Here is a pinewood derby card that my son and I made to look like Iron Man with glowing eyes and chest!
4 minutes
In the video we discuss the general steps we used to build this car.
You need to build up a 3D model using Sketchup, or TinkerCad, or whatever your 3D modeling program of choice is.
Be sure to leave the edges next to the wheel axle locations untouched.
Once done, export the model to an STL file. Most modeling programs will allow you to export to an STL 3d model. Sketchup will do this but may require you to install a plugin first.
Now that you have a 3D model, you need a smart set of software to figure out all the toolpaths to make that thing! Software such as MeshCAM or CamBam will do this. There are others available as well.
Run the GCODE and watch magic happen!
You need to cut out the bottom of the car to allow the coin cell battery holder, wires, and of course, your weights.
For the coin cell holder, we used 2032 battery holders. You will want to find one that makes it easy to insert and remove the battery from the bottom of the car.
Now the fun part – finishing! Once you have everything sanded and painted, you can install your LEDs, your wires, and your battery holder. Use hot glue to hold it down.
Then, on the top side, use hot glue to fill in around the LEDs to make the eyes and the chest glow. For the chest, you can fill in the surrounding cracks with putty or play-doh so that the hot-glue doesn’t run in the channels, then pick it out after the hot-glue dries.
