3D printed Pinewood Derby cars?

[Stosh]

5 hours ago, WisconsinMomma said:

I think that's cool.  3d printing is cool.   The Scout will learn different manufacturing techniques and that's OK!   Maybe the car will run well, maybe it won't, but it will be a memorable experience for the kid making that car.

Unless the Pack has specific rules against it, why  not?  Why not let the kid have some freedom? 

 

BSA is notorious for the double speak.  Pinewood I guess no longer has anything to do with pine wood.

[Stosh]

32 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

"In the end, it's just a PWD. " Amen. I remember one ugly parent shouting because his his kid's car beat a Bear Cub. I thought "Congratulations you beat an 8 year old".

Some of the boys REALLY got into their design cars. The younger guys would glue all sorts of little bears, army men, legos on them and were so thrilled they could just race.

Now, now, @Tampa Turtle, PWD is now a family thingy.  Let's not be thinking the boys are the only thing in the program. 

Say that three times real fast without gagging.

[Tampa Turtle]

@Stosh I think it has been at least a dad and lad thing for a while. I would not let my ADD Tiger use a band saw but he would draw the profile and I would do the cut for him. He would sand and sand and complain and complain. My oldest had very poor eye hand coordination so putting the wheels on straight was always a challenge. He would paint, etc. Even the parts I did looked crude so I suppose they assumed it was all boy made. 

There were a couple cars (an excellent air craft carrier) that I must confess was more me than him. And I had to learn some boundries. Do I say not do what I do. Mea Culpa.

Eventually that son learned enough that by the time he got to Webelos he pretty much designed a sliver car with nothing but weights, He asked other dads he noticed always won to show him how to get his wheels on exact. He mostly just needed me for the spray paint run to Walmart.

Younger son designed the wildest, crudest, un-aerodynamic cars ever and had a blast. He loved his big block 'teddy bear caboose' and was sure every car was gonna be a winner even when he used so much hot glue (where did he find a hot glue gun) that he gummed up the tires.. But he had a blast.

I liked how our cubmaster had the biggest trophy for best sportsman-like behavior; to the boy who cheered every one and had a good attitude.

 

[Stosh]

I have no idea how I survived Cub Scouts when there was no PWD.  I don't even remember one being offered.  My son when he was in Cubs didn't want to bother making a car, nor did he attend the races offered.  I guess there are a few of us who aren't motivated by competition.

[qwazse]

18 hours ago, Tampa Turtle said:

...

I have a big issue with 3-D printing; make it a STEM thing.

Actually, it's STEAM now. (The NOVA award includes an Agriculture component.) So, in theory, one could 3D print a cellular matrix, infuse balsa wood cells, drain the media, allow the cells to grow and mature along the matrix-including growing them around the axles (tires already inserted), and cure the assembly. With a little genetic engineering you could have the bark mature in different colors -- a pre-painted car. No band saw required.

[scotteg83]

2 minutes ago, qwazse said:

Actually, it's STEAM now. (The NOVA award includes an Agriculture component.) So, in theory, one could 3D print a cellular matrix, infuse balsa wood cells, drain the media, allow the cells to grow and mature along the matrix-including growing them around the axles (tires already inserted), and cure the assembly. With a little genetic engineering you could have the bark mature in different colors -- a pre-painted car. No band saw required.

DIdn't know they did Agriculture

 

Our local council did Steam, but A is for Art, as in computer assisted Art

[Stosh]

9 minutes ago, qwazse said:

Actually, it's STEAM now. (The NOVA award includes an Agriculture component.) So, in theory, one could 3D print a cellular matrix, infuse balsa wood cells, drain the media, allow the cells to grow and mature along the matrix-including growing them around the axles (tires already inserted), and cure the assembly. With a little genetic engineering you could have the bark mature in different colors -- a pre-painted car. No band saw required.

Wayyyyy too difficult.  Mix pine sawdust with Elmer's glue, mold to make it look like a car.  Let dry, sand a bit and paint.

And as an extra thought, one does not need a band saw to make a PWD car.  That's a dad's way of doing it, not the boys.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Stosh

[Eagle1993]

Or just go on eBay and buy a car.  Have your au pair attend the Pack meeting with your son and fire her if he loses.  I’m not sure why everyone is making this so complicated. 

I’m not a fan of 3D printed car idea at this point... perhaps in the future when they are cheaper and more widely available.  For now, keep it simple and have the kids build as much of the car as they can based on their ability.  

Ever since we found out (after the race ceremony) that our winning scouts car was purchased for nearly $100 on eBay I’ve soured on the event.  Overall it is fun for parents and kids but there are still Too many parents overly involved with their kids race results.  Our biggest trophy is for Sportsmanship ship as well, but that hasn’t stopped some of the arguments (my favorite was one with a parent regarding why they ... i mean their kid.. placed 8th instead of 7th).  My stance.... it doesn’t matter.... they didn’t like that response.

 

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

31 minutes ago, scotteg83 said:

DIdn't know they did Agriculture

 

Our local council did Steam, but A is for Art, as in computer assisted Art

Yeah ART here too...but we are City Slickers. 

[Tampa Turtle]

@Eagle1993 "Ever since we found out (after the race ceremony) that our winning scouts car was purchased for nearly $100 on eBay". 

Congrats on your head not exploding. Perhaps you should have a "best procurement" category.

Perhaps that is more representative of our culture today. Don't learn or do when the cloud can tell you the answer or ship you the solution. 

(what a dinosaur I have become. We still shop in person for groceries and cook our own food.)

[Stosh]

There's a good YouTube video on making PWC cars, weight placement, axle bending, riding on three wheels, etc.

[blw2]

On 1/2/2018 at 4:25 PM, Tampa Turtle said:

I'd say it wasn't Kosher. Yeah, I used to be a 'car screener' and we bounced 1 or 2 that were not made from the kit. I know we had Outlaw races and Dad's races. I can see 3-D printed car races but not as an "Official Pinewood Derby" race. Seems like someone could win at a local unit and be bounced as they competed at District. But who knows these days?

I wanted to bounce a few like that

They were very obviously a pre-carved body store bought, and not from a block of wood in the kit.... I recognized some distinctive shapes from my web searches

but no real way to prove it....and we have to take them at their word..... standing there parent and son next to each other at the sign in table...."did you make this car?"  "Yes we did."  You know they are crossing their fingers behind their back....

If it were up to me  I think I would either do the build the day of the race, or at the meeting prior with all cars "sequestered" between meetings.  

As an engineer, I enjoyed trying to teach physics to my son.... CG, inertia, friction, etc.... and a lot of that couldn't be done quite to the same level if doing it all race day....

but all in all I think it would be better and more fun for the scouts

[qwazse]

On 1/11/2018 at 9:13 AM, scotteg83 said:

DIdn't know they did Agriculture

 

Our local council did Steam, but A is for Art, as in computer assisted Art

Oh sure, let's make those artists feel good about themselves ... stimulates young minds ... makes for better society ... blah blah blah.

On 1/11/2018 at 9:44 AM, Tampa Turtle said:

Yeah ART here too...but we are City Slickers. 

City slickers. There may be more of us, but that doesn't mean more electoral votes! (Oh, Mr. Moderator? Sorry for the tangent.)

Find details about Agriculture requirements, introduced last year, as "Let it Grow" in the Boy Scout NOVA award's fifth wheel here: http://www.usscouts.org/advance/nova/scout-nova-5.asp.

[ntrantham]

We still have a small issue with parents building the cars, but I have almost completely put an end to it.

We allow the use of the "kit cars" sold at hobby lobby, etc.  I would rather see a Tiger open one of the kit cars, assemble it, paint it, put the weight and stickers on themselves then to see a parent build the car for them.  Lions and Tigers using kit cars are fine, by wolf they should be building their own.

How I get parents to stop building the Scout's car?  We host derby workshops, if the Scouts get to see other scouts building their own cars they encourage their parents to let them build their own.  We encourage younger lion through wolf moms and dads to build their own cars and we will even supply them.  I teach parents to build the same car as their Scout.  This way the parent can make the large cuts on the body of the car, then demonstrate to the Scout how to do the finer things like sanding, polishing axles, etc on the parent's own car.  Let the Scout do the same on their car.  The Scout may not want to do everything like getting weight placement 100% correct.  When mom's car is faster then next year the Scout will pay more attention.  This works wonders.  Some of our workshops are on weekends, some are during the normal Den Meetings, this way the Scouts get to see others building their own cars. 

[ItsBrian]

My pack had the problem where people bought premade cars... Nobody cared since it was mostly the leader’s children.