My 2DOF DIY sim.

Oh yeah. I have a couple of wiper motors as well, and thought I could make belt tighteners of them, so that when I'm braking, they tighten the belt. Probably not worth it though.

Give it a try...

I just bough this cylinder: http://www.ebay.com/itm/380286002481?ss ... 1439.l2649

Using two 1,5 l soda bottles it will allow me to neutralize the front heavyness of the sim at ~3,2 bar pressure. the pressure will vary ~0,4 bar throughout the range, which translates to a force variation of 3 kg.

Here are a few shots of the results of the work I've done this weekend. I have created an electronics box behind the monitors which distributes power to the wheel and three monitors, HDMI cables for each display, and a four port USB hub. The USB hub is accessible through an opening on the right hand side of the box, and power for the steering wheel is accessible on the left hand side, as shown in one of the photos. The cables run inside the aluminum tubes, and exit with a huge loop to spread the movement over a long section as the simulator moves. It's very tidy in front now. I have four available USB connectors for the steering wheel and shifter, or a bunch of helicopter/airplane inceptors. The steering wheel can be unplugged from the box and the whole table removed by removing four screws.

When I get the PSU and doo dads for the sim I'll make the rear electronics box which houses the JRk's, PSUs and safety circuit.

BTW. Can I daisy chain the two (or more?) JRk's together so that I only have to use one USB cable? Do I connect the TX and RX connectors on the two boards together and set the first one up for USB chained? I'm afraid to destroy it if I try, and the instructions are pretty cryptic.

You work really fast compared to me ;D
Nice to see all the progress on you sim.

The cylinder, what if its not 100% airtight. You will loose pressure then right, or will there be some kind of pump?

With jrks, leave them one usb cable and port each. You may be able to run them to a usb hub though, but thats about it.

If it's not completely air tight then the spring force will decrease slowly because of the large amount of air in the reservoir. It's a Festo cylinder, so it's a high quality cylinder, but it's used, so the seals might need replacing. I don't want my compressor to start up in the middle of gaming. That'll give me a heart attack.

I'll get another Belkin four port USB hub for the JRKs. Or maybe I should get a seven port hub in case I want to go crazy with features.

I bought a 7 port USB hub on EBAY. Didn't work in win 7, and the power supply dint fit in Swedish power sockets (it fell out ) Paying a bit more and get something working is a recommendation. However i am still going for a 7 port hub on my sim.

put some videos too

I already have a 7 port and a 4 port Belkin of the same type I ordered, and they are nice and stable and will work without power if you don't have to connect anything that draws a lot of current: http://www.multicom.no/Hub-Mobile-USB-2 ... c/p2503471

I've CNC-cut and installed the bottom tray for the rear electronics now, and it's working fine. I also laid up the E-stop cable. The E-stop triggers a solid state relay which fires up the two main power supplies. I have three power supplies in there. One small 5v/12V combines PSU for the E-stop and fan, and two 500W 15 V units for the servos. I will make the top cover when I get the last power switch/connector. I can't cut it out until I know how big a hole to cut in the sheet. The power cable you see hanging over the edge is temporary while I'm waiting for the switch/connector assembly.

Does anyone know of commercially available USB opto couplers? I'd like to isolate the sim from my computer. The USB ports on my laptop stopped working yesterday for no apparent reason while driving the sim. Could be a fluke, because the laptop is seven years old, and the JRk's work fine with my desktop PC, but I'd like to be safe.

BTW. Here's the part I'm waiting for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/250983928585?ss ... 1439.l2649

I think I found one. Need to look up the chip number: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-protection- ... 4cfebc576a

EDIT:
Looks perfect!

Delrin arrived today. 9,525 mm (3/8) thick. I can mill gears now. Not sure I should bother until I get the new bearings though.

Here's one delrin gear. It's 127 tooth, instead of 126 like the stock steel gear. That should tighten up the first stage just a little bit. Delrin is a very slippery material compared to the original, rough steel gears, and it doesn't ring like steel.

It turned out beautifully, but my control pendant started acting up and I had to re-align the CNC router half way, so it might be ~0,05 mm off center. It probably won't make any difference though.

I installed it on my pitch-axis, and man is it quieter! It's a mellow whine now when I go from end to end as opposed to a loud grinding sound.

Thats good, did the gears cost much?

I made them myself.
The delrin was USD 34,28 plus 11,60 shipping for a 3/8x10x14 plate from a surplus store on Ebay.

I lathed the mounting shank of the shaft for the gear as well to let me adjust the gear mesh. Worked great. I think I'll lathe the inside of the pinion to fit a ball bearing there as well.

Here's how I mounted it. I milled away the outer part of the original steel gear, and made it fit inside the delrin gear. I'm gonna order a lot more Delrin, because this is some fantastic stuff.

Great work tahustvedt, I wish I had your knowledge and hardware toolery. The best I can do is Arc Weld which is tough enough to get right.

What software do you use and is your CNC hooked up to your PC software. I'd love to know and learn how to do this.

I use a software called Vectric Aspire (http://www.vectric.com)to prepare the parts for routing, and move the files to the CNC computer with a USB memory stick. I draw the parts in either 3D Studio Max, or Aspire if it's simple, but any CAD software will do. The router can be controlled by a PC running Windows or Linux. I'm running Windows and am using something called Mach3 by Artsoft: http://www.machsupport.com/

The machine was made with manual tools, for the most part a bandsaw, circular saw, pillar drill, and threading tools, and is made from aluminum profiles and sandwiched aluminum/MDF/aluminum. The rails and screws are high quality linear rails and bal screws that I bought used on Ebay. The CNC controller is a G540 stepper controller from http://www.geckodrive.com, and the spindle is a Kress FME 1050 10.000-30.000 rpm spindle.

Everyone should have a CNC router in the workshop.