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Question Noob Question 6DOF Suspension

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by madetomeasure, Sep 4, 2017.

  1. madetomeasure

    madetomeasure New Member

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    Hey all, long time listener, first time caller :)

    Doing paper design for 6DOF flight sim and looking at all the member builds, I am missing something. I notice not a single one suspends the frame from above on springs, like a garage door does. I'd imagine doing this would reduce load on the motors in one direction and even out performance in both directions slightly.

    A quick sketch of proposed springs and a picture of the overhead door example attached.

    I'm thinking that hundreds of thousands of hours of community experience probably ruled this out. Can anyone confirm / explain? Thanks so much for creating this incredible community!

    IMG_4531.jpg types-of-garage-door-springs.jpg
    madetomeasure, Sep 4, 2017
    #1
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Generally speaking a spring can take some load but it also requires power to extend or compress, it is a trade off greatly affected by design goals.
    noorbeast, Sep 4, 2017
    #2
  3. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately it is like a cars suspension - all sorts of oscillations will be produced by the springs and the stored inertia as the sim moves. Like in a car, matched dampeners would be needed to tame these oscillations, but unlike a car in a sim we really don't want to dampen the fast movements. Best to not use them - or just expect and put up with the oscillations.
    • Like Like x 1
    SeatTime, Sep 4, 2017
    #3
  4. madetomeasure

    madetomeasure New Member

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    Awesome explaination- thanks all! On to choosing control cables then... :)
    madetomeasure, Sep 5, 2017
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  5. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

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    Instead of springs, add a counterweight like in an elevator...:)
    mariano68, Sep 5, 2017
    #5
  6. madetomeasure

    madetomeasure New Member

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    Haha- kind of goes against the weight limiting ideal tho...

    I imagine dramatically under-springing the load might be able to shave some of the effort off without introducing oscillations, but that will be easy enough to test once we have a build on :)
    madetomeasure, Sep 5, 2017
    #6
  7. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

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    Would be best to build without thinking on aidings ;), and as you said, test them later.
    mariano68, Sep 5, 2017
    #7