Sim In Stages

I'm Starting an new Sim Project and have t say its amazing how much info and helpful everyone is, so hope I can give back some.
Ultimately it will be 2dof with Traction loss. nothing new here except how I am doing the build. Since I want traction Loss and the whole frame needs to move side to side I'm building the frame out of 3" alum Box tubing. The size makes it really stiff and still fairly light weight. I probably would have done it with smaller alum tube like 2" x 3" but I had this in stock from an old project so that's what its getting.

The frame is designed so I can add to it as time permits. So the basic frame as shown below has bungs built into the sides so I can add a rear section to it for the actuators and electronics. As shown I wanted to be able to use it as a fixed Sim Base while I worked out the electronics package as time permits. I will post more models once I sort out the best way to do this.
One thing I wanted to cover was make it very adjustable sine the seat will basically be non adjustable I wanted a large range for the steering and brake pedals. I have friends I an sure will want to try that range from 5'2" to 6'2" so hopefully there is enough adjustment to accommodate everyone by just listening a few knobs and sliding things around.

I will post more models once I sort out the best way to do this. I did everything in Solidworks so not sure if just converting to Jpegs is the best or PDF's.

Hi Donerb. I like your idea of designing so you can build in stages. I'd say I am in the same boat since I need to save up for a VR set and need all of the perif's still... even on a diy budget things can get pricey from what I see. 3" alum tube is gnarly stuff, should make a great base for a motion rig Do you have plans for how you'll approach the 2DOF? What motions are you going to sim?

Yeah it’s a bit overkill but I had it left over from a previous project.
I was going to use scn5 linear actuators but think I’m going to go with the heavy duty gear motors. Seems more people feel the ultimate performance of these can exceed the linear units. My biggest issue is I only want to do this once so. As you said tho is an expensive hobby so what to get the best bang for my buck and not have to redo because of a parts failure.
I’m going to move the seat only with two pushrods and build a base to swivel the frame for traction loss.
The electronics control is my biggest concern. It seems like a lot of different ideas out there and this is where I would be willing to spend extra just to get it all reliable.

Again, I'm totally in the same boat as you here. I think the best way to move forward is to emulate the motor+linkage setup of a system that works so that you have as close to a guarantee of success as possible. Then you can innovate off of that but at least the base works well.

I agree with your inclination towards the gearmotors. Linear actuators are basically the same thing (turning rotary motion into linear motion) as a gearmotor so might as well go for the more compact and often more inexpensive option.

I like bullet proof. I can see I have a bit to learn on the electrical side. Thus the reason I’m doing this in stages. Lol. I want to get back to driving so once I get the main frame done I can at least have something to play with. Then I can work on all the other stuff as time permits. Much thanks for all the info!!

Ok here’s my kit of parts. Base is welded but still have some stuff to do to it. The big hole on the right is for the nose pivot for a pillow block for the traction loss. Most of the other parts are for the steering system and the pedal tray.

This is a quick shot cutting the backside of the steering baseplate.

This is the topside of the brake base plate. It tills and can be mounted 4” forward or rearward. You can also tilt it from flat or tilted. I mounted it separate from the steering base so they can be moved independently. Not sure if this is the best idea, but I wanted lots of adjustment. The pedal Assy can also slide forward or back with quickrelease handles.

This is the base for the steering assy. The knobs on the side clamp the base to the frame. Behind them are roller bearings that the base slides on. Originally I just cut slots for the thumb screws and as shown worked fine. Then when I mocked up the rest of the base with the wheel base attached the weight from it cantalivered or tipped the base forward and bound up on the thumbscrews. So it didn’t slide very well. Thus the bearings.
I thought about using seat slide or drawer tracks for the sliders but wasn’t sure how much slop there would be. Any feed back on that from anyone? I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing another one in the future and I’m always open for change.

This is the main frame fore the wheel base after welding after I finished welding up. This attaches to the sliding legs in the previous picture. The whole assy slides out of the base for height and you can tilt the wheel up/ down about 10deg.

First mock-up. With pedals, wheel base and seat.

Since I’m starting out with it as a fixed base but converting to 2dof the seat position is fixed. So it needed to be in the same position that it would be with the universal joint under it. So I did my best guess calcs to get the pivot point on the btm of the seat so it would be neutral to rear bias if needed in the point I wanted on the base.
Since I used a generic seat model for my drawings I wasn’t sure how close I’d be to my cad modeling. All in all it came out pretty close and is within the range I needed for everything to feel comfy and lots of adjustments for shorter and taller people.