Trip Rodriguez 6DOF Motion Sim

Update: Putting the "finished" pic and video up here for the TL;DR folks. =D
O.P. continues below.




Greetings folks! I posted in the Elite Dangerous thread and it was requested that I start a thread.

About me: Simulator, VR, and Chevy Corvair enthusiast. Sim games: Star Citizen, Dirt Rally, Elite Dangerous, Prepar3d, DCS World, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars.

About my sim:

Built for VR (Oculus Rift), hence no monitor mounted.

Motion parts:
Thanos TronicGR motion sim electronics AMC1280USB plus 6DOF Ext. board
AC motor (0.75HP) : MTR-P75-3BD18
GearBox (60:1) : WG-262-060-D
VFD inverter (1HP) : WJ200-007SF

Sim controls:
Thrustmaster Warthog (gimbal lightly modded)
VKB Gladiator Pro waiting for Warthog adapter
Custom left hand "throttle stick" for 6DOF space flight- TM Cougar with throttle grip adapted to stick base
Logitech G27 with real steering wheel adapted on
Planned: Custom Cougar based friction throttle for airplanes, custom rally racer hand brake, custom helicopter collective

First and foremost I'm a Star Citizen. Star Citizen however has no VR support currently and though motion sims will be supported when the game is "done" (over a year away) it isn't yet.

Currently I'm looking forward to my first ride on the motion sim, which will likely be in Prepar3d as that should be one of the easiest things to get working. My next priorities are Elite Dangerous (for some 6DOF space flight) and Dirt Rally which is my favorite racing game. The other games listed above will follow that.

Here is a video of my motion simulator. Cosmetically it still needs the "skirts" that will go on the bottom. Other than that I just need to work on my sim control mounts and such but the motion build is done.

The video only shows movement in the yaw and heave axes, because I don't have any software set up yet to control it. That's the next step. =)

Also a quick question: I'm told that SimTools/XSimulator does not offer adjustable roll center (or COG), has this been added or can it please be added? This is to have the center of rotational movements be around the center mass of the pilot/driver instead of the center of the platform.

Credit for this image- Ian's BFF

There is a separate 6DOF module coming out with Simtools V2, but I don't know if it will support variable Roll Center? Although I do own a copy of BFFs software, built my sim so that the roll center is close to were it should be without using any special math modules. Don't forget - simtools was not designed for 6DOFs with the majority of users having 2/3 DOFs sims.

Thanks noorbeast! Will your mentioning him here be adequate or is there some other way I should try to get this question to @eaorobbie ?

Magnifique réalisation offrant une large amplitude de mouvements !

Magnificent achievement offering a wide range of motion!

Nice machine dude, looks really smooth. There are a few of us waiting for the 6DOF math addon from @eaorobbie sure if we tag him enough times he will answer

p.s. Think you need new jeans you got lots of holes/rips in them

Can't afford new jeans, maxed out the credit cards on the motion sim! LOL, I wear junk clothes when I work on stuff to keep my wife from killing me.

Hey guys, I haven't forgotten this thread! Updates coming soon, been working on the final polish on my Rig and will be showing it off plenty once it's properly done.

Since my last post here I eliminated the once pieced hex shaped bottom bracing structure in favor of three separate enclosures (one for each actuator pair) which are still under construction. I also fabricated my steel top hex platform and got that installed, I couldn't believe how much a couple hours of testing and tuning wallowed out the holes in my temporary wood top platform!

I've also spent several hours tuning for P3D and took my first test run in Dirt Rally which needs a LOT of tuning work! Next up for setup and tuning is going to be DCS world and then hopefully Elite Dangerous. Where's mah SimTools 2.0 @eaorobbie ? <3

As far as the physical build here's the to-d0 list:

*Finalize actuator covers design, build them, paint them.
*Build final interchangeable mounts for Joysticks, throttle, trackball, pedals, Rift camera, steering wheel, H shifter, racing pedals.
*Brace forward platform area from underneath for rigidity, possibly by welding a brace to the top hex (which will require disassembly of upper platform)
*install rubber diamond plate flooring covering to upper platform
*further improvements to cable management

waiting for photos ...

Here's a photo for you obobo! Basically finished as of yesterday =)



And a video of it running...

Thank you Noorbeast, that is likely the best compliment I've ever received.

very very impressive, the rig is like a professionnal one

you have 1 or 2 camera for the VR ?

I own three cameras for the Rift, along with Touch for room scale. I only use 1 for the motion sim.

Off topic but Touch is fantastic by the way. My play space is right next to the motion sim, 8 feet by 11 feet.

I ask that because when on the video you turn the head more than 90 ° on the right, your view in the game does not turn as much. There is a lack of precision in the farthest movements of the camera

Magnifique réalisation pour un tout aussi magnifique résultat en fonctionnement !
Wonderful realization for an equally magnificent result in operation!

Thank you @momoclic !

@obobo Yes to solve Rift camera tracking problems I had to move the camera much closer to my face, this seems to have given it trouble tracking properly when I turn my head all the way around to check my six. I will be experimenting further to see if I can fix this. In fact you have motivated me to maybe try tonight =D

Got another demo vid guys, this time it's one minute or so of me racing badly showing off high speed cues.