In this STEAM robotics project, students design and build a universal remote-control vehicle body using LaserMaker. The lesson connects laser-cut chassis plates, TT motor mounting, mortise-and-tenon sizing, caster wheel placement, receiver and battery mounting, wiring, and hands-on robot chassis assembly.

1. Lesson Overview

1.1 Project Goal

Students will design a basic vehicle body with two motor mounting plates, a top body plate, and a bottom body plate. They will add motor, caster wheel, receiver, and battery mounting positions, laser cut the parts, assemble the chassis, connect the circuit, and test the remote-control vehicle body.

1.2 Recommended Classroom Use

2. Learning Objectives

2.1 What Students Will Learn

2.2 STEAM Skills Developed

2.3 Responsible Making

Students should test powered vehicles under teacher or lab supervisor guidance. Keep fingers, loose wires, and small parts away from moving wheels and motors during testing, and check all screws, nuts, and wiring before driving the chassis.

3. Real-World Context: Why Build a Universal Vehicle Body?

A reusable vehicle chassis is a practical starting point for many robotics projects. Instead of redesigning the base every time, students can first create a reliable body that holds motors, wheels, a caster wheel, a receiver, and a battery.

In this project, the chassis is designed for future amusement-park vehicle builds, including a collection vehicle, dumper, and crane. The same base can support different attachments once the drive structure is complete.

4. Materials and Parts Planning

4.1 Materials List

Before modeling the vehicle body, students should identify the remote-control components, motors, structural material, fasteners, and support hardware used in the project.

4.2 Structural Parts List

The laser-cut vehicle body is organized into three main structural parts: two motor mounting plates, one top body plate, and one bottom body plate.

5. Lesson Procedure

5.1 Draw the Motor Mounting Plates

The motor mounting plates hold the two TT motors and connect to the top and bottom body plates through mortise-and-tenon joints. Start by drawing the main motor mounting plate shape, then add side tenons and motor mounting holes.

Use the Rectangle Tool to draw a 25 mm by 72 mm rectangle as the main motor mounting plate. Because the plate connects to the vehicle body through mortise-and-tenon joints, add one tenon on each side. In the source workflow, each side tenon is 2.85 mm wide and 40 mm high, based on the practical thickness of the 3 mm basswood board and laser cutting loss.

Move the first tenon to the left side of the plate, align it, and use Union to merge it with the main rectangle. Repeat the same process on the right side to complete the motor mounting plate outline.

Next, add the TT motor mounting pattern. Open the LaserMaker library, locate Open-Source Robot Hardware, choose TT Motor, and drag it onto the canvas. Rotate the TT motor hole pattern by 90 degrees, group it, and center-align it with the motor mounting plate.

The vehicle body uses two TT motors, so it needs two motor mounting plates. Select the completed mounting plate and use Rectangular Array to create a second copy. In the source workflow, the horizontal count is 2, the horizontal spacing is 10 mm, and the vertical count is 1.

5.2 Draw the Chassis Top Plate

The top plate and bottom plate clamp the motor mounting plates in place. The top plate needs rounded corners, two mortises for the motor mounting plates, and four fixing holes.

Draw a rectangle and set it to 110 mm wide and 150 mm high. Then use the Rounded Corner Tool with a 15 mm radius to round all four corners.

Add the mortises for the motor mounting plates. Draw a 2.85 mm by 40 mm rectangle as one mortise. Because a 18650 battery needs to fit between the two motor mounting plates, the source workflow sets the distance between the two mortises to 67 mm, slightly larger than the battery width.

Center-align the mortises with the top plate, then move the mortises down by 16 mm so the motors sit closer to the rear of the chassis. In LaserMaker, increasing the Y-axis value moves the selected graphic downward.

Add four 4 mm fixing holes to the chassis plate. Use Rectangular Array with 2 horizontal copies, 80 mm horizontal spacing, 2 vertical copies, and 120 mm vertical spacing. Group the holes and center-align them with the plate, without selecting the mortises.

5.3 Draw the Chassis Bottom Plate

After the top plate is complete, use Rectangular Array to create the bottom plate from the top plate. In the source workflow, the horizontal count is 2 and the horizontal spacing is 4 mm.

To help the vehicle move flexibly, add a caster wheel to the bottom plate. Select the Caster Wheel graphic from the Open-Source Robot Hardware library, group the caster wheel graphic, and align it near the front of the bottom plate.

The bottom plate also needs mounting positions for the receiver board and battery. Add the 2.0 Control Board graphic from the Open-Source Robot Hardware library and place it in the square area of the chassis. Then add the Double 18650 Battery graphic and place it above the control board area.

After the motor mounting plates, top plate, and bottom plate are complete, arrange the final drawing for laser processing.

6. Laser Processing

6.1 Set Outlining and Cutting Parameters

After completing the drawing design, set the laser processing parameters. The source workflow uses outlining for red-layer objects and cutting for black-layer objects.

6.2 Start Fabrication

Turn on the laser cutting machine and laser switch. When the Start Fabrication button becomes ready, upload the drawing to the laser cutting machine and start cutting from the machine panel.

7. Wiring and Assembly

7.1 Circuit Wiring

After the chassis is assembled, connect the circuit according to the wiring diagram. The receiver, battery, and two TT motors allow the vehicle body to move by remote control.

7.2 Structural Assembly

First, identify the caster wheel, chassis bottom plate, M4 screws, and nuts. Install the caster wheel onto the underside of the chassis bottom plate and tighten it with M4 nuts.

Insert the nylon standoffs into the round holes at the four corners of the chassis plate and tighten them with nuts. Then locate the receiver board, short M4 screws, and M4 nuts, and secure the receiver board to the square section of the bottom plate.

Next, locate the TT motors, motor mounting brackets, M3 screws, and M3 nuts. Fix each motor onto a motor mounting bracket. The source workflow notes that the nuts should be placed on the inside of the wood to prevent protruding screw ends from interfering with wheel installation.

Attach the motor brackets to the chassis plate. Then secure the 18650 battery to the rectangular area of the chassis plate with cable ties.

Connect the wiring according to the circuit diagram. Finally, place the chassis top plate over the bottom plate and attach it with screws. Once the top plate is installed, the basic vehicle body assembly is complete.

8. Test, Debug, and Improve

9. Finished Project and Reflection

After design, laser processing, wiring, and assembly, students complete a remote-control basic vehicle body. The project gives students practical experience with robot chassis planning, TT motor mounting, caster wheel support, receiver and battery placement, and precise mortise-and-tenon sizing.

10. Extension Challenge

After completing the basic chassis, students can upgrade it with new functions, such as a collection vehicle body, dumper attachment, crane structure, or custom competition module.

For an additional engineering challenge, students can redesign the top plate, bottom plate, and motor mounting plates so the chassis can be assembled and fixed without using screws. This encourages students to explore more advanced mortise-and-tenon structures and snap-fit design ideas.

11. Equipment Note for Teachers

This project is suitable for classroom laser cutters that support cutting and outlining of sheet materials for small robotics and mechanism projects. For schools, makerspaces, and beginner STEAM labs, projects like robot chassis plates, motor mounting brackets, remote-control vehicle bodies, and competition vehicle bases can be completed with a classroom laser cutter such as the Thunder Laser Bolt Series.

Teachers can choose the machine and material setup based on classroom space, material thickness, electronic components, moving-part clearance, and learning goals. The same LaserMaker workflow can also be adapted for other CO2 laser machines when students move on to larger vehicle bodies or more advanced robotics projects.