Showroom Light Weight 2DOF Full Frame

HI EVERYONE! So.. I finally think im ready to post a little about my sim. Keep in mind.. 1. yes my welds are poop 2. I'm running on a tight budget, and last but not least 3. Im married. If you're wondering why i added that in refer to number 2
On that note, if anyone has any suggestions or constructive criticism about my build please feel free to hand me your thoughts, dont worry im a very professional person, you're not going to hurt my feelings

So here we are with my original plans of what i had in mind for my sim, we can see its... well... a penis? not really what i was going for. Did i mention i cant draw?


And of course my initial thoughts for the base..


I finally said ok lets just have a go at it. And uh.. my wife she... TOTALLY agreed..
So i grabbed one of our old race car seats


And some metal for the frame..



Some more...


Annnndddd more..



Found an old toyota u-joint in the parts pile.. (family of mechanics)


And started piecing together the frame..

Built the main of the base from the square plate on top of a square tube er... square


Got some "Wonder Motors" off ebay for 60 bucks a pop (bad idea i find out later)
And cut out some arms for them at 2" center to center (i later made that 1" center to center)


And cut some mounts for them out of that handly C-frame


Installed the mounts and u-joint on the base, along with the motor mounts


And did some dreaming



Decided on er... i think it was 6 1/2" from pivot to attach my control arms


And of course.. Built said arms. Yep you're right, one of them does look kindof crooked doesnt it? haha


Added some legs to the base so we dont go through the "Windshield"


I think we're ready for paint dont you??


Well think again.. Didnt like the way the frame felt to sit on with my feet at the pedals, so adjusted the front area a little and fit it for the wheel setup.


Yeah thats better, now just for a little piece for the shifter


Now we paint!!



WooHoo! G27 came in the mail


And decided on a conduit box for the electronics.
By the way i apologize for not having time right now to type up about all the specifics of what i have stuffed in this thing (ill edit later) but for right now the jist of it is..
30a Led power supply (the one commonly known on this forum)
Power strip (for PS and G27)
Home wall light switch
120mm fan (With red led's )
Fuse block
Sabertooth 2x25
Kangaroo x2
10 ohm pots on the motors
Ftdi ttl converter
err... i think thats it


Ready to assemble!


And the final (cough yeah right cough) product!



Now for the "forum" part, haha. I got about 1 hour play time out of this baby and the cheap ass bushings on the output shafts of the motors developed enough play that the sim was constantly pulsing (because the pots thought the chair was supposed to be moving). This thing was a blast for that 1 hour though! I now have some different motors on order, gonna redesign that area a little and try and mount the pots a little better (sorry i forgot to take pics of the current pot setup). Anywho, let me know what you guys think! If you have any questions or suggestions hit me up!

Thanks! and yes its sooo addicting!! haha. These are the motors i ordered, well one for now to make sure i like them
http://robotmarketplace.com/products/AME-218-1003.html
they have left hand and right hand so i can do opposing also not a bad price, theyre built quite a bit bulkier as far as integrity of the bushings and all metal gears (the manufacturer claims, to be determined)
Also i like how they have the long output shaft, im planning on installing them in such a way that there is a bearing on either side of the control arm on the shaft so that the bearings take the punch instead of the output bushing. Thats the part that shit out on the motors i currently have :/. alright enough rambling hehe

@Kurtis Bell
have a look here http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/different-2dof-sim-builds-feel-free-to-add-designs.5624/

I like that design, it definitely looks low strain, although I really want the high volume of movement that my current setup outputs. If I was to try and get 30 degrees out if a setup like that one I would have to be putting longer arms on the motors which would be the same strain

Was also taking a look at these actuators with thought..
http://www.servocity.com/html/560_lbs__thrust_linear_actuato.html#.VBsonZRdVFs
With that AMAZING amount of thrust and still sustaining 2 1/2" a sec speed you could make a bitchin 3dof with great speed if you put the link points close enough together. The fact that it can carry such a heavy impact would warrant link points to be around.. 6" apart at the base of the seat and still have plenty of strength. Plus they have the pots built in which would make it pretty with no wire mess

Sorry still quite slow when considering a 65mm lever developing 180 rpm can move the 80mm of movement of the sim and return it back to level in under 0.2sec. May suit a flight rig but would be painfully slow as a race rig.

A little trick with wipers is to have a drive axle that has the lever to the sim attached and is held into place with a solid bearing each end, then the wiper attaches to one end , can be a direct connection or even with gearing to speed up (lessen the torque) or slowed down (increase the torque).
Once all the load and inertia is supported by the shaft the only weak point that is left is the internal nylon gearing, but if you find better units then this might last longer than a 1Hr.

I must say my first unit, Stamp controller with a DIY H Bridge and wipers , lasted all off 40mins before my wipers lost all the teeth of the internal gearing.
LOL but yes ADDICTED me for LIFE.

Hmm.. I can't imagine ever wanting to move 30 degrees and back to center in under 0.2 seconds lol. There's no need for that type of movement, not if you don't wanna end up in the hospital that is. With the amount of speed those actuators have you could set up a good 30-40 degree sim at about 1.5 sec full forward back to center. Which is about what real life is if you account for shock travel and brake booster squat.

which design?

maybe, the idea is not to exactly replicate a car motion , but to create a mind trick that thinks its moving that much. I built a sim for a friend, full 2DOF frame and he insisted on 19 deg total movement, after about 20 mins, he halved the travel of the motors.
15 deg from centre up and 15 deg from centre down is a HECK of a lot of travel, good for flight, not so good for race.
But hey, its your sim, if it works for you, go for it.

The link that you posted. The rods down by legs

Yeah, I'm just not much for the real harsh movements, with the fact that I'm preparing to use this with the oculus I really want to give myself the best illusion of actually being in the vehicle and feeling (as much as possible) the g-forces of that corner or stop, not so much the whiplash haha

there is eleven photos on that link, which one please?
With illusion a car does not travel that much, unless its a wheel stand dragster or a monster truck. However, give it a run and prove us wrong.

Oh don't get me wrong I'm not trying to argue or prove anyone wrong just having fun sharing my build. Hoping I can get the new motor setup strong enough cuz I loved that 1 hour! Haha

Nice rig! Hope you'll get stronger motors for it. I like your color scheme, similar to mine

I also use Oculus with my rig. Very immersive experience, cannot wait for commercial release.

Awsome to hear that someone is getting good results out of oculus+sim! was So worried that i was overestimating the experience (My DK2 hasnt arrived yet)
I very much hope the new motor design fills the nitch aswell. Thats pretty much my last step, im very happy with the way everything else is responding to wear and tear (or lack thereof). Do you have your rig posted @Scratch ? would love to see it

@Scratch Just found your topic, What a beautiful sim! looks very professional, i can see your a good perfectionist haha
Im curious, were u aware that you can get those little square end caps at the hardware store pretty cheap? Just throwin it out there

I am curious the motors i have on order have a long output shaft so that i can support it with heavy duty automotive bearings. However, where the control arm will be connected is a completely smooth 11mm round surface, any ideas on the beast way to secure a control arm? i dont really want to drill through and sacrifice the integrity of the shaft, although it doesnt appear that heavy duty clamping arms are available in that small size :/