Showroom 4DOF motion simulator with Simukit's solution

Hi All,

In last December I received all the parts from Simukit team to put together the SK3 4DOF motion platform. During the winter vacations I assembled the motion base and performed several tests with SimTools.

I produced a little video which is documenting the development of the first phases (in French only, for the moment).



Upcoming development:

1- Finalize the paint job of the steel parts
2- Install my GTOmega Art cockpit on the motion base
3- Perform several tests with different games
4- Install the fourth motor on the structure to introduce the YAW axis

Looks great.

I am waiting for them to get back to me about buying the kit, I bought the GTOmega Pro cockpit ready to install on the base as it is 14kg lighter than the Art cockpit. I'm a big guy so need to save weight wherever possible. I notice that you have the pivot on the levers quite short, how much weight can the platform handle?

@Fluke The springs are probably there because the motors are having difficulty carrying the load (inertia multiplies the load). I would be a little apprehensive if I were a "big guy".

Thanks! Simukit tested the SK3 with 150KG and they had good results. Then they went up to 210KG and the motors started to get hot. My GTOmega is 45KG plus my own 82KG. So I'll be good to go. My main concern was power requirements since my only available circuit for the sim is 120V on 15amp. But so far the actual config shown in the video without the cockpit draws 500watts on 7amps on max surge motions. So with the cockpit and myself it should stay under the 1500watts 14amps on max draws including the fourth motor for yaw axis. I don't have the specific details about the springs, Simukit would, but I've read somewhere that they are adding an extra 20% gain to the the motors lifting capacity. Simukit will be able to confirm. I can't remember where I've seen that info. I'll come back with more results and an other video as soon as I have time to install my cockpit on the base.

I look forward to seeing more of your build.

I don't have a lot of room in my man cave and already have a Dofreality 3dof platform that performs quite well, but I want something that will give me heave as well as traction loss/Yaw as I play a lot of flight sims.

I already have Simkits 350w motors, are you using the newer 400w motors?

Yes, I have the 400w motors that come with their latest SK3 kit option. Each one provides an extra 17NM over the 350watts. The heave motion is what brought me to the Simukit solution since it is one of the most exciting variant that one can introduce to his sim rig, and the one that costs the most. Beside the DBOX solution that costs about 20K$ or the Prosimu that is very noisy with the SCN6 actuators, the Simukit is simply unbeatable, cheap and relatively silent. I can't believe how quiet the motors are given the efforts that they produce. It is a really well made concept. The 1000watt power supplies are quite loud though because of the power they can sustain. They are not allowed to overheat. That's something to consider. When I'm done with the cockpit assembly I will cover the surroundings of the motion base with sound insulation, foam and a small fence to absorb the noise and also to avoid letting the kids little limbs getting in contact with the motorized part since they have so much torque that they can crush anything getting in their way. The traction loss option is also a nice addition and I can't wait to try it. If you have any question or facing a problem during your Simukit assembly/test--if you go with this solution--do not hesitate. It is still fresh in my memory. You can also refer to my video to get started.

Thanks.

It looks like they have the kit in stock, so I will be ordering mine on payday. I have looked at your video a few times and notice that you have what looks like resistors attached to your Sabertooths? Can you post pictures of your electronics?

Yes, those are the resistors that come with the Sabertooth 2x32 to sink the regenerative current.

What size resistors are you using?

I'm using the 10W resistors that come with the Sabertooth package. There are 2 resistors in each Sabertooth box, which is enough for each board. Simukit provides installation instructions on their Youtube (French only):



Note: the resistors must not touch any metallic parts so this is why I've installed them in an "arc" shape. I attached pictures of the electronics.

Any progress or updates on this build?

Here you will find assembly guide, calculation and spreadsheet to complete your 3DOF swell project:

https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...lator-building-tutorial-3dof-heave-axis.9249/

Yes, a lot of progress but I didn't have time to produce a new video to show the results. I've got a water infiltration problem in my country-side house basement that needed to be taken care of. Sorry facts of life ;-(
Last week I cut a 30x30x.5-inch MDF sheet that I bolted under my GTOmega seat to operate as an interface platform. And the GTOmega seat and frame is now installed on top of the SK3. For now I'm doing tests with only the seat and not the pedal/steering stand, just to see how the motors take the toll with my weight+seat+platform on it. So for now it acts like a seat mover. The carriage that the motion base is lifting right now is about 230 pounds. The Sk3 behaves flawlessly and the 3 motors are not even getting slightly warm. The total average wattage/amp consumption is staying under 600W/7amp with motion force levels at 100%. I'm testing the rig with NoLimit Roller Coaster in VR. What A Ride!. My daughter is in shock. I can't wait to install the pedal/steering assembly to perform tests with Assetto Corsa. I'll try to post a video this weekend. You'll see how I installed the seat assembly onto the SK3. It's a rather simple solution yet very efficient and doesn't cost much to build.

Thanks for the update and good look with your water leak.

Yes, it's a 3dof right now (pitch-roll-heave) and the yaw will be added soon when I'm satisfied with the whole assembly and power consumption. I already have the 4th motor and connectors but I need to buy wheels, a steel structure and parts that will go under the seat to allow the yaw motion to take place.

Good news! After a couple of days lost in basement concrete patching, water leak fixes and snow shoveling I've finally got some time to put together a video showing the latest tests of the simulator in full mobile with the cockpit bolted onto the motion base. My daughter "dearly volunteered" to test the sim for the camera. I'm totally amazed by the results of this relatively low cost solution. The immersion in VR is just plain awesome. And I'm not even close to achieving the final tweaks in Simtools. I'm just scratching the surface but the potential is stunning. We're having the time of our lives. Can't wait to install the yaw motor.

Enjoy

Great work.

Thanks Fluke! Any news on your sim project? Are you getting the Simukit parts finally? I've seen that they're waiting for new stock. If you have any question just fire them in. I tried many solutions over the last days to optimize my setup and I can provide some good hints.

Those movements looks very good indeed! Congrats on it up and running