Showroom 4DOF motion simulator with Simukit's solution

How is your build going? Any news on traction loss yet?

I have been busy so my build has been very slow.

Wow! Nice build bro. I like your idea of adding a tinted plexyglass. I gives a very nice look. Make sure to ventilate the internals of the base to create some airflow though; it can get hot in there. You can use the void under the 3 motor footers to duck the air in and out. Adding a little fan to generate the airflow could be an idea.

Continue to post about your build and ask questions if needed. I'll be glad to help.

I've finally got the traction loss and yaw system completed. It's been quite a challenge in term of design. Here is a little video of the first tests :

I still need to optimize some aspects to smooth out the general behaviors of the structure but in general I am very satisfied. The yaw mechanism is very accurate. Dirt Rally and Assetto Corsa are now a whole other story with this new axis. How immersive!

Looking great jjanu.

I am aware of the need to ventilate and circulate air through the electrics and have plans to raise the platform on some anti vibration mounts and have fans pushing and pulling air through the base.

My progress is slow due to work commitments, but it should be worth it in the end.

How are things going @Fluke ? I'm still not thrilled with my DOF Reality due to gearing slack and lack of heave. I'm sure heave must make a great difference in a flight sim. fasetech seem to have whacked up their price so I'm seriously looking at the SimuKit 3DOF and very interested to do a Yaw upgrade on it.

I too looked at the fasetech platform, but havent seen any reviews. I really havent progressed with my Simukit as work has pretty much taken over my free time. I have everything ready, I just need to find time to bolt it altogether and get it up and running.

Hi Fluke,

May I ask what is the total dimension of your finished project (width x length x height)? I would like to build one similar to yours but I just don't know if I have enough space for it. I was able to negotiate with the wife to turn a spare bed room into my play room. But it is not very big (12'x10'x7.5' or 3m x 3.7m x 2.2m). My other option is to do it in the living room but that will not fly with her .

Thanks,
stargazer

Any new update jannu? Could you please share your design on the traction loss and yaw system? Are the components off the shelf or did you have to make some of it yourself? Thanks.

Stargazer,

Just to give you an idea, my room is 8x8 feet and my whole sim requires a free ground of 5x3 feet to allow for 4-dof motion, which is not that much, considering the fairly large size of my build. I still have several feet of free floor around the sim that I can use for a couch and home cinema furniture. When sitting in the playseat I'm 6.5 feet away from my TV.

Below you will find pictures of the traction-loss setup. I don' have drawings nor schematics but the pictures will show you the main components. Aside from the motor+servo+wires that I ordered from Simukit everything could be found in a home hardware store: 90-pound wheels (*4), 20-pound wheels (*2), steel stripes for support, screws/nuts/bolts, wood, etc. The project is completed at 95%, and is fully working. The last step is to sand and paint the playseat's mdf floor-plate, add a steel sheet underneath the pivot point so it doesn't friction against the wood part in order to protect the wood and avoid squealing noises. And also add a strong nylon skirt around the motor base to hide everything and keep the kids little fingers from venturing in. My summer vacation plan!

Hi jjanu,

I just ordered an kit '3 dof 400w' and a kit sk3. To be able to do add the yaw system like yours , then I also need to order the 120w motor, correct?

I am thinking of building the 3dof platform first. If it works then I will add the yaw system at a later time. By then may be I can gain enough experience to source the correct motor and hardware to add the yaw motion.

I look at your cockpit and I am not sure where did you buy it from? You must have mounted it in such a way that it is free to move by the yaw motor, right? How did you provide the pivot for it? On ebay I saw a two sim cockpits 1. "Volair Sim Universal Flight or Racing Simulator Cockpit" (~$800) , 2. "GTR Simulator GTSF Model Racing Simulator Cockpit works w/ Thrusmaster T300 RS" ($440.99) and I don't know which one will fit better with the platform.

My room is 12' x 10' x 7.3'. I guess my worry is the height 7.3', would that fit the sim that you have built?

Thanks again for the info, it is really helpful for me.

Hi Stargazer,

When I ordered my SK3 kit I asked Simukit to add a fourth 400w motor to the package for the traction-loss+extra servo hardware (4th potentiometer, mount, etc). Send them an email that you want to add traction loss to your build and that you need to add a 4th motor to your order. I strongly suggest the 400w instead of the 120w in order to get better yaw response and torque. My cockpit is quite heavy and I wanted a motor that could sustain a fast reaction time and demand overtime.

Your room height is fine. My whole sim is 5 feet tall from pleaseat head to SK3 base. You will at least have a headroom of 2 feet in seating position. My cockpit is a GTOmega and I strongly recommend it. It is really well made, robust and not as expensive as the other variants on the market. It is on the heavy side but the Sk3 400w can lift it--plus my own 180 pound--without any trouble.

I need to go but I'll come back to you with more details soon. I suggest that you first send an email to Simukit to have them add the fourth motor to your initial order so you dont' have to pay for a second shipment.

Jjanu,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have email the sinukit guys asking them to upgrade the package with the 400w motor and hardware you recommended. I still have not heard from them yet. It seems like they are on vacation the last few days as I have not been able to get in touch with them.
I will order the GTOmega cockpit that you are recommending. It is a GTOmega Pro cockpit, right?

I am still unable to visualize how your yaw/traction loss system work after looking at the pictures. I mean where do you pivot your cockpit? Do you put it on a lazy suzan or something so that you can use the motor and shaft to move it around? For it to work, did you have to drill any hole into the frame? etc.

stargazer

Stargazer,

My GTOmega is the ART version (https://usa.gtomegaracing.com/art-r...t-omega-art-racing-simulator-cockpit-rs6-seat). It weights about 100lbs and cost 400US, Very inexpensive while being one of the most robust option on the market. It doesn't wiggle nor twist. That's why it's heavy but for a sim equipped with traction-loss, sturdiness is essential.

I indeed needed to drill into the frame for the pivot point and other mount points. But with a good quality drill the structure is really easy to mod. I'll make a sketch of the assembly over the weekend for you. Stay tuned.

Hi jjanu,

I was able to get in touch with simukit and placed the additional motor for traction loss today. The package supposes to arrive here in the US next week. I will have it setup and test first before ordering the cockpit so that I won't have too many boxes in the house at the same time.

For flight simulation I like to have 3 monitors, may be 50' each for view outside scenery and two touch screens monitors (24') to help control the plane. I also have a throttle on the left hand side and a flight stick on the right. Looking at the GTOmega ART cockpit I think it doesn't have a holder on the left for my throttle, right?. Do you know if that can be added easily? Also for the two touch screen monitors, will I be able to add some pannel in place of the car steering to hold it? I think I will have to make the 3 monitors stand myself out of 2x4 wood.

@noorbeast , thanks for the suggestion. I will do that as soon as I receive the hardwares and start to work on it.

Hello jjanu,
Where are you with the adjustments and tweaks?
It would be nice if you told us about the feeling of this magnificent 4DOF

Hi @momoclic

Sorry for not coming back sooner on your latest comment. It was a crazy summer and I had to leave my sim project on ice for a while. I finalized the latest tweaks to the built recently and came up with some pictures.

Details: 1-Black paint job on the main platform; 2-Installation of my old buttkicker to the seat structure; 3-Cosmetic improvements; 4-Better cable management; 5-New room configuration.

Edit: I replaced the pictures with better quality ones.

Next steps when the time allows:

1-Publish a final video;
2-Share game settings with the community;
3-Install a hotas joystick setup on the seat platform for flight and space sims, and car handbrake (probably the Thrustmaster T16000m);
4-Oculus hand controller mounting installation on the seat platform to allow for vr motion cancellation.

love your cable management @jjanu. It is so clean I dont see much of a wire at all. I am looking forward to your video and setting. I am still in the process of tuning and it will be good to have yours as a reference. how do you plan to attach the flight stick and throttle for your planes?

Thanks @stargazer

For the hotas I'm planning to use L-shape steel plates screwed onto each side of the seat base. This way it wont be too invasive with regard to the actual design and the controllers will be well within reach. In the end it should look pretty similar to what you did with your joystick setup. Will keep you posted