PT-Actuators 3DOF system?

Ordered the PT-Actuator 3dof Mega Monster kit. Shao and his partner Echo are really excellent, very professional. My kit is expected to ship this week. The plan at this stage is to mount one Actuator rear and two at front on the TR160. Actuators are black to match the rig.

There is very little video footage of the 3 Actuator setups, everyone goes straight to 4, so it is hard to judge what is the optimal 3 Actuator configuration. Will try both and judge myself

I'm looking at an enclosure for the servo motor drivers.
I plan to use a 6U server enclosure and add a surge protector inside:

Most USA residential electrical circuits are 15A so most multi-outlet power bars with surge protection are 15A.
But there are (in my case) 3x servo motor drivers, rated for 15A so will a 15A unit be enough.
My home has 20A circuits for the outlets so there are 20A option but hoping someone can chime in here.
I'm guessing the 15A will be sufficient as that's what most homes will have wired for their power outlets?

Furman makes 20A rack-mount power conditioner/strip units but they aren't cheap. For example the "PL-PRO C 20A" has eight 20A outlets on the back (and a 15A on the front), but costs around $300.

Thanks for this. I don't need a $300 unit, I just wanted to make sure that the option I chose is fine for the job.
I would imagine that most use a regular power strip and plug their servo motor control boxes into that, and then the power strip into a regular home wall receptacle.
The alternative is to start ripping out sheet rock walls to wire entirely new circuits in their homes, which would likely need a dedicated sub panel supplying say 30A to just that one receptacle.
I'm not reading about people doing that.

US homes are 99.99% 15A on receptacle outlets, so I just want to go a step above a regular power strip that most will use.

Unless of course you can tell me that most people will buy something like this?

BTW I just looked up that CyberPower strip you pictured and Amazon has 20A versions for $56-$66: models CPS1220RM and CPS1220RMS.



The CyberPower site lists several more 20A models but most have additional features and a higher price.

Another option would be to build your own, though it probably wouldn't be any cheaper. As a starting point, Belkin has a 10-outlet 15A power strip with a metal enclosure (not rack-mount) for $35. The enclosure uses normal outlets, so you could pretty easily replace the guts with 20A components and wiring:

Thanks!
I ended up buying the Tripp light model instead, but it's 15A with 3000 joules surge protection and EMI/RFI filtering.
Should I return it and get the 20A version and then upgrade my wall outlet to Nema 5-20R?

UPDATE:
After seeing Thanos's reply in my new thread about power, I cancelled the Tripp Lite 15A and bought the best Cyberpower 20A option from Amazon and a Nema 5-20R wall outlet since my circuit is on 20A.
amazon.com/gp/product/B00077IS32
Thanos felt it would be very rare to use full 15A, so I figured that since I had the Simucube too, I may as well get a power strip/surge protector that can use the full 20A available on the circuit if ever needed.
My Sub panel is brand new (basement remodel) and has ACPI breakers on every circuit which are much safer than the old style breakers.
Thanks again for your input

I have unpacked everything in the box from PT and was about to test the actuators/servo drivers however there is no power plug for me to provide power?
I understand that each servo driver controller gets power from the next one (daisy chain connector), however there's no power plug like in Barry's review, and certainly no cable that shows the same red, blue and yellow/green connections to provide power to the first servo motor:


I have a short 4ft approx cable that is bare wires on each end (brown, blue and yellow/green), and I'm guessing this is the power, but there's no crimped spade style connectors on either side like Barry's review.
I can get a plug and wire this but am I supposed to just jam the bare wires into one of the servo controllers and tighten down with a screw? This power cable looks like wire for 15A power, but I'm planning to use 20A power from my 20A outlets with Nema 5-20 outlet and power strip inside my enclosure for the equipment.
So, this power cable is likely useless if I'm supplying 20A as it will be a fire hazard and completely against code.

Also, in Barry's review each servo controller had stickers that detailed what actuator they should be connected to, but there's no such stickers on mine?
So which one should be connected first? The single actuator at the front? The back left? The back right?

There's no instructions at all and I'm a little lost.
This feels very DIY right now.

Wow that sounds confusing Sean ! I am bit daunted by electrical stuff and was hoping everything would be very easy and clear to understand ... guess not hope you can work it out.

Also, the AMC-AASD Allin One Servo Motion Controller unit looks like it needs power (next to the USB port)?
Looks like 12V but nothing supplied from PT for this?
What kind of power adapter do I need for this? I don't want to risk damaging the box.

Hey Mark
Pretty sure I just add a regular 15A plug to the wire with bare ends and then add spade connectors to the other side, which should look like Barry's review.
As for the power to the Servo motion controller box that takes all the connections from each of the servo driver boxes, that's definitely gonna need a 12V power supply but there's nothing on it that says what amperage it needs.
Hopefully Echo replies soon, but they have to tidy this up a little, and a setup manual is kinda necessary.
It's definitely not 'plug and play' but it's also not D-Box prices either so I think if you are not the DIY kind, this might be daunting for some.

I'll get it working, I'll let you know when it's up and running, or on fire. One of the two.

Did you purchase the 'Full Kit' as in the video, or just the actuators?

You don't need to plug any power supply to the AMC-AASD15A, it works with just 5v from the USB cable.

Also to wire each servo power, is not so hard, just daisy chain them and use a single plug for all of them to a surge protector.

For the order of connection see the manual:
https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AAS.../AMC-AASD15A_4DOF+TL-Simtools_manual_v2_3.pdf

And use latest firmware here:
https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AAS...ware/enc_6dof_AMC_AASD15A_v2_10_beta_fix6.zip

You can see the changes list here:
https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AASD15A-Firmware/tree/master/Beta_Firmware

Thanks Thanos!
Yes, I had to watch through several hours of Barry's videos to finally findout that the AMC-AASD does not need external power.
This box is different from the one that Barry reviewed. It has an additional port on the side which he mentioned can be used for seatbelt tensioner. The model# is the same but it's not the same.

@Thanos - I want to add an E-stop and wondered how to go about wiring directly to the connections on the AMC-AASD?
I can buy an E-Stop box from Amazon for $10, but not sure how the wiring works as I thought the E-stop had several wires and the box only seems to have one connection for E-Stop?

@Thanos - when will the vibration option be available? You mentioned in a reply to one of my earlier posts that this is coming given it's popularity with D-Box and negating the need for additional transducers which I've always thought were a little hokey. Yes, vibration may reduce the life of the actuators but they have a lifetime guarantee so it's likely not a worry. And the life of these servo motors when you consider the limited use they get for gamers compared to industrial applications, most of us will die before the motors do!
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I have everything setup, it was an entire day and a lot of cursing, but tomorrow will be the setup and test.

@Blanes - Mark, you will need to buy a blank grounded plug and wire it yourself - PT include a small length of wire for this as I mentioned earlier.
I would also suggest you use whatever slot nuts came with your extrusion rig as the ones included were not safe to use on my P1. They were the type that have the little prongs on the back instead of the ball bearing, and were an absolute nightmare to fit. The slightest touch would make them pop out or move and you would need to reset them.
But the biggest issue I had was that they were just a little smaller than the slot nuts that can with my P1 from Sim-Lab. Even with them installed, I could see with a flashlight that most of them were barely overlapping the slot and that didn't make me feel at all comfortable with the idea of 300lbs of rig bouncing around if they gave way. They all went in the trash, thankfully I had a bunch of leftovers from various add-ons to my P1.

The thing that took the most time was setting up the enclosure - I got one locally from Amazon that was essentially the same as the PT option, but I wanted to add a rack 20A mounted power strip with EMI and RFI protection. I have 20A outlets in my basement - I wanted this when the remodel was being done so I have the option of adding dishwasher/full fridge etc if I ever wanted to covert this space into a mother-in-law.
Of course I needed to add a nema 5-20 outlet as my rack mounted power strip has that type of plug.

Additionally, I decided to house my Simucube control box in the new enclosure with the servo drivers for the sake of tidiness and a clean install. This was another reason for the 20A setup as the DD motor for my wheel is far larger and more powerful than the motion actuators.
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Overall, I would say that this is a DIY kit that requires careful planning to ensure you have everything you need before installing. The wiring is straight forward but finicky, and I don't like the way the hot terminals are only protected by a flimsy plastic door that doesn't close properly due to having to daisy chain the connections and having stacked wires.
Having an enclosure is almost a necessity as it's a spaghetti wiring mess even with the most OCD installation - there's just so much wiring.
Documentation and installation guides are sparse and spread out all over the place so it's hard to find a clear, concise guide to get setup - Barry Rowland's review is likely the single best option to get the basics going - his setup was the 'works' but he covers everything in good detail as always.
PT really need to focus on building an install/setup guide (something 5 pages or less) as this will be a daunting task for someone who is used to 'plug and play' hardware.
Of course there seems to be a lot of functionality, but let's get the basics first.

Tomorrow is setup and test and I hope I can find straight forwards instructions to get going and actually see how it feels.
So far, I think the price is very fair for what you get, and as long as you don't mind rolling up your sleeves and setting aside a solid day (at least) to setup then it's going to save you a chunk of change over D-Box etc.

Thanks mate!
So you recommend the beta FW as a daily driver?
I just have 3 actuators, so if these beta FW are for setups with more advanced features (surge etc) then please advise if I'm better sticking with stable releases?
Appreciate the links, will get me going tomorrow (well today when I wake up in a few hours).
Will let you know how it goes and will be sure to ask questions if I get stuck.

The full kit.

Ok, now I understand why you are a bit annoyed.

@Globespy Thanks for all the info buddy and it certainly sounds more involved on the electrical connection side than I anticipated, my knowledge not so good.

My kit has not shipped and I am bit disappointed that the electrical plug connections are not properly setup in the kit and ready to go as I got the impression that was taken care of. I really hope there are no more unpleasant surprises when my PT kit eventually arrives.

Regarding the slot nuts ,are you talking about connecting the PT Actuators to the P1 rig ? Not sure what you mean as my Trakracer TR160 has not arrived yet. Do I need to order those nuts ? How many and are they stock items in general hardware stores ? Seems I have quite alot to learn.

Anyway I have been out riding my new Kwaka Vulcan this past week to distract myself before the PT gear arrives, helluva machine and lots of fun !

@Blanes

Which kit did you get? Did you get the surge?

I just read your previous post -PT-Actuator 3dof Mega Monster kit

3 x mega monster kit, no TL or Surge... want to get TL later but enough for me for now !

So you have PT Actuators already ?

Hey @Globespy I am hoping @Thanos answers your questions... I also need advice as my kit is now shipped yesterday ... Woohoo !