carbon fiber rod

2 Articles

Full Scale Styrofoam DeLorean Finally Takes Flight

September 22, 2025 by 13 Comments

It’s 2025 and we still don’t have flying cars — but we’ve got this full-scale flying DeLorean prop from [Brian Brocken], and that’s almost as good. It’s airborne and on camera in the video embedded below.

We’ve written about this project before; first about the mega-sized CNC router [Brian] used to carve the DeLorean body out of Styrofoam panels, and an update last year that showed the aluminum frame and motorized louvers and doors.

Well, the iconic gull-wing doors are still there, and still motorized, and they’ve been joined by a tire-tilting mechanism for a Back To The Future film-accurate flight mode. With the wheels down, the prop can use them to steer and drive, looking for all the world like an all-white DMC-12.

The aluminum frame we covered before is no longer in the picture, though. It’s been replaced by a lighter, stiffer version made from carbon fibre. It’s still a ladder frame, but now with carbon fiber tubes and “forged” carbon fiber corners made of tow and resin packed in 3D printed molds. There’s been a tonne of work documented on the build log since we last covered this project, so be sure to check it out for all the details.

Even in unpainted white Styrofoam, it’s surreal to see this thing take off; it’s the ultimate in practical effects, and totally worth the wait. Honestly, with talent like [Brian] out there its a wonder anyone still bothers with CGI, economics aside.

Thanks to [Brian] for the tip! If you have a project you’ve hit a milestone with, we’d love to see it, even if it doesn’t trigger the 80s nostalgia gland we apparently all have embedded in our brains these days. Send us a tip!

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Open Sourced Carbon Fiber Rod Ends

January 22, 2019 by 18 Comments

Modellers and makers who have been around the block for a few decades generally have their preferred materials. Balsa wood, sheet metal, brass tube… these were all staples of the hobbyist workshop. Composites are very much the new kid on the block and are starting to gain more of a foothold in the hobby marketplace. [Anthony] has been experimenting in this area, and has created some useful attachments for carbon fiber tubing.

The fittings are designed to be lasercut from aluminium or 3D printed. The rod ends are a simple two-piece design that slots together, before insertion into the carbon fiber rod. [Anthony] shows off a series of rods being used as linkages with a stepper motor, before performing pull-out tests on the links. Installed with cyanoacrylate glue, the link holds up to a pull load in excess of 180 lbs. The strength is impressive, and [Anthony] also talks about how to install the appropriate bearings to use the links for motion projects.

Overall, these links will likely prove useful to anyone using carbon fiber rods in a build, and helpfully, the required files are all available on GitHub. The source material is now cheap and readily available online, and is strong and resilient when used properly. We’ve seen carbon fiber popping up in a lot more projects recently, too. Video after the break.

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