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Lurker coming out of shadows..Time to start small scale

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by dave w, Nov 29, 2014.

  1. dave w

    dave w Member

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    HI guys, been lurking for awhile and reading as much as i can before posting. After showing my wife a bunch of videos from this site ..(her response, "i can stand behind you and shake your seat").. she was some what impressed after showing her some of the polished set ups found on this site. Anyways i have decided to start by building a proof of concept and would like to construct a scale model with rc servos. If i can prove to my wife i can do it she will be more likely to green light the full scale project. I have the technical abilities and tools for building (welder, air compressor, etc). My biggest hurdle will be the electronics/coding. My brother will be a big help as he is in last semester as mechanical engineer, he also has an associates in electronic technology. (he built a guitar amp from scratch) Also my best friend is a machinist and has the capability to make parts for me on the side.
    I plan on building a 2dof seat mover with pivot and possible traction loss if i get crazy, looking at 200w wormgear crab pots on ebay for motors, server power supply (leaning towards JRK for simplicity, logitech G27, not sire of fixed screens or not.. will get there later

    enough rambling...
    I need to know if i need h-bridges or JRK's to build a rc servo model or if an arduino can do it all with such low power, searched for a bit and cant find a r/c build with enough info for me to replicate
    to be blunt looking for "directions"
  2. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
  3. bsft

    bsft

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    Hello @dave w , JRKS are the simplest for sure as they are micro controller and h-bridge in one, granted you need one board per motor.
    No code to write for them and easily changeable PID and motor power commands. All of which we can advise you along the way.
    As for controlling servos, heres what is says on the site
    http://www.pololu.com/product/1393
    • Hobby radio control (RC) pulse width interface for direct connection to an RC receiver or RC servo controller.
    • 0–5 V analog voltage interface for direct connection to potentiometers and analog joysticks.
    Failing that, send them an email.
    Good luck with impressing the wife for getting funds for a build. I never bothered personally, I told mine, "im building it, if you dont like it, theres the door". She doesnt get a cent of my money, everything is paid for so there is no need.
    14 design builds later she is still here and I have my simulator where I want it. My own personal corner of the garage.
  4. insanegr

    insanegr !N$@n€

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    if you want to build a little scale model you can use @eaorobbie code and you can find it here
    http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/rc-model-for-motion-simulation.4600/


    and for expanding it you have to do this at the code


    here is my toy moving

    • Like Like x 2
  5. dave w

    dave w Member

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    @bsft , thanks for the input, i'm in the same boat my money my hobbies and i get the whole garage :) Im currently restoring a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro in the garage but need a winter hobby as the snow is flying here!!!
    Thanks for the help guys will get back when i get something put together and finish my research, I'm sure i will have questions along the way!
    • Like Like x 1
  6. dave w

    dave w Member

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    @insanegr Thats exactly what i was searching for i plan to build a similar model and come to find out my brother (who rents my basement while finishing college) happens to have 2 arduinos in stock!!
  7. dave w

    dave w Member

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    Got my first model mocked up with servos u-joint and a small platform, just picked up Adruino UNO this afternoon as well, found code for rc servos thanks for the links guys, but i need the plugin for dirt 3 it says it is not available for download at the moment that is what i need for initial test as that is the only game i have installed right now (little limited with SSD 128G) can anyone let me know how to acquire this plug in for test
    • Like Like x 1
  8. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    You need to purchase the plugin with coins you do know that dont you ?
  9. bsft

    bsft

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    @dave w , use your existing coins to "buy" a download package for the week to get all plugins and software.
  10. dave w

    dave w Member

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  11. dave w

    dave w Member

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    Decided to practice with live for speed, have game installed and patched it is communicating with sim tools, my model however is not, during axis testing i can get one servo to move one way and get stuck maxed out, i did not find the simtools settings in @eaorobbie build any help would be much appreciated
  12. bsft

    bsft

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    send him a PM
  13. insanegr

    insanegr !N$@n€

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    Untitled1.png

    this is how your settings should look like
    hope i helped and didn't confuse you more

    EDIT:
    more pics

    Untitled2.png

    Untitled3.png
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2014
  14. dave w

    dave w Member

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    I am proud to announce i have a working model 2dof sim. I am using old steering servos from an old traxxas i had laying around. Performance is ok but sensistivity issues, i only had 2dof selected in the axis assingmnets pitch and roll, do i need all of them with 2 motors?
  15. dave w

    dave w Member

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    Also i only have a L and R axis in the interface output under "Interface Settings" also i had to adjust the packet rate to over 10ms servos were very glitchy at or below ten ms
  16. bsft

    bsft

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    RC servos can be very twitchy compared to motor/actuators, but for a model is a good demo.
  17. jem45472

    jem45472 Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Agree with @bsft about the rc servos.
    Start the real build. I have no programming skills, but it is simple to setup simtools and jrk's. If I did it, anyone can.
  18. insanegr

    insanegr !N$@n€

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    good to here that you got it working:)
    hope FAQ's will be up soon:sos
    here is something to understand each dof
    depends on the plugin of the game you are running first (dofs of motion that the game can provide and export) and second what will you like feeling in motion when setting game manager, you can use as many dof you like
    sorry for my English


    Last edited: Dec 1, 2014
  19. dave w

    dave w Member

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    Thank you everyone for your help, I am confident with my abilities to go full scale. I will start a new thread when I have some parts accumulated and I begin the build.
    • Like Like x 2
  20. john a

    john a New Member

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    Hi everybody! i know this might be a little late but i cant find any information anywhere! I am trying to build a 2dof scale like in this post. However the problem i am facing is can i use the JRK 12v12 and if so how would i wire it? The servos dont native feedback capability so how does the jrk know its position? These servos have 3 wires but the third is a signal not a feedback right? Any help would be greately appreciated.