First time Motion Simulator

Hey guys I'm new to the world of Motion Simulators but I am quite experienced with flight simulators.
I need to know how to make a motion simulator for flight and racing.
Is this possible? If not I could do without racing.
I looked at tronicgr and a few others but I did not fully understand the electronics portion of the set up.
I look towards to making the set up as at low a cost as possible and I want to use wiper motors as I can get them cheaply.
I already have a joystick and throttle. The only extras I will be purchasing in the near future are a projector and rudder pedals.
I have divided the work into the following steps-
-The design
-A small working model
-The building of the frame(with pvc and styrofoam if possible)
-The wiring and mechanics
-The hook up to the computer and software integration
It would be kindly appreciated if I could receive some help. I am 14 years old and this has been my dream for about 3 years.
Thanks in advance.

Hello Megathunderbird. Judging by the user name , you are a fan of a famous tv series.
OK, I will try to assist you.
For flight and racing sim, I suggest a joyrider frame http://www.acesim.com/main.html , it can be made from PVC pipe and can be setup for big or small movements.
The easiest control board would be the Pololu JRK 12v12 http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1393 , one per motor. hooks up the simplest, one usb cable, 3 wires to a potentiometer as feedback, 2 wires for 12v power and 2 wires for the motor. They will run up to 30 amps on peak at 12 volts. Just have a heatsink on the big chip and a fan to cool them.
For hook up, just ask questions as you need and start with this guide jrk-users-guide-t3330.html?hilit=%20pololu , I will eventually do the rest.
Wiper motors are the cheapest and a good start.
Computer wise, depends on what games you intend play and the grahpics requirements.
So a fat dual core or quad core cpu would be the go to run both sim software and game plus a graphics card to suit. www.canirunit.com is a good place to test if the pc will run a game.
We can guide yo through the rest as you go. There are good people on here willing to help as required.
Have fun building.

I am in a similar situation and I am looking to build a race and flight sim. However, I have a few more requirements that I need to take into account since I have to move every two to three years do to work requirements. I need a platform that is easy to assemble and disassemble for transport. Space is also an issue since my current home does not have a lot of it :no:.

I was very inmpressed with the work of DERIY and I was looking at doing something similar; is this a good setup for flight and race? I have done some carpentry work in a past life and I think I may be able to replicate the wood work. I will need a lot of help on the mechanics though. : As a last resort I looked at getting a ready-built game chair and mount it onto a motion platform.
I have two wiper motors and I was thinking of starting with these and upgrade it over time. Would the wiper motors be able to handle a 6DOF setup? or will the load be too much?

Is anyone running Arduino? Doing a little research I found several people that have 6DOF platforms at a small scale and I am wondering if anyone has build a full size model yet. I have the UNO and the MEGA, and so far I've been able to get the LED flahing. :yippiee:

Has anyone been successful at interfacing their sim with a game console? (XBOX, PS3, Wii, etc)

Anyway, I look forward to my first build and any sugestions you may have.

Hello Boss man, you could use a DERIY style setup, but it may not have the movement of a flight sim, just racing. I guess with that style of sim you would need bigger dc motors, try these http://www.motiondynamics.com.au/worm-d ... orque.html ,I am testing these currently on a racing sim. They have some serious kick! Or a golf buggy motor is similar, just make a lever arm to suit. You may have to use a lever system on them to help the lift. Not sure what to use.
Wipers would not handle a 6 dof, not strong enough to lift with. Or good old 12v boat winch motors, refer to Aldoz build.
The Arduino code is still being sorted, so it could be a while.
Perhaps use the famous JRK http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1393 , there are a few of use using them to great success including myself.
Easy to hook up and they can handle some good abuse.
No luck getting a console to work, You would need to buy a licence from the console makers to extract the code. Hence sticking to pc. If you see any videos of consoles sims in action, they are usually a one off build to promote a game. You can buy a console based sim, they start at about $20,000 ish I think.
For a compact sim, I built this 2dof-seat-mover-with-frex-attachment-bsft-t3435.html where the wheel , pedals frame slides out . Good for space saving.
Or maybe for flight consider one of these http://digilander.libero.it/tornadoblu5/en/index1.htm , it may cost a bit to get built but it may be a solution to your space problem.
Hope that gets you somewhere.
Cheers, David.