What fast linear actuator would you use?

So there's this old video here:

He's using actuators from a hospital bed. They seem to move pretty fast. I've looked around and the fastest I actuators I can find are about 20mm/s, which seems way too slow. I found ONE other example of a fast actuator capable of 9 inches in a second, which seems more like what I'm after but I wasn't able to source it.

Have any of you looked into this before?

Since I haven't done the maths - what sort of Newtons do the normal pinion-mounted 2DoF motion rigs require?

Sorry, I should add that I did find one by Progressive Automations that's 11 pounds/9 inches per second or 33 pounds/3 inches per second. Forums won't let me link to it, but does that seem strong enough?

@Antidamage , unfortunately you will not be able to do links until after 10 posts, I think. So unless perhaps, you can copy paste info, its a bit hard to say.
Back to needed load to shift a sim, thats a broad area.
Short story long, shoulder mount seat mover is the best leverage and will move a reasonable heavy person.
As for actuators, again, grey area. The SCN5 is the favourite, but I think you are pushing you luck with an over 110kg driver, SCN6 move more weight, but are restricted to speed.
Also, with actuators, get a LOADED speed, its usually a lot slower than quoted.
Now, about actuators, @nclabs , is the best to advise overall.
The only experience I have is with DC motors and JRK control boards, but its been shown that a 200 watt worm gear DC motor will rival a SCN in movement and speed.
What ID suggest is if you have a frame design in mind, then start a new thread with that and we can advise from there.
Also, if you dont mind tinkering and want to say a quid, look at the options of DC motors and the variious controllers around as well as have a dig through the threads,
Cheers, David.

I've had a good look at what everyone is doing with worm gear motors but the range of motion seems less than ideal. How are you guys finding the limited range when it comes to VR?

define "range of motion less than ideal"
Theres a few VR guys here @noorbeast and @dontcarefilmer should be able to advise.

"Less than ideal" being you only get a couple of inches of lift in each direction. Can anyone comment on how it "feels"?

others I am sure will comment.
Its an immersion thing, its a mind trick, having motion suit a video game gives you the impression you are under greater forces and or inclines than what the seat/frame is actually moving for.
Using rift on a motion sim would be very immersive and the rift is immersive enough without motion.
I actually only use screens and 14 builds, later, 2 hire machines (seat movers with screens) over 100 players , 10 professional drivers playing as well, the degree of lift or angle is not overly needed although others will correct me. If professional drivers comment that is "feels" like they are under forces, even with 8 deg total lean on a frame, then the immersion is right.
i can tell you, even with a poorly seat mover, I feel a heck of a lot more. The pitch of the car going over a jump, I anticipate hitting the ground. When the car goes into a roll from a slide of track, there is a split second feeling you are going to go over with it. The bumps, I can feel the gravel in dirt3 and then almost every wooden slat going across a bridge.
If you can, look up to see if there is any local motion sim places you can go have a play on, or give us your location and there may be a sim guy near you that you can go have a play on their sim.
Cheers, David.

Interesting. Well, it doesn't seem too expensive to give that route a go. Thank you for the feedback!

I'm in Auckland NZ (just by chance, the same as the guy in the video I posted). Is there anyone from around here on this forum?

@Boomslangnz , @Avenga76 , are you boys anywhere near by?

If anyone is and they want to try my rift with their config, I'm down for a weekend of insanity!

It sounds like you're suggesting we do our best to make a bump simulator. I'm all for accurate tactile feedback but this isn't a new field - if you have the money, actuators are the way to go. Forty years of simulation can't and shouldn't be disregarded. Why would I get rid of my g-force simulator in favour of a bump simulator when I can make both? Both ideas are on the table.

nah sorry I'm in Christchurch

I totally agree with @noorbeast , I used the same principles for my simulators. You need to feel a fast and precise movement with your body to match closely what your eyes are seeing, and if you do this wrong, you will have a very bad and confused VR experience. With my sim I can stay in VR for hours with no issues at all. I've some video for you: and now I'm waiting to gather everything I need for the new simulator!

"bump simulator".....ok then......
Tell that to 99% of the people here and the at least 10 professional drivers I have had on my desk racer "bump" simulators,

@Antidamage , you said "Why would I get rid of my g-force simulator" , do you have an existing simulator?
now I am curious.....

I'm in the FAQ? Awesome!!

I call it a bump simulator because the sensation you're experiencing isn't as much "I've reached X angle and am experiencing Y forces" as "I've begun moving in X direction". So the key feature of a worm drive is responsiveness. There is no arguing that you're not going to reach a 45 degree offset (representing 1g of lateral acceleration) with what most people are using at the moment. I'd counter that a fast actuator will give you the same sensation and ultimately provide slightly more of the g-forces you want to experience due to the improved range.

So let's assume actuators have latency and speed problems (I disagree with this, I've found some VERY fast actuators, 10 inches/second fast) and worm drives have range problems. There's no denying that while the extra range on an actuator is a diminishing return, it doesn't diminish until it's quite a way beyond what the arm on a rotary shaft can do. I would also counter that even worm drives have enough latency to be a problem sickness-wise.

So why not combine both? You have a long-range slow response positioning system and a short-range fast response system. Why not add pneumatics into the platform? They have no mid-state but they're REALLY fast and really cheap. In fact, I'd question having a motion simulator capable of being that violent. I don't really want to experience hitting a wall at 200km/h, but it'd be nice to have a bigger range of g-forces available.

In the end, it's all a question of how much you can afford to throw at the motors you're using. I presume everyone has seen this by now as well:



So far I've been really impressed with what everyone has done and it's my fallback plan, but there has to be room to do something new. I guess this is the wrong place to ask about new ideas though.

Actuator, No thanks. I dont feel like having a permanently mounted Birds nest with 100 little birdies SCREAMING TO HIGH HELL in my ears. DC motor's are Cheap, Effective and overall Do the job just fine. If you want an Amusement ride, Go to the Amusement park. Nuff said.


As other's have stated, Its not the big SLUSHY movements that translate to Immersion, But rather VERY fast Precise movements. Until you've experienced it for yourself, I can understand the confusion. But you've gotten the answer From All us Owner's. We're not pulling your leg, we Speak the Truth, Plain and Simple.