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Hannibal's thread into DIY motion platform

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by hannibal, Feb 15, 2019.

  1. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    agreed. the more ppl in the mix is the more ppl involved in tweaking the software... the 6dof build is half the battle.. tuning is the other son of puppies!
  2. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    had a setback today,
    half the rods i made were stripped due to me cutting 3' threaded B7 alloy rods.. stupid cheap ebay uniburr did not properly chamfer the cut rod ends, so the nut stripped the threads... :( :( :(

    in mean time, order these cool connectors for the motor to sabertooth

    Amass XT60H Connectors

  3. Pierre Lalancette

    Pierre Lalancette Sir Lalancelot Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Buy cheap, buy twice.
    I've been accused to go overboard, but it saved me so much trouble.
    But I understand the frustration. Time to switch to another part of the rig until you get replacement.
  4. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    im trying to strategically go cheap in some places, others not. in this case, i could have bought cheap 1' threaded rods, and not have to deal with the burring tool.. but i paid a lil more for B7 structural threaded rods, but buying the cheap tool made me lose out.

    i went to re-examine the rods.. i was able to get 4 sets of 4 rods, out of the 5 and a half sets.. so its not so much a total loss...
    i feel better.

    i thank you for your support @Pierre Lalancette :)

    back to the topic of u-joints and tie rod ends...
    i started to look at the orientation of angle for u-joints and tie-rod ends, since i am not fully confident of most of the DIY implementations.

    most ppl put u-joints and the bottom, and tie-rod ends on the top... but after receiving the tie rod ends.. the angle seems limited, even more so for the hiem joints that have a bolt through it (even more so ppl use acorn nuts and shave the edge to get more angle..)

    with this in mind i am seeing why people just dont use u-joints on the top and bottom. after looking at state of the art platforms, it see most use u-joints at the top and bottom..




    also the orientation of the u joint is parallel to the actuator.. but for the base, it seems to be position with angle such that it follows a circle? @wannabeaflyer2
  5. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

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    Hi @hannibal the ideal would be UJ top and bottom but its my belief that this is also linked to the range pf travel for each platform , Given that our designs have a limited Travel range and the cost implication as well , you may find that most use the rose joints at the top because they are Fit for function in our case.

    Agree that UJ top and bottom are the Best way ( as seem on most High precision heavy load carrying platforms ) but the Overall size comes into play .. with the travel angles we use Rose joints form a good compromise ... Just my two cents worth again :)
    • Like Like x 1
  6. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    just wanted to post photos of progress...

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 7
  7. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    currently in italy. i hope to be back in the USA to continue the build of the actuators.

    looking to tackle the base of the actuator when i get back. i like to use casters to make the actuator base rotate 360 degrees, but the casters will require some brackets if using UJ, but easier if i was to mount the heim joints instead.. but im trying to follow everyone with UJ for the actuator base....
  8. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    just started to order some wires for the power section..

    so with the driver components of the sabertooth 2x60 to run the ampflow E30-400...

    i went with 4 gauge wire between (24V PS /battery) to sabertooth and 10 guage wire from the sabertooth to motors..

    its been ordered.. might be over kill... i think E30-400 is a 540W motor... the performance chart is not clear!
  9. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    just some updates...

    trying to prevent ball screw nut failure, i decided to go triple attack.
    my triple attack method is as follows.
    a) drill and tap the securing ball screw nut with extra grub screw (M4 x 5.0 mm)
    b) use vice with paper towel to "grip" the ball screw without damaging threads of the ball screw so that you can apply more torque to the ball screw nut.
    c) apply threadlocker to the ball screw nut, and the grub screws,

    i dont know what "axial play" is from what @wannabeaflyer2 has mentioned, but seems like its not something i want to experience...

    Attached Files:

  10. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    another post..

    so watching industrial hexapods in action, particularly the ones that use heim joints... i have noticed that the linear actuators twist, due minor over limits of the actuator extend and retract.
    i do understand that everyone who is using the heim joints will limit the travel of the actuator as to "not" allow the actuator to twist in addition to shaving the lug nuts..
    i just worry that by some freakish glitch will allow the actuator to traverse some angle that ends up stressing the actuator structure...
    so i decided to use a pillow block bearing at the base in order to allow some free rotation of the actuator so that the heim joints at the top can have relief even if stress is not that great...

    (all this thinking, and i have yet to fully realize the actuator... the money pit continues)

    Attached Files:

  11. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    Looking like something.

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    • Like Like x 1
  12. Pierre Lalancette

    Pierre Lalancette Sir Lalancelot Gold Contributor

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    Yeah, I remember the constant thinking. How should I do this? How should I do that? It was exhausting.
  13. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

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    Progress being made @hannibal small steps but the hair pulling part along with the massive grin of satisfaction will follow ( bank balance taking a hit goes with this territory LOL) ..

    The axial play I mentioned was noted because that nut you tapping came loose and so gravity and the coupler was keeping the ballscrew in place , Once I removed the Coupler I saw that situation .

    On you next actuator build if you tighten that nut and back it off say 3 mm you will see that in one direction the ballscrew is fine vertically but push on the coupler end of ballscrew and you see the axial play I mentioned ...

    Your method of securing this nut will get rid of that issue. I only mentioned it because we often forget ( make that I Often ) to add secondary locking medium to these m4 set screws .

    Luckily for me tis was on my Test bench actuator and not one connected to the Sim Platform ...Mind you it does now mean i'll have to take them off and double check that screw .. keep up the good work . it will be worth it that grin will be a million dollar ( monopoly Money Smile :) ) the real money has gone into the sim platform ..
  14. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    agree, for me at the moment its the joy of the build. i look at your builds and how mine is coming together... its like a piece of art. getting to sit and use it will be icing on the cake..

    the other day i find that not all sfu1605 are made the same.
    i order a balscrew recently, and found that the spacers were different from the original first 3 that i purchased. the spacers were smaller and thus had more shaft extended for the coupler to "grip" on. another thing this couple came with was a zerk fitting, so that prompted me to realize that the allscrews require greasing....

    learning something new about the parts everytime!
  15. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    guys, i just want to make sure if i am doing the right thing..
    dealing with the universal joint, the part comes with pins..
    i threaded the universal joint to fit 1/2 bolts..
    but it seems like i will have to drill a hole through the bolt to fit the pin..

    i just want to make sure that is required, and if anyone knows what size drill bit, most appreciated, i hate to end up making the hole so big that the pin goes through, because the pin is sort of odd where one side of the pin's diameter is small than the other, yet the universal joint's two holes has the size of the larger diameter... ( you would think one hole of the universal joint would be smaller to match the diameter ends of the pins???)

    @wannabeaflyer2 @SilentChill @Flymen appreciate advice.. :)

    Attached Files:

  16. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

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    I would say you want the hole to be the same size as the pin so it fits really tight maybe so you have to tap it in with a hammer tight. You don't want any play or else it will probably just end up snapping the pin if the is.

    I welded my joints to steel plates to make sure there was no movement however the pins started to fail in the actual UJ part , still not broken yet but there is a slight bit of twist going on.
    • Like Like x 2
  17. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    i placed my UJ on a bearing so it can twist.
    thank you for reply, i will make hole through the bolt the same as the hole in the UJ... just checking before i make any mistakes...

    i try to ask, before wasting time energy and $$$!
    • Like Like x 2
  18. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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    Worked well.. used what ever the drill 15/64.
    Thanks @SilentChill

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    • Like Like x 2
  19. hannibal

    hannibal Active Member

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  20. Pierre Lalancette

    Pierre Lalancette Sir Lalancelot Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Only 20%, but I run 6 little 5mm metal rods all through the ball screw part.
    • Informative Informative x 1