FULLY Automatic Snowball Maker Car

A Cyberbrick-powered snow vehicle designed to reliably drive through loose and packed snow while forming and releasing snowballs using a purpose-built four-bar linkage mechanism, high-traction paddle wheels, and an open-frame chassis to prevent clogging.

Key Features

• Paddle-style wheels for improved snow traction and hill climbing abilities. 
• These wheels are specifically designed for this car to maximize its ability to move through the snow and climb slight inclines. The petg material also allows the wheels to better withstand the cold.
  
   
• Open-frame chassis to reduce snow clogging
• The open frame chassis ensures that if snow does make it into the mechanism it will easily be able to escape and wont get stuck inside of the machine.
  
   
• Fully automatic snowball forming and releasing on top of the snow.
• Once the snowballs are formed under the snow, the motion of the claws simultaneously moves the snowball out from underneath the snow onto the top layer while cleanly releasing it.
  
   
• 100% Cyberbrick-compatible electronics.

• All electronics used on this model are available on the Bambu Lab store and are included in the materials list. 
  
   

  

Initial Design Goals

• Operate reliably in loose and/or packed snow while maintaining consistently formed snowballs.
• In this model I really tried to aim for consistency of snowballs in the widest range of snow types as possible. The snowballs made are very similar to those made by a manual snow claw. 
  
   
• Maximize traction without tracks 
• When making this model I wanted to make sure it was very reliable and easy to print. Due to the difficulty to print and assemble tracks consistently I steered clear of them opting for a High Traction wheel design. This is much easier to print and is able to be printed in petg to better withstand the cold temperatures.
  
   
• Prevent snow buildup and clogging on and in the moving parts
• One of my main concerns when starting out making this model was it clogging in the snow. I knew that snow and moving parts don't really mix all that well so it had to be reliable. The open chassis design makes sure the snow won't clog the moving mechanisms.

How It Works

• Snow “Claw”
• The Snow claw is arguably one of the most important features on the car allowing it to compact the snow into a snowball while also making sure to stay clog free. This claw is specifically designed to make sure after the snowball is made it ends up above the snow on the ground. This allows for near instantaneous use of the snowballs created.
• Extreme Traction Wheels 
• Designing the wheels for the car was not an easy task. These wheels have gone through rigorous tests to ensure they have sufficient grip and traction in all snowy conditions. I recommend printing these in petg to enhance their snow grip abilities.
• Electronic Wireless Controller
• Controls the snow car with the Official Controller. The configuration is linked in the zip file. The car can be used with any controller however it is configured with the official one in mind.

Notes

• This vehicle is specifically designed for snow, not ice. The snow claws simply don’t have enough power to break through ice and compact it. 
  
   
• While this vehicle has been tested in numerous conditions the quality of the snowballs created do rely on the type of snow. The best snow for this car specifically is slightly wet snow because it is ideal for packing but has the least resistance when driving though.
  
   
• This device uses electronics and interacts with snow. Make sure to take caution when using the car not to get any snow on the electronics. 
  
   
• This car has been specifically tested and configured with the official Cyberbrick controller however any Cyberbrick-compatible controller can be used.