This 3D Printed Go Kart Packs Into a Suitcase

A go kart you can check on a flight

Ivan Miranda has made a name for himself building oversized 3D printed vehicles. His ride-on tank and his printed scooter are the kind of projects that stop your scroll. The problem with all of them is size. They are big, they are heavy, and getting one to a demo across the country usually means a truck or a very patient friend.

For his latest build, he set a different constraint. The go kart had to fit inside ordinary plane luggage. That one rule changed everything about the design.

What got cut to save weight

Miranda dropped a wheel. The kart runs on three wheels instead of four. He swapped the steering wheel for a pair of handles on either side of the rider, which also trimmed bulk. Drive comes from a brushless motor fed by a string of 18 volt drill batteries wired in series.

Most of the parts came off his own large-format printer. That machine earns its keep on jobs like this, where a single piece can be far bigger than a bed on a typical desktop unit.

The finished kart weighs about 20 kilograms. Split across a checked bag and a carry-on, it clears the limits for a normal flight. The catch is assembly. You will spend real time bolting it back together once you land.

Why a portable kart matters

This is a hobby build, not a product. Still, it shows how far the maker side of 3D printing has come. A few years ago, a printed vehicle you could fly with would have sounded like a stretch. Now it is a weekend project with some clever compromises.

The three-wheel layout and handle steering will not win a race against a proper kart. They were never meant to. The win here is portability, and on that score the build delivers.

Miranda has been down this road before. His luggage-sized scooter proved the concept last month, and the ride-on tank showed what the printer can do at the extreme end. The go kart sits between the two: more fun than the scooter, far easier to move than the tank.

The takeaway

If you own a large-format printer, the go kart is a neat target. It rewards thinking about weight and packing before you ever hit print. The part that travels worst is rarely the biggest part. It is the one you forgot to design for disassembly.

You can watch the full build in his video. Just do not expect to wheel it off the carousel fully assembled.