electric winch based moving platform

i've been thinking about making a super simple moving platform for a while. i have an idea for a design and wonder if anyone has tried?

basically there is a frame, about 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5m with 3 electric winches (hoists) mounted on the top rails in a triangular configuration, something like these:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...eed-Mini-Electric-Hoist/708739_544885708.html

the winches attach to the pilots seat so you can get about 3DOF i think, pitch, roll and Z

the beauty of this idea is super simple to build and cheap. i'll draw a 3D pic if i have time but i'm sure you get the idea. one winch attached to the back of the seat near the head rest, and one attached just a bit wide of each foot.

these hoists are mains power so no need for transformers and heavy gauge wiring, and come with up and down buttons for easy connection to an arduino board. i'd need to add some position feedback but i'm sure i can work that out.

that winch is rated 200kg and 10m/min. passenger, plus chair plus electronics should be far less than 200kg so no problem there but the big problem is speed. i'm not flying A380's, i'm doing aerobatics so i need pitch and roll rates in the order of 100deg/sec or more, so that's about 1m/sec. since the winch is 10m/min (and most are, i've checked) i would need to gear that up by a factor of 6 (bigger drum?), which means i would need more power too i guess.

anyhow, its something to think about, has anyone tried this idea?

UPDATE, to increase speed, i could use a block and tackle type thing which is typically used to gear down for lifting heavy weights, but could just as easily be set to to gear up, something like this:

http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/bt4.gif
attach the winch to the 100lb block and the the 25lb end to the motion platform for a 4:1 gear up

I have seen similar designs pop up for comment every now and then, none ever gets as far as building. IMO I think it will be difficult to keep in check the swinging/oscillations that will occur in the design, especially with the fast changes in inertia that you require. FYI 1 meter per second is super (almost dangerously) fast for a sim.

thanks for the comment. if i get a 10m/min hoist and gear it up by 4 with the block and tackle thing, that gives me 40m/min = 0.66m/sec. i would use some counter weights to offset my weight so the fall rate would be less but the climb rate would be doable for a 1HP motor

so i think you are right, 0.66m/sec is probably as much as i would want to go.

i can see the out of control swinging/oscillations been a problem. i would need some kind of damping system to keep that under control.

i guess the thing is, it would be easy to build a non motorizes small scale version to play with first, see how it behaves.

I saw something similar to this on a DIY site years ago (name escapes me, but likely shut down now anyway but...) It didn't use a plugin system like Simtools, it's was simply built as a "fun ride" - "something to do" if you will.

Not wanting to dampen your dream but the creator of that system abandoned the idea due to the pendulum effect.
He found that going Left then right was fine, but to go left again put the system in a wild swing.
It's same principal on a 4x4 vehicle. You can swerve fast to the left and then again quickly right and will likely not flip it, but attempt to correct back to the left and the car will more than likely flip over.

I'll see if I can find the original post article on the web and post back here....

I could be wrong, but are you trying actually replicate true to life G forces? 1m per second would do that, and I hope you have a BIG insurance pack if you ever plan to take this public or even let anyone else ride it.
Simulation is immersion and brain trick. Motion provides ques to the body in conjunction with screens or VR glasses. Simulation is for fun and not for training. despite a lot of simulators claiming training.
You do not need that sort of speed, you need a good set up and good motion profile.
If 6 professional go kart racers can play on my seat mover sim with about 250mm per second linear speed and find it realistic, then 1m per second is not needed.
You are only going to hurt yourself and others.

i've been thinking about it some more and i have a better idea for a simple 2DOF machine.

basically its a 4x8ft plywood base with a tower in the middle, about 1m high, pretty study. on top of that is a ball hitch you would put on the back for your truck. the pilot's chair sits on that connected via a trailer hitch. so you get 3DOF from that for about $100

the trick is to motorize it. i guess you could use 2 air cylinders, one pitch one roll (i don't care about yaw). i prefer motors to air power if possible but can't find a good low cost, bi directional motor, that can turn about 60deg/sec (i know aerobatic planes can roll more than 360deg/sec http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivko_Edge_540 but i think that's too much for a sim)

maybe air power not a bad idea
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/MAL-...Air-Cylinder-1-8-Port-Double/32230059322.html

at least you can hide the compressor miles away and the air tank is like a battery, equalized the load.

BTW, i think moving in Z is a waste of time. 1G is 9.81 m/s2 so to experience 1G for 1 sec you would need a 9.81m tall kit and a big motor

Not knocking your ideas, but recommend you at least have a look at the many working sim designs available on this site (some made at quite a low cost). As bsft said, simulation is mostly a mind trick with real life accelerations and movement not really necessary (especially if you use VR).

the reason i haven't build anything already is i'm waiting for the oculus rift thing. i did look at a few designs and some youtube vids but they all seemed a bit complex and expensive, i'll take another look

have you got a design or 2 sketched up? even a paper design can give us an idea of what you are wanting to do.
@noorbeast can advise of increased feeling of motion with rift.
Ive only used a rift and thats immersive enough as it is without motion