Amphibious Vehicle Rides On Giant, Inflatable Wheels

Amphibious Vehicle Rides On Giant Inflatable Wheels MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Just for fun Axel Borg made a one-of-a-kind vehicle with inflatable wheels that runs on power tool motors Borg says he wanted to be able to drive across water and ended up combining the fun of a kid’s bouncy castle with an ATV He made the inflatable wheels from heavy-duty laminated pvc tarp that he sewed together on a conventional sewing machine using professional vapor barrier sealing tape The tarp was attached to plywood wheels mounted on tubular axles To power the vehicle Borg used 4 motors from AC immersion concrete mixers already geared down to 80:1 He added a 3:1 sprocket reduction to move the 6-ft diameter wheels with 1/2-in chain Borg used motor control circuitry from a cordless drill to control the bigger motors which are powered by 15 14 8-volt batteries connected in sequence To inflate the tires Borg ran a garden hose to each tire from a shop vac He used a 3D printer to make connectors for the air hoses and electrical components He says the 3D printer is ideal for producing lightweight parts that aren’t readily available elsewhere He configured a pivot steering system to turn the vehicle which has a top speed on land of nearly 18 mph On the water Borg says it travels at about 1 1/2 mph Whether land or water-borne Borg says driving the vehicle is “wonderful like taking off in an airplane” When he’s done driving the fabric wheels deflate to make the vehicle easy to store Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Axel Borg makershare com/projects/inflatable-car-sort

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