Adding 2DOF (Seat Shaker) to Aluminum Rig

To limit the movement, you can set it on XPID by using the min/max for each motor. You can also limit it in SimTools in Axis Assignments / Axis Limiting.

I DO not suggest limiting any of the axis, Your then wasting linearity and possible data points. In the end you've gone overboard on some forces and under on others. This is the magical game of Motion tuning, IMO using someone else's setting's is a Band aid. You should really learn how to maximize the data to your liking. And the only way to do that is to learn how the data works and how to manipulate it by playing around. Or Having a one on one with someone with Lots of Tuning experience that can explain each and every facet.

I was just making the observation that the way I designed my platform there is way more movement possible then what is really needed. In fact I think I have so much movement that it would ruin the immersion experience because it feels more like an amusement ride then driving a vehicle. Of course I will use the XPID software to adjust my limits with a simple tap of the TFT LCD screen, thats the beauty of the XPID system.

I understand that each system should be tuned to match, but like everyone I'm looking for help understanding what everything does and a having a starting point can be a big help.

Here are my setups





I think I just was doing the "tuning" all wrong, I was playing with settings in the two menus above to try to amplify the movement in Iracing. After reading up on Simtools, I think I should have been working in the Tuning Center, DUH.



I have a lot of work to get everything working correctly, I have to get the PID settings tuned and get simtools tuned. without really understanding either right now, its going to take a lot of seat time.

The good news is the motors seem to be more then capable to throw around a 200lb test pilot, and the 3d printed parts show no signs of failing either.

100% Axis is never a wise idea on any One DoF (aside from very specific axis, such as TL or a Surge/sway table)

Start with 20% as the guides say and tune each force, Pitch, Roll, Heave, Sway, Surge. Tune EACH individually then combine. 100% force is WAY overkill in pitch and roll, especially with those being actual degrees per say, if you run a wonky tuning center with 100% force i can see it being a Very poor experience.

I will read through the guide again and see what I come up with. Thanks

I have also been working on the electronics side of the project, Here is my old control box 20" x 16" x 6.75"



I have the Argon driver for the OSW, a 8 relay board and some small arduinos for a project that didn't pan out.

Here is the front of the box where all of the connections are made, everything is designed to be plug and play, I had a few cable glands for future projects.



I don't think I will be able to fit all the new goodies inside, maybe if I rip everything out and do a complete start over. but instead I think I will get a new box with a few more inches of space. now that I extended the frame 3" I have a little more wiggle room.

I have to add
arduino mega
sabertooth driver
2x power supplies
additional relays
lots more input/output plugs
arduino uno with motor drive
1x power supply for wind generator fans
cooling fans

Here is an idea of what the new box panel would look like, the squares are just to get an idea of all the connections I need.




Now that I have a 3d printer I can print custom plates to mount everything into which will greatly simplify cutting holes in the enclosure.

I will have to pick up a few things besides a new box,
16 channel relay module
1 additional IEC320 input modules with filter
a couple of larger USB hubs, one for internal and one for external
some 4-pole speakon plugs and jacks

Again one of my biggest concerns will be if my 15A house circuit will support everything full out. If not I will have to run an extension cord from the garage (20a circuit) or add a battery, neither of which would be ideal.

some more planning, I had my switch panel made up long before I started the motion project. I thought ten switches would be more then enough, but I could use a few more.



and here are some more planning notes on what all I need in the box

I wasn't able to work on my actual rig at all, but I got some computer time in and here is what I have been up to.

Ten switches wasn't enough, found out I need at least 11 to do everything I want. My old switch box consisted of two two electronics boxes with a handful of holes drilled in them and a couple of RJ45 panel mount connectors. I had them mounted side by side to a piece of aluminum extrusion and that was mounted just above my center monitor.

Here is the new design, its a modular box designed for 15 switch plates that are each 1.5" wide. I will use 3 plates combined for the emergency stop and then the remaining 12 plates for switches. There will be two rj45 panel mount connectors on the switch box and another two on my control box.







I will be 3d printing the entire assembly. The box will be split into three sections and to assist in assembly I have added dowel pin holes for alignment during gluing as well as a lego inspired bracket that will be used to hold the walls together.






The switch plates will also be 3d printed, all of the switches will be printed in 3 groups of 4 and then the e-stop will be 3 bays combined.



The text will be printed right into the panels and I'm hoping that I will be able to fill the text with red paint to make it more visible. I also added some recessed area for the switch cover plate to sit in, that will make alignment easier during assembly.

I have already printed a few sections for testing, it took me a few designs before I settled on a version I liked. Now I have to print everything out which will take a long time.



Here are the switches I bought


and the RJ45 Panel Mount, These were the longest ones I could find.



The E-stop


and the E-stop Label



The switch panel will be connected to a couple of 8 channel relay units in the main electrical box so each switch will activate a relay (or multiple relays) which will then go to the corresponding system. I will bring 5v and ground in on two of the wires and 12 of the remaining 14 will go to each switch with 2 left over for future use. Each switch will be wired with 5v and ground and when switched on the 5v signal will be sent back to the main control box and to the built-in LED in the switch. The 5v power for the Motion system, Racing wheel, Wind Generator and Vibration amplifier will be routed through the emergency stop. This way when I hit the E-stop all systems that could have potential danger will be deactivated at once.

The final connection between the switch panel and control box will be as easy as connecting a couple of Ethernet cables.

I also spent a bit of time working on a way to mount two 8 channel relay boards in a way that makes them easy to wire.



The PCB on the front is a terminal block breakout for an Arduino nano, I had a few of them laying around and they will work about perfect for what I'm doing.



The terminals will be bridged across the board so I will have 15 total pass-through connections, I need 14, so I will have 1 spare. I also won't need all 16 relays so I will have a few extra for future use.
The way I designed the board holder each 8 channel relay bank slides into a slot and are offset so the terminal blocks are easy to access.

This is the relay block that will be connected to my switch panel and I will wire the RJ45 panel mount connectors on the electrical box directly to the breakout board.

Wow, its been a while since I last updated. Life is getting busy and I haven't had a lot of time to work on the project.

I was able to finish my new switch box, it is entirely 3d printed. 3 sections for the box and 5 plates for switches. I changed the design to 3 bay plates to make everything uniform vs the 4 bay design I originally had.

Here are the switch plates fresh off the printer



I sanded these with 220 grit using an orbital sander and then put on two thick coats of filler primer followed by another round of sanding.
this is the primer I am using
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...y-Paint-249279/202097276?keyword=020066188627



Not a ton of change, but the filling primer started to fill in all the lines from printer.



Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the rest of the process, but I did two more coats of filler primer, sand and then a single coat just before painting. so the whole process was this
sand, 2x primer, sand, wash, 2x primer, sand, wash, 1x primer, 4 coats of paint.

I used a silver metallic paint by Rust-oleum from home depot
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...-Paint-7271830/100114473?keyword=020066727185





After the silver paint dried, I flood coated the lettering using red model car paint. This was a very delicate job as the model car paint is an enamel and mistakes can be hard to fix. I tried a few methods for filling the letters and the best for me was to use a syringe and a really small needle to inject the paint into the lettering. Here is the finished result.



Next I tore apart the old switch box and started wiring in the two additional switches. I kind of cheated here as I just direct soldered all the wires to the switches, it was pretty sloppy, but they will be hidden so I'm OK with it.

Here are all the switches ready to go in two groups. The left switches are for items that don't have motion or safety associated with them. the right switches have the motion components and the e-stop. I have already mounted the switch boxes and the panel mount Ethernet connects at this point. I ended up skipping the alignment pins and the connector pieces for the 3 sections of the box, in testing with overlap of the switch plates and being mounted to a piece of aluminum extrusion I didn't feel they were necessary.



Next I carefully installed the switches on to the panels, here I wish I would have made my switch to switch jumpers longer because I didn't give myself much room to work.



And finally I mounted the switch panels onto the switch box with 30 screws.




I tapped threads directly into the printed parts, this was by far the most tedious part of the build. I found that if I used a drill the plastic would overheat and melt, even running the tap by hand would cause the plastic to overheat so it was a very slow process. If I were to do it again I would design the part to accept thread inserts like these.



Here is the panel with all switches installed and on



And with the e-stop engaged, notice the 5 switches turn off on e-stop. this will shut down all moving parts at once on e-stop.



So I reworked the wiring a little, I used the red and blue wire from each harness as power and ground for the two groups of switches. that gives me exactly 12 wires remaining for the switches. each of the other wires will go to a relay and in turn each switch will turn on/off a relay.

one last shot of the way the cables are connected, I am temporarily setup for testing right now.


The whole assembly will be mounted above my center monitor like so

Oh Yea, Just to get an idea of how indecisive I am, here are all of my test prints

I also ordered a second sound card for the additional 4 transducers that will now be installed. Here is the pc used for my sim rig. nothing special for the case, but I have some good hardware including a GTX1080 with the vr premium pack. Very nice card and way overkill for sim racing, but with VR its a must. an I7-4790 processor and the self contained liquid cooling unit. I also did some custom mods to add additional cooling fans and some cable management.



here is the graphics card, it comes with a really nice panel that moves the USB and HDMI for the VR goggles to the front of the pc.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814125873

Last but not least, I spent some time reworking my wheel/dashboard to fit the new amazon 7" tablet.

I had to cut a new mounting plate and tap some additional mounting holes in the front mounting plate.



While I had the steering rack out of the rig I also added some additional bracing, unfortunately I ran out of bolts and had to change to black halfway through.



Here is everything re-installed with the new tablet



and with all the tablets turned on



the new tablet is much brighter and more responsive then the cheap Chinese one i was using. the screen ration is different though, the amazon tablet is wider and shorter so well see if that is better. right now in the seated position I'm looking through the steering wheel to see the tablet which works out just fine. If i change steering wheels it could block my view.

On the cheap tablet I opened it up and soldered a charging cable directly to the motherboard, with the amazon tablet I wanted to keep everything stock so replacing it would be easy if needed. so I came up with a DIY super thin micro USB connector.

I picked up a Wireless charging adapter and micro USB breakout board from amazon. The orientation of the micro usb connector has to be correct for the wireless charging adapter.


www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLDPZVU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010USS7P6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So I was going to strip the charging adapter down to just the cable, but the built in circuit board was actually very handy.




On three sides of the board there are two positive terminals and a single ground terminal, I used the board as a passthrough to make my connections. so I removed the plug and charge winding and then soldered the plug onto one side and the breakout board to the other. I just used the included header pins to make the connection from the pcb to the breakout board.




Next I added a little double sided tape and mounted the assembly to the tablet. Now I have a charge port in the rear of the tablet and the connector is hidden behind the tablet mounting plate.



this isn't the most elegant solution, and I really don't like to have parts exposed like this, but it is functional and will be completely hidden when everything is mounted. I may 3d print a cover plate at some point, but its not in the works right now.

All I have had time for the last couple of weeks were these little projects, I haven't made any further progress on my motion setup. I think I have enough testing to start working on my control box though, I have already started ordering parts and now I just need some time to start laying out the components in the box. Hopefully I will get moving on that quickly and my next update will include the finished product. I also am working on my relay array, and should have the build pics up in the next few days.

I still haven't had much time to work on the simulator, I did spend a little more time on the control box layout.

I think I have everything I need included now



I was doing some test printing to to make sure everything was fitting, but my printer died so I haven't mad any progress. I did contact Monoprice and they were more then happy to let me RMA my printer for a replacement. I wasn't that excited to RMA my unit and wait for a replacement so I reached out to google and found the solution to the problem. The Duplicator 6 has a relay rated for 10a and the machine pushes the limit of the component eventually leading to contact burning out. The suggested fix directly from the manufacturer is to bypass the relay with a jumper wire, so thats what I ended up doing and all is working now. Now I just need to find time to make some more progress.

Here is the USB holder that was made before my printer died. I will add a 4 screws in the corners and they will just hold the usb hub in place.

I have been planning on getting another wheel setup for my OSW, so I finally pulled the trigger on the Fanatec Formula Rim. I like the fanatec gear because its pretty solid and it has all the buttons and the display already included.

So here is what I do to convert it over to fit my gear.

Formula Rim still in the box.



Here is the wheel untouched, to start the conversion the four large screws need to be removed from the face of the rim.



next each shifter has two bolts that need to be removed and then they can be set aside while the fanatec QD is removed. In the photo below I have already unplugged the QD cable. there is also a ground cable attached to one of the 6 bolts holding the QD to the steel back plate.



Here I have removed the Fanatec QD and installed the Bodnar conversion board. This is the new version that does not require and soldering, it includes a cable and has double sided tape on the bottom of the board. It's as simple as connecting the cable and sticking the board to the fanatec PCB. There is even a small terminal block so you can connect the USB cable without soldering.



Next I prepped my Accuforce QD, It comes with a 6 Wire connector so I pulled the connector off the wires and clipped the two unnecessary wires. I also attached my custom made adapter plate, Its a 1/4" thick aluminum disk with 6 mounting holes for the Accuforce QD and 6 mounting holes for the fanatec wheel.

Note, The Accuforce wheel system used to have a built in slip ring, they pulled that feature because of all the problems they had so the standalone QD is now sold without the 6 pin circuit board system. I contacted Simxperience directly and they found a set of the old pcb boards and installed them for me at the factory. I don't know how much longer they will provide these boards as they no-long manufacture them. That said, if anyone wants to do something similar, I have designed a couple of circuit boards to replace these if needed in the future.



Here is the accuforce QD attached to the Fanatec Steel back plate. Notice I left 1 bolt out, this is where the ground cable will go.



Here is another shot of the attachment, on the BMW GT wheel I had to use 10mm spacers to clear the plastic housing and the shifters. Not knowing what spacing I would need I used the same 10mm spacers and I have plenty of clearance. I could probably use even shorter spacers, but the shifters don't allow the SimX QD to mount directly to the Fanatec steel back plate.



This was the hardest part of the whole job, I had to attach the ground cable and then with limited space attach the 4 USB wires to the small terminal block on the bodnar PCB.


Then I re-attached the shifters and reinstalled the 4 bolts on the face of the rim.

Here I am comparing the GT rim to the Formula Rim, the PCB's need to be aligned so that when changing wheels I dont have to re-center my wheel setup. I actually screwed up the alignment on the first try and had to go back and fix it. (bad picture, I was in a hurry. If you look closely the PCB's are aligned)



Finished Product



and Installed


I obviously haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but I'm excited to see how the smaller diameter wheel affects the torque of the servo. The bodnar pcb lets windows recognize all of the buttons on the wheel and with the fanaleds software I can also setup the rev lights and 3 digit display.

Follow up pictures,

Here is the BMW rim, there is almost no extra space using the 1omm spacers and the 1/4" adapter plate. I would even say that the Accuforce QD is touching the plastic cover on the wheel.




And here is the Formula rim using the 10mm spacers, I could probably go down to 5mm spacers to get as close as possible. The adapter plate fits inside of the shifters



this is all assuming I want the wheel as close to the dashboard as possible, the formula rim is a little bit shorter overall and I will probably add longer spacers in the future to get the wheel closer to my body during driving.

another solution would be to add a washer or two to the shifters and move them further out.

3d printed wheel spacers....FTW!!!!

Haha, of course.
I'm printing everything else so why not.

I love having a 3D printer, it comes in handy for so many things.

I think you dont know what you are doing... Just kidding. Man, that work is incredible!