Go Kart Steering Wheel With Quick Release

Hi, my name is Victor, and I am a senior studying at The Webb Schools in California. Earlier in November, 2021, I finished building my homemade go kart. I sourced parts and designed the kart during quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to improve the design of my current steering wheel, which includes the wheel, and an adapter for the wheel to the steering column. However, my first design proved to be ineffective because the two-piece design was too weak, and the wheel had a lot of play in the middle, causing my steering to be inaccurate. I came up with the idea of developing a new one-piece steering wheel with a quick release system shortly after. The idea of this new design is to use the clamping force of the quick release system to eliminate any play within the wheel.

In this instructable I will be sharing the process of designing, 3D printing, and installing the new steering wheel onto my go kart. 

Supplies:

PLA filament: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SM24833?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Spare bolt and nut combination from Gopro mount

Badminton grip I bought from a local badminton store

p1: I first designed the go kart wheel, which is modeled after the 1999 McLaren F1 team’s steering wheel

p2: 1999 McLaren F1 team’s steering wheel (picture source: https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/through-the-ages-formula-one-steering-wheels/)

p3: The wheel itself

p4: The quick release itself

p5: The wheel and quick release combined

I have also attached the all-in-one CAD file

I printed the wheel on my Creality ender 3 after slicing with Cura 4.12.0. I set the hot end to 225 degrees Celsius, while my bed to 65 degrees Celsius. The print took five hours and forty five minutes and I am very satisfied with the end result!

p1: After removing the wheel from the glass bed, I prepared it by wrapping the handles with high-friction badminton grip and installing the bolts and nuts required for the quick release system. The nuts fit perfectly in the holes I designed, and the bolts can be installed and undone with ease. 

p2: Next, I wrapped the grip around the handle

p3: This is the final result. I wrapped the grip in many directions to create crease and crests to enhance the feel of the wheel. The wheel feels very suitable to my hands, and it has a lot of friction. 

I installed the steering wheel onto the go kart, and tightened the quick release system. The wheel does not seem to have any play on the steering column and is functioning as expected:

Here is a short video of it happening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJvXj-PsR7s