rear knuckles. I also started drawing up the geometry of the rear arms, but I still have to make the 3D design. Just like with my Top Force knuckles I created 4 different versions with toe-in angles ranging from 0* to 3*.

TA014_Rear_Knuckles.jpg

Soon more updates!

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1 hour ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

What is your Shapeways shop, if you have one? Interested in 3 deg knuckles for my Terra Conqueror.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/4E7C2TTSH/top-force-rear-knuckles-3-degrees-toe-in-ta02?optionId=63822816
 

Here you go, I've added it to my shop. I still need to upload pictures though. I've been putting off cleaning my Top Force since the Revival :rolleyes:

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Just finished the drawings for the rear lower arms. I used the TA05 arms as a guide, and combined it with the standard TA01 geometry. The end result should be the exact same trackwidth the TA05 has, with unchanged TA01 damper and anti-rollbar geometry (but +1 extra hole for setup options). It will use a 30mm steel kingpin from the TA05 on the wheel side.

TA014_Rear_Arms.png

I want to keep the looks as original as possible so I went for the same closed arm with ribs design as the original arms. I really like the way it came out!

I've ordered a set from Shapeways just now, so let's hope it all fits on the first try.^_^

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Thank you for doing this! So many people have asked for this and I have no desire to do it. Now I know where to send them!

 

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On 15-10-2017 at 8:57 AM, Pintopower said:

Thank you for doing this! So many people have asked for this and I have no desire to do it. Now I know where to send them!

 

I've been playing with this idea for years too. I'm stoked that it's finally happening!

Yesterday I finished the drawings for the C-hubs, and today I finished the front arms. I've just ordered them from Shapeways again, so let's hope it will work! I will use the front hubs from the TA05 for this one as I'm running out of time and I don't really need to change the design anyway.

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I also received the rear suspension from Shapeways yesterday and managed to fit it on the TA01 chassis. It worked perfectly straight away, which doesn't happen often. Normally I go through a few prototypes before it fits. Really happy with it! B)B)

Here's two quick pictures taken with my phone of the rear suspension installed. I'm using the standard bearings, axles and the optional adjustable upperarms from Tamiya. I still have to dye them black, but you get the idea. 

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Did you add a -2° to the front C-Hubs? Like the supr rare aluminum C-Hubs Hop-Up from Tamiya?
 

Max

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@kontemax No the first iteration is without the added caster. However, I do have the aluminium C-hubs on the car at the moment, so I can always measure them and add the same amount of caster. This is just the first version, I can always change the design to add different options. :)

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The original Hop Up Option from Tamiya is almost unfindable so I decided to use the TB-01 C-Hubs on the Ta-01 chassis and the chassis is far away better than the original configuration.
The TB-01 has 2° positive but I mounted them reversed and it worked.

Max

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not gonna lie....... Im digging this as someone who tends to be liking the TA01 TA02 more and more... this has piqued my interest.

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So Dutch Design Week is over, and I had a lot of fun showing off my 3D designs to the public on tuesday.

All first prototypes of this suspension are done, and I have to say I'm well happy with the result. I found only 2 small issues with the C-hubs, and other than that everything works as I planned.

Here's a look at the front suspension when I fitted it for the first time:
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And a little preview of the 'finished' set as mounted on my TA01. I swapped over the red gearboxes for brand new blue ones to match my TopForce and make it a nice duo while on display.

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I can not wait to try this out on track! I will grab the electronics from my Hornet and fit them in here to test.

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On 30-10-2017 at 10:10 PM, ThunderDragonCy said:

Looks good. What's the advantage of the longer arms? Less camber change?

Less camber change indeed, and altered rollcenter. I also added extra holes for the dampers and have rear knuckles with multiple toe-in options.

So the conversion prototypes are finished. I finally had the time to finish the photoshoot I did with the TA01 I build for the long arm conversion. Be prepared for LOTS of photo's :D

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I hope you like it! Before I will post it up for sale, I have to make a slight adjustment to the C-hubs as right now they don't allow for enough droop. After this tweak I will of course post the shop link here.

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Hi guys, I've been a bit quiet over the past month because christmas time has hit Shapeways and home to it was a busy couple weeks!

However I managed to create a new version of the C-hubs to fix some issues with the first set and get them printed this week. I fitted them up yesterday to test and I'm very close to a final version.

The original C-hubs did not allow for enough droop, so the ones you see in above pictures have been cut down before being dyed black. My new ones are much better now, but the hole for the kingpins was slightly to small still. A newer version is in the printers right now.

received_1965771016773972.jpg

So after the weekend I can try another pair of C-hubs and hopefully the suspension set should be good to go :D

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5th time's the charm! You won't see any difference in the picture, but the holes for the kingpins are the exact right size now. They turn freely with minimal play; Perfect!

IMG-20171218-_WA0004.jpg

Hopefully I will have some time soon to testdrive my TA01LA and post up the parts for sale.

Oh and by the way.. I just got a new FF01 chassis in, so I will also create a set of rear arms that will fit the TA02 and FF01.. yay!:lol:

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On 10/13/2017 at 1:02 PM, Tizer said:

A while ago I designed some lower suspension arms and rear knuckles for my Top Force build

Hi Tizer,

are those available at Shapeways?

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On 5-1-2018 at 1:17 PM, bsy2010 said:

Hi Tizer,

are those available at Shapeways?

Not yet, but they will be soon. Tomorrow I can have the first proper testdrive with this setup.

I had a little run earlier this afternoon for the first time with this build. I finally managed to get all the electronics installed with the wires shortened so it all looks super neat. I also added the little strengthening tricks to the rear gearbox cover like I had on my TopForce and took some slop out of the front upper arms. In my brief first test I noticed it has a lot of understeer but I'm sure I can fix that with a tune.

It is powered by a RC OMG 120A AX1 ESC, MuchMore Fleta ZX 17.5t motor and a RC OMG coreless low-profile servo. Should do the trick for the small indoor track I'll be racing at.

DSC_0030_1_1200x800.jpg

I also designed a shorty lipo holder that will fit directly to the TopForce/TA01 carbon bottomdeck. Hopefully the first print will be in later this week so I can testfit and improve the design :)

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The first prototype of my battery holder came in!

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At first it looked great, however it seems like I made a couple mistakes in the model :unsure:

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As you can hopefully tell from the pictures my mount sits too high and also not centered. I was in a bit of a hurry when I designed these so I think I missed something. It should be an easy fix though, and I might actually re-design the whole thing as seeing it in person has given me some extra idea's. What do you guys think?

I also scored an antenna holder that looks just like the original Tamiya TopForce piece, but is blue. It's made by RC drift car maker MST for their MS01 chassis. You can get different colours and they are cheap.

DSC_4860.jpg

Oh and I'm in the process of decoration my hobbyroom. After seeing a picture posted on Facebook by Jun Watanabe, I spotted an old Tamiya paintcan dressed up like R2D2 in the background. I decided I wanted one too and drew up some legs that will fit directly to a can. Here's the first mock-up. I still need to paint it.

DSC_4862.jpg

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Good start on the battery holder... I'm looking forward to see v2 :)

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It's been quiet here for a while, and it seems my old pictures have died? Anyway, I'd like to say that the car is pretty much finished and has been running great! I did set it up quite soft to get rid of the typical TA01 understeer causing it to have a lot of bodyroll. It does grip quite well and I managed to be the fastest everytime we did a race with the vintage cars.

I also did up a body for it to race in our vintage cup. We only allowed realistic looking classic touringcar bodies in the cup, so I chose something a bit out of the ordinary to race with. It's a HPI Toyota Soarer MZ10 body. My friend had it for sale cheap and even though the Soarer never really raced much with Toyota, I believe it still would've made a nice race car similar to BMW's DTM 6 series in the mid 80's.

The body still needs a couple of extra details added such as rear light buckets, a 3D grill and doorhandles, light lenses and an interior with rollcage. But here's a first look at it anyway.

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I've designed some ATL fuel fillers to 3D print at Shapeways for this car, and 2 other styles. On this body I have an 80's/90's style smooth cap like you'd see on an E30 DTM. There's also a later bolted version and one with a lid/door. You can find them here: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/tizerrc?section=Scale+Accesoires&s=0

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The wheels are Team Tetsujin adjustable offset wheels I've painted to match the body. The decals I've all designed myself for an earlier BP/Trampio liveried car I've build for a friend. I liked it so much I wanted a body with this livery myself too :)

 

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Holy thread revival!

This TA01 has been an ongoing project for years, being upgraded VERY slowly and occasionally driven on track. It's a lot of fun to drive as is, but when I saw some new TA01/2 parts on the Shapeways shop  I figured I would upgrade it a bit more. 

The car has a lot of bodyroll, partially on purpose because of the soft springs, but it slowed the response in the corners a bit too much. I ordered the parts from the MS-Racing shop on Shapeways to add a TB03 foambumper and a TRF418 anti-roll bar set. The bumper goes straight on, but the bars are meant to go on a TA02 with stock suspension. Mine is a TA01 with my custom long arm suspension so it's slightly different, but the set still worked out. I will update the rear arm design a bit to make the rear bars fit better. 

Here's a couple of pictures of the car in it's current state. And yes... I scratched up the original TA01 carbon decks :rolleyes:...

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I absolutely love this.

I have a bunch of TA02s. Now it looks like I need a couple TA01s to play with.

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On 5/22/2022 at 2:08 AM, Tbird232ci said:

I absolutely love this.

I have a bunch of TA02s. Now it looks like I need a couple TA01s to play with.

I am planning on building a TA02 to match this car, as I have the feeling the TA02 might be a better handling car. Tamiya made the weight distribution changes for a reason of course :)

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On 5/24/2022 at 7:37 AM, Tizer said:

I am planning on building a TA02 to match this car, as I have the feeling the TA02 might be a better handling car. Tamiya made the weight distribution changes for a reason of course :)

This would make me very happy. I would love to see you do it.

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