DIY FFB Steering wheel (MMosFFB ) (In Progress)

Hi I'm using the EMC firmware. I bought a licence from EMC (EbolzMagy) and have used the firmware and software (and wiring diagrams) that he provides. Look him up on Facebook, it's called EMC Development.

hello to everyone,

looking at wheel options at the moment while on a budget.

i was going to build a custom wheel after i found this forum. now that i found this thread things have changed.

being that i have the third world blues i wanted opinions from this thread.

has anyone here had any success with upgrading a super low end budget wheel? any pros and con?

the way i see it is ill save money and not have to build my own pedals. im assuming i would save on buttons. and maybe i would have a useable base to start from. i would of course be going the arduino leonardo route and be looking into different motors based on what i could save with this build.

Can i use a potentiometer as my encoder and how do i hook it up to my leonardo and motor driver?

is this engine suitable

Hello everyone!!
First of all, thanks for sharing your projects, everything is very interesting and they have generated great motivation for me.
I have the project quite advanced, but when configuring the steering wheel I have some doubts.
It happens that I cannot properly center the steering wheel with wheelconfig. I don't know if it is an electronic problem or a mechanical problem as my system works with pulleys to amplify the force of the cc motor. Probably the firmware can't center the steering wheel because it doesn't work 1: 1.

Sent some component data:

- Arduino Leonardo board.
- Bridge H - IBT_2
- 600 ppr Chinese encoder.
- 150W / 12VDC / 1800 rpm motor
- The reduction is 4: 1.

I send images of the project.

I would appreciate your help to finish setting up. Thank you!!

I also have no answer when testing the external forces of the "iracing force feedback test 1.72". As if the electronics were not sending orders correctly to the cc motor. I hope your help, thank you very much. Health!!

Pal, forget about wheelconfig. Use EMC software for Arduino then. And all will be good. )

Yes.

Very well!! Could you send me a link or thread to follow a tutorial to download and configure the EMC software for Arduino.

Thank you!!!

Hello everyone! Follow the advice of sieben and install emc. It really is much easier and more stable. But now I'm having trouble with the IBT_2. I'm already burning two. Probably someone has already happened and can help me solve it. Thank you!!

hey man, can you maybe share a wiring diagram? my g27 died, and would love to try and revive it in this manner?

What did you end up using for directional control on the motor? I've got a spare motor and treadmill controller sitting around, but the MC-60 controller that was in the treadmill can only do one direction and no feedback, so it's only useful as a power supply to get high voltage DC. The STM would do the computer interfacing and control output, but I'm having a hard time finding what is supposed to go between it and the motor. An H bridge I guess, but one that can handle 100+V DC and 15+A and is controllable directly from a microcontroller seems harder to find. I was thinking even if it wasn't as useful as a DD wheel maybe I could actually use it to power a rig axis.

For those sorts of voltages and current, you would probably have to roll your own with a H Bridge driver IC and some appropriate FETS.

I made one before using a HIP4081A and some big N channel fets but that's only good for 80v apparently. There are probably similar other drivers available that would take the extra voltage i'm sure. Although, you probably would not want the full 100+v going to the motor anyway.

The motor windings are going to be very thin and because it's running in stall mode it might not last. Definitely assess your effort vs reward vs risk if going down this path. Insane FFB forces are not fun, it just hurts and detracts from the enjoyment.

Hmm, okay. I think the MC-60 controller I have only actually puts out 80-90V when I looked it up, but all the same, it's a lot. I could easily dial it down using the speed control of the original treadmill board, but I need to check the actual output and make sure if it's analog or just PWM output to know the true voltage. I'm not an electrical engineer by any means, but I'm handy enough with a soldering iron, so I can build circuits, but don't really know the first thing about designing them and didn't want to try to home build something that would see that kind of power going through it. I understand the principles of the bigger components and how they operate, but all the extra little diodes and filter capacitors and stuff like that is over my head.

I'm not necessarily going for crazy forces as much as just trying to see what I can do with what I have. I've had that motor and controller sitting around for probably over a year now and am just looking for projects in my boredom, lol. I finally built my 2 DOF rig at least.

I wonder if something like this could be a good off the shelf solution: https://www.geckodrive.com/g320x-digital-servo-drive.html. It's on the lower end of the voltage range, but like you said, not sure if you'd need or want the full power potential of the motor anyway. Would fall right in line with what the MC-60 can even put out on 120V AC power, so might be the ticket if something like the Arduino or STM board would talk nice with it. Tempting to try one out as a general "servo motor conversion" on the treadmill motor setup to see how it does. Could make for a cost effective solution, assuming you can make the motor last.

The Gecko drives are designed for CNC macines as a step/direction motor with an encoder feedback. They're not a PWM motor speed controller which is more like what you need for a DC motor based wheel. I can see what you're trying to do and i'm all about using what you have but I think you are just sticking with that too much.

The motor will not like being held at stall for extended periods and the windings will likely overheat and burn out. If that happens at 100v, you're in the area of significant fire and danger. Lower the voltage (to reduce the current and preserve the motor) and it will be too weak.


I know it seems a shame to ditch the treadmil motor but it's really not ideal for the task (I considered it too!). For the price of the gecko drive alone, you can have a suitable motor and drive components and only ~20-30 more have a complete FFB setup (minus the wheel itself). It seems like cost is an issue - I would sell off the treadmil motor and replace it with something more suitable if I was in your position.

What motor and driver combo can you get for ~$120? Everything I've seen for direct drive seems to be $200+ for a motor alone plus another $150+ for the driver.

It depends what you're expecting as far as performance but: MY1020 48v 1000W motor ~$80
2-3BTS7960 drivers <$10 ea
$3 for a STM32F103 'BlackPill'
1000ppr Encoder $10
*New EMC Firmware $15 (Way better than MMoS)
HP DPS1000 Server power supply 80A @ 12v $20

Total ~$150USD

*EMC was abandoned and has now been picked back up and is in current development, now on STM32, not arduino