2dof to 3dof DIY Seat mover

Ok ill try and draw something up for ya dave, Also what do you think of the Server Power supply idea ? specs look up to snuff and the 3 wire mod thing is ridiculously easy.....and not to mention the Drastic Discount in price compared to some of the Ebay units from HK.

Im over the PC power supply thing if i can get these server PS's to work.

power supplies look ok, buy it and see if it blows up.
Ok, I await a drawing whenever you have time

Awesome I got a pair coming from a Canadian seller so shipping is as expensive as the PS, 15$ Compared to spending 200$ on the HK versions Im pretty happy with this solution.

Ive also come to the conclusion im going to just move the whole pedal box/Seat box forward to give me enough room out back to get my angles right and the width of the base I will max out to what i can and deal with it.

Now to get enough $$ in the ol bank acct to start acquiring more stuff, Motor's i think are next so i can start to play with placement and POT mounting.

Yes beware the Jrks used with big motors can peak in the mid 40's, why I use a decent dc battery and charger, and Im a cheap skate too.

Sweet, Motor's and PS's Ordered, next up will be the polou's and Pots i guess.


And Again thanks for all the help guys. Wouldn't be able to do it without ya.

Hi Nick,

I am also using those server power supplies, except mine are the 700w version (HP 700gb). They really are easy to mod and work very well. I have one mounted on my 2DoF running two winch motors pushed by an Arduino and a MotoMonster dual driver board. They provide plenty of power.

One thing to note though, the contacts are all open to the air and you could accidentally drop conductive material across the terminals. I purchased liquid electrical tape and just brushed it onto the contacts, both top and bottom. A dropped screw driver, or even a screw, could really mess up your day.

You should be able to find it at any major hardware store. Here is what I used (not sure if there are Menards in Canada?).

http://www.menards.com/main/electri...id-electrical-tape-green/p-1460537-c-6482.htm

Yes I am now curious about the server PSU, I will wait to see how they actually get wired up, I am sure I could find the 12v with a multimeter though. In AU, they are $35 each delivered at 575 watts, thats definitely cheaper than the others.

If you are using the 700GB (700W) they should look like this, mine do anyway. Two alternate ways to jumpering the PSU, both work.

The above images were found in this thread, there are 157 pages of information on various server PSU hacks:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1005309

Damn i knew i should have looked up the 700W specs and schematics, I saw those just as cheap as the 600's but saw the Digital board and was scared it might not be Exactly what i need. Well there's an Upgrade for the future to consider. Thanks for posting that Historiker.

How Big of Rod ends would you guys suggest ? trying to source some local first. 3/8 big enough ?

here's what im looking at

http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/fkb-ecm8/overview/

I used 3/8" on both of my builds. Plenty strong enough considering the mass that is being moved.

So something like this would be fine then ?
3/8 is roughly 10mm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-10mm-F...=BI_Heavy_Equipment_Parts&hash=item5ae29d3856

Ok Pots have been ordered from the Canadian Side of Element14, Lets hope i pass the "Credit check"

Ok so Heat sinks for the JRK's, where do i get those from, what is the size of the chip im covering ?

Punched in the chip # and found the PDF back to the Chip and found the specs

the VNH2SP30-E chip is 17.1mmx15.9mm


And for anyone Curious here's the links for the chip

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/VNH2SP30-E/497-4500-5-ND/725422

PDF Size specs on page 30

http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/document/datasheet/CD00043711.pdf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Heatsin...258?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc0ef55a2

Cool almost perfect sizing and Nice and Tall for extra dissipation.


Anything interesting i should pick up while shopping here ?
http://stores.ebay.com/tayda2009/

not sure what might come in handy in the future.

"Apr. 30th, 2013 - Been a long time since I have edited this page and thought it was time to add a few things. When I posted this project little was known about these PSUs. When we started using them we simply tried pins until they worked. Now we know the pin-out and there are many more interesting things you can do with these guys. For starters, we found that shorting pins 6-9-10 together powered them on. Unfortunately pin 9 can be used for adjusting the voltage. Shorting 6-8-10 also turns them on and leaves 9 open for use. Putting a 1K ohm pot between 3-9 allows for output voltage adjustment up to 13.8V. Shorting pins 4-8 will lower the fan speed but the PSU can still raise the speed when needed. "

Which of these pots would i want. Linear, Logarithmic, Trimpot Trimmer, Linear Dual Taper Soo many i have NO clue the difference.

http://stores.ebay.com/Tayda2009/Vo...&submit=Search&_fsub=788617016&_sid=872591586

Hey Nick, could you link to the original post you quoted from? I would like to read more about that myself. My PSUs are outputting the regulated 12v but it would be cool to be able to bump them up to 13.8 if that will also increase the amperage.

Simple linear pots should work, as long as they are good quality.

An update on the performance of my PSUs. I have spent the day playing Asseto Corsa pushing 3DoF (traction loss) and they have performed perfectly. They do get hot but if that worries you a cooling fan could always be hooked up to push air through them.

Edit: I found it

http://www.tjinguytech.com/my-projects/HP47A

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Heatsin...258?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc0ef55a2 those heatsinks will be fine, put a decent 120mm fan over the top of them though, the jrk boards that is.
And use linear pots. Best use 360 deg hall effects, they have almost unlimited turns, and being 360 deg, you cannot break them. Just drill a hole to suit the shaft of the pot into the back of the motor shaft bolt, and glue it on, with a bracket to hold the pot steady. I did post pics somewhere of this...
Oh, and you can use 360 deg single turn pots as well. I must admit, since adapting @eaorobbie idea of pot directly in back of motor shaft, its been great and a bit cheaper to set up than 3 turn pots.

Dave im asking about a Pot for the Voltage adjustment, My 360 Hall effect's were ordered yesterday. =)

Also for the 2$ it cost, i ordered the Linear pots from the Heatsink seller

ok then.