14 DAY TRIAL // Toy cars are one of those things that can be made according to a slew of different designs, from conventional to the outright bizarre. Then there are the ones that people lacking serious funds resort to. Usually anyway.
Cardboard is one of the resources most readily available to the common man. If someone finds, say, some clock gears and sprockets, they can improvise a toy car easily enough.
A man named Hoyt Jolly decided to foster little kids' interest in cars (and, thus, the likelihood of them growing up to be car enthusiasts and Volkswagen employees) by means of little cars powered by rubber bands.
That was just the initial idea though, GoTime Maker Racers. After a time, he found that he could keep the outer cardboard frames but that 3D printed gears would work better for the “motors.”
After some tinkering, he was able to make some little toy cars that can travel for a few feet under their own power, once the torsion springs have been wound tight enough.
The Maker Racer cars are meant to be used to develop a school program where students can be taught hands-on mechanical and physics lessons, as well as 3D printing.
In the meantime, Jolly will be trying to modify the gear designs to make cars that can run further and faster. Maybe a student will be able to give him a run for his money in a few years.