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What’s the coolest ‘just for the joy of engineering’ project you’ve ever made, and how did you pull it off? We are asking e14 in our Join, Share & Win Competition

E14Alice

Hello May! 

A new month means a new AskE14. Engineers, makers, and problem‑solvers are always building things simply because it’s fun to see what’s possible. Whether it’s a weekend experiment, a clever hack, or a wildly over‑engineered passion project, those moments capture the pure joy of creating.

Time for the question 

What’s the coolest “just for the joy of engineering” project you’ve ever made, and how did you pull it off?

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Competition Details 

You'll have to be a member of the element14 Community to join in and take part in this “Join, Share & Win” challenge. It's simple, all you have to do is:

1. You need to make sure you are Register or Login
2. Then answer the following question by adding a reply or commenting!

What’s the coolest ‘just for the joy of engineering’ project you’ve ever made, and how did you pull it off?

This month, we are giving away:

The Community team will then select the best 3 answers to win the UNO R4 Minima! 

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Closing date: 29th May

Winners announced week of: 1st June

UNO R4 Minima

Terms and Conditions 

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Edit: Winners are being reviewed, due to a change in the element14 Community team there'll be a slight delay.

Parents

  • I converted a 2 child size power wheels Hummer to radio control. 

    The video shows the 1st edition. I reused LED driveway flood lights mounted on tbe windshield, they were switched on by the radio controller channel 3. It was very cool for night driving thru the yard. 

    Kids like to try running their parents over and smash it into walls, so 6 ping sensors were added to the front for auto brake and forward direction lockout.

    Later I added gold mylar skin, and OLED panels in the headlights as eyes so the car seemed animated to look around.

    It sports 2 batteries with an on dash selector switch and a voltmeter so you dont get stuck with a dead battery.

    https://youtu.be/L5bMCFETkXY?si=fA106JqAVn_phKeO

    I took the car as a fun demo to the science museum and the kids hated it because they couldn't drive. There was no gas pedal or steering wheel. They could only ride.

    Lesson learned. The steering wheel got put back in, and a gas pedal re installed. I left all the electronics in tho. The car has a nice linear ramp on the h bridge gating to ease gear backlash. A fast/slow switch helps the youngsters who dont steer well. The ping sensors lockout fast speed and auto stop forward so kiddies dont run into things. Reverse is always 50% speed. The headlight eyes are crazy too. 

    It takes up most of my car to haul it around, so it stays in my garage waiting for grandkids to drive. 

  • in reply to robogary

      Thanks for sharing this story.  I was going to do something similar and came to the conclusion that I wanted the grandkids to actually learn from the experience.  In what life did I ever expect to be telling a 5 year old "Keep you foot on the gas!"?  NONE!  And yet... this week.  Last week.  I just KNOW that I will live to regret saying that. Laughing

    I really like the 50% reverse though. Thumbsup

Reply
  • in reply to robogary

      Thanks for sharing this story.  I was going to do something similar and came to the conclusion that I wanted the grandkids to actually learn from the experience.  In what life did I ever expect to be telling a 5 year old "Keep you foot on the gas!"?  NONE!  And yet... this week.  Last week.  I just KNOW that I will live to regret saying that. Laughing

    I really like the 50% reverse though. Thumbsup

Children