First attempt - 6DOF and learn to TIG weld at the same time.

FI, Also with everything wired up correctly (Pots all the same - Sabertooth switches (0n, on, on, off, on, on,), the motor outputs from the Sabertooth will be opposites polarity wise.

Take a clear photo of the dip switches on your sabertooths.

It looks like you have dip no4 down which explains the erratical motion. Set it like this:


Thanks
Thanos

Sorry, but I have to disagree @Thanos, Switch 4 must be down, or you will be mixing the signals - which you don't want to do and also the motor outputs polarities will also be required to be different ( switch 4 must also reverse one of the signal inputs ) - I do have a running system .

You are right... their manual is confusing...



5 should be down as well

Thanks, everyone. Responding to points from each of the above messages:

1. I agree that this feels like I'm missing something simple.

2. In terms of grounding. I originally ran a wire from a ground terminal on the AMC1280 controller to one Sabertooth, and then daisy chained to the other two. The Sabertooth folks raised the possibility of a ground loop because the signal and power sides of the Sabertooth share a common ground. After reading somewhere else on this forum a recommendation not to use the 0V terminal on the Sabertooth for grounding, I switched to the way it's set up now. Should be functionally equivalent, I think.

3. My current dip switch settings are up, up, up, down, up, up. I can try setting #5 down, but I think that won't address the bigger problem, which is that the motors do not seem to be seeing any control from the Sabertooths.

The sabertooth manual says for switch 5


Switch 5: Exponential response
If switch 5 is in the DOWN position, the response to input
signals will be exponential. This softens control around the
zero speed point, which is useful for control of vehicles
with fast top speeds or fast max turning rates. If switch 5 is
in the UP position, the response is linear.

The softening of the control around the zero point is not what you want in a simulator (maybe OK for steering a car etc). I have tried both of course just to be sure and found that the manual is correct therefore linear is the better selection for a sim.

Not trying to make you look bad or anything @Thanos and I do love the 1280's, but I know you don't have working sabertooths to try this out. So much easier to test all this in a working sim .

Unfortunately @Squonk , this won't really help your current situation.

Can you confirm that you have firmware V2.4 Rev 3.0 loaded?

Can you verify you set the output as unidirectional?

oh so thin, it looks like your problem is coming from your hall effect sensors, as if it was working badly because normally your engines should not run unless they are not in contact with the axis of your engine. In any case the potentiometers work like that.

Hi @Squonk you are having very similar problems as I was having. No matter what settings I used the sabertooths would drive the motors like they had a mind of their own.

The feedback from the pots was displaying correctly on the board and all settings set as they should be but as soon as power applied to the motors they woooosh off they went

I gave up in the end as I could not make head nor tail of it.

What did you end up doing, @SilentChill? I know you eventually moved to linear actuators, but did you use potentiometers while still on the motors, before changing over?

Thanks, Thanos. Yes, it is set to unidirectional. I posted a photo of all the display screens above, but it's probably hard to see. I was thinking this morning, that maybe it's as simple as having the outputs to the Sabertooths plugged in in the wrong order on the controller board, as I don't recall seeing any silk screened numbers on the board. That's a long shot, and I'm not particularly hopeful, but I'll give it a shot when I get home this evening.

I just went back to using my Arduinos with SMC3. The 1280 looks like it will be a great board but just seems to hard to use just yet and especially for software and hardware limits to stop your rig destroying itself SMC3 will have to do for me for now until we have a proper full instruction manual or similar.

So, do you have multiple interfaces set up in SimTools? Or am I wrong in my understanding that SMC3 can only handle two motors?

Yes, you have to have several interfaces. For a 6DOF using SMC3 we must have 3, 2 actuators per interface.

OK. Since patience is not my long suit, I've ordered 3 Arduinos and will try with them instead of the AMC1280, unless I find some simple thing I've overlooked with that board. I've skimmed through the long "tutorial" thread about SMC3-SPS. If there is a thread specific to setting up the three interfaces for a 6DOF rig that someone could point me to, I'd appreciate it.

You have to repeat the interface settings 3 times as described in the GameEngine manual or the SMC3 thread.

The only change will be the Interface Output string "[A<Axis1a>][B<Axis2a>]" and the COM port.
So, for the first interface, you put Axis 1 and 2.
Second interface, Axis 3 and 4
Third interface, Axis 5 and 6.

The remaining configuration should be the same.

I found the problem! I now have control of the one motor I used for troubleshooting/testing. Unfortunately, I'm awaiting a replacement Sabertooth, so I'm sort of stalled on the tracks just as I've caught sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. But that will give me time to mount the seat and pedals, dress out the cabling and generally tidy up. Getting excited again.

I now also have three Arduinos on the way, because I am impatient, so I'll have a backup in case of future trouble.

Thanks so much to each of you who took the time to help me think through this and troubleshoot. The problem, in the end, was very simple. If anyone else has one of Thanos's controllers and finds the motors running away as soon as power is applied, I'll be happy to PM you something to check when troubleshooting. I don't want to post it publicly, because it's not actually a problem with the controller and I am very grateful to Thanos for all of his help.

Woot!

Just for everyone's information when using a 2 x 60 - the fans only will come on for a short time during the switch on cycle, before then being controlled by a thermostat. I have not seen any of mine come on at all once they have cycled although I do have some secondary fans drawing air from the drivers.

Yes, I found this to be true, as well. The one I sent back, though, was behaving differently in that the fan was twitching continuously while those on the other two spun up and then shut off as you described. I figured since it was brand new, and not cheap, I'd just as soon have it replaced.