Showroom New 3DoF built

Looking good, any more pics of the base setup / motors?

Here is one that I have currently on my phone. Simple crab motor for the traction lost part. I haven't built the mounts for the front ones though yet. Anything specifically you are looking for?

Awesome yes that is what I was looking for. Any thoughts on including a bar in front of the wheels to take the tension off like this |-O-| instead of O-| ?

That could provide extra strength without adding a ton if extra weight.

Finished the seat base and painted it while I could. It can now cure for a few days while I work on other bits. I also figured out something that allows me to balance the rig easily without needing to move the center point. Will mock things up tomorrow and write it all out.

This is something that has been bothering me for a while but I think I finally got an solution. Fact is that I am not the only one that is going to drive in the simulator. Me, my wife, kids and friends are all gearheads. An adjustable center u joint is nice but takes time to adjust and likely not flexible enough for folks. You might even need to adjust the zero point on the motors when you do so.

So the answer is that I will set it up for a lighter person and then use simple math and front mounted counterweights for balance.
Since the front is 3ft from the fulcrum even small weights add up. I used the following website to calculate the additional weights needed when adding driver that has weight above the calibrated weight.

https://calculator.academy/counter-balance-weight-calculator/

As balance weights I am using simple weight lifting disks with a 1 inch bore. These are cheap, and come in a wide array of weights. You really only need 1
5, 2.5, 5 and 10 lbs. I mount them using a 3/8 8ngrade bolt with a sleeve washer to get ton1 inch diameter.

Woot .. calling it a day tonight. First time the 3 frames are together for mockup.

So much progress the last few days. Ujoint is almost welded in completely. Found a good way to bolt the seatbelts to the seat frame and now off to fabricate the front motors. Kinda keep going along with @Halloween2go but going here and there my own path and figuring out things as I go along.

Not a lot going on this week. We are snowed in and work is claiming all my mental energy. I at least got 3 of the 5 seatbelts mounted and test fitted the chair again. I did receive the metal plate for the steering wheel mount though.

Top frame is done .. decided to put the first coat of bedliner on for protection. The wheel mounting plate turned out pretty good. It allows me to also mount two button boxes on either side. I will eventually upgrade this wheel to a direct drive one but gotta earn some money for that first.

I was also taken off guard by the amount of steel needed for the frame. I went way to thick of a gauge also and the cost added up fast. I just got back with a thinner walled 1” square tube which I think will a better material.

EDIT: I also am looking to create a rig that can handle a variety of riders. When balanced for me and other adults it works well. But when I move the seat forward to reach the pedals even a light passenger creates too much forward weight. I’ll keep an eye on your progress with that setup. Keep it up.

I think 1" square tubing is probably plenty strong honestly but not going back now.

The adjustable Centerpoint can counter that fairly easy as well as adding counterweight under the seat.

I was thinking about the counterweight a bit today and I think you could mount an extension bar to where I mount my seat. Basically maybe a foot or so of square tubing bolted on each side of the frame with 2 through bolts and then mount the weight on the top of it. Since it is further away from the center point than the driver, even 10 or 20 lbs can add up quick.

Got bored tonight so quickly fabricated the rear motor reinforcement bracket. Not my best fab job but it will do.

Those front bracket mounts are a little bit more challenging but the first one turned out pretty good. No real science to them .. measure once and cut twice kinda thing. Need to trim the front angle a bit further back to ensure there is room in the front of the seat frame.

Looks good. I love the user name. I’m trying to work out the angle of attachment for my motors right now. They are currently parallel to the frame.

Thanks .. I am pretty happy with the progress so far.
As far as the angle goes, I measured mine unscientifically tonight and I think they are at 13 degrees.

This rig is screaming for a DD setup and I have done quite a bit of research on what might work for me. Fanatec has a great eco system but spending a few weeks in their user forums shows a boat load of issues with firmware and product quality. Might not be for everyone but it was a pretty good trend and one that did not exist with the Moza users. I am going to use a paddle less 330mm aftermarket wheel anyways since I mostly race 1960s/1970s vintage manual cars and I am settled on the Moza R9 for this. Will order it likely this weekend as there are still a few in stock here and there.

So much progress today .. I love it when things are coming together. First up is the stabilizing beams. My simulator is in my garage/workshop and needs to be moved out of the way when I work on cars or other projects. I had initially planned to use a monitor but have as of last night opted to move to using a pull down screen with a projector. The stabilizing beams hopefully address the concern of tipping and they get the wheels off the ground. I am using some metal square tubing and some easy disconnect pins to secure it in place



I finalized all the reinforcement brackets for the middle frame, welded them and primed the thing



After that started to bolt on all the bits for test fit. One of the hardest parts seems to be figuring out the length of the pushrods in the front. I am gonna try out some different lengths tomorrow.



I so had planned to use 1 power supply but am gonna use 3 moving forward when I get to do the electronics. Happy to see progress though.

Assembly starts this week. I only have a few small welding jobs left to do but it will be nice to start putting things together properly.



Finished painting the middle frame and the bottom plate which will house the electronics. It will be mounted to the bottom of the bottom frame and will be easily accessible from above.



The locking pin holders are also done. And you can see how it looks in the final pic.