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New build, arduino, motomonster, 2dof

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by substatica, Jan 2, 2015.

  1. substatica

    substatica Member

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    Started mounting things on some wood, going for a rustic look. I may swap this out for some thicker hardwood for the final assembly.

    IMG_0796.JPG
  2. Blame73

    Blame73 Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    that wood will surely flex. I would go for something thicker
  3. substatica

    substatica Member

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    This first version is to simulate waves and rocking for my infant son, I'll definitely switch to a beefier base down the road when I convert it to a sim.
  4. eaorobbie

    eaorobbie Well-Known Member SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, JRK, SimforceGT, 6DOF
    Its a start mate, improvements and mods can come later for sure, keep going man.
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  5. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I suspect the L shaped brackets will also flex. It is amazing how much force can be exerted. I know you only plan gentle motion to start but even so may need to consider cross bracing the motor mounts.
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  6. substatica

    substatica Member

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    I would be astonished if those square steel tubing brackets flexed, I think the bolts would tear through this wood before that happened. I'm not finished with motor braces, these only secure through one bolt hole on each motor. Maybe I'll run more square bar around those two bolt holes that are perpendicular to the shaft, tomorrow, along with brackets for the pots.
  7. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    What I mean is flexing at the L bracket at base bolts, the motor force will try and roll the bracket front to rear as it has no bracing other than the thickness of the square tubing, does that make sense?
  8. substatica

    substatica Member

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    Yeah, I agree. However this first version ends up I'll be monitoring all the mounts and welds during testing to ensure that they are weathering the forces appropriately. Being so new to welding and these power house motors I'm not sure what to expect from anything ;)

    I guess I could weld a couple more sections of tubing to connect the two braces where they overlap in the center there to give them some lateral strength.
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2015
  9. Nick Moxley

    Nick Moxley Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I 100% agree those Mounts need to be beefed up BIG time,

    For example The small Angle on the left flexed on me, And i Initially though it wouldn't be possible.
    Also how thick is the plywood your working with ?

    [​IMG]
  10. substatica

    substatica Member

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    That plywood is about 3/4", but I'm not sure I'll keep it, just wanted to mock everything up on something. I'm hoping to grab some nice hardwood, walnut or the like, for a better base.
  11. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Mocking things up is a good idea.

    It is totally up to you @substatica, it is your project and priorities in terms of building a baby rocker that one day may be re-purposed as a motion sim. However, given what you have already invested/got in terms of motors and gear I just wanted to suggest that it would take no more effort to make a compact sim base that serves a dual role of baby rocker and motion simulator, just by making the seat easily removable and replaceable with a baby bassinet and/or baby car style seat.

    My sim base is only 500 X 500mm and @bsft's Desk Racer is only slightly larger than that. It would be so easy to have a baby rocker that converts to a compact sim and you can still re-purpose and change to a different style of motion simulator down the track if you wanted, but at least you would have some use out of your investment now as a simulator while you child grows. Just food for thought while you are mocking things up.
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  12. substatica

    substatica Member

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    That would be the best route I agree, however I don't have the additional time it would take (or the time to run sims) at the moment and I've already spent more than I should on this project ;) So I'm trying to wrap it up for it's current purpose while keeping parts transferable at least as well as treating this as a learning experience so that when I do upgrade to a full desk racer I'll know exactly what I want to change and what will work better, most likely just have to upgrade the fabricated hardware and braces.

    Not to mention I have to do all the cutting, grinding, drilling and welding in my unheated garage which is currently at -12°C
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2015
  13. substatica

    substatica Member

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    Some more work, joined the two braces for lateral support and added mounts for the pots. Some sloppy welds in the tight spots, can't get the angle grinder in there.
    IMG_0806.JPG
  14. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    If the welds hold who cares what they look like, you can always tidy them up with a file late.

    Just a caution, while you have strengthened the base mounts I expect the motors are going to try and flex on the upright mount. With a solid pot mount like you have it may be a challenge, even with the flexible coupling in place. As far as I can tell there is only one bolt holding the motors and if so that is not enough if the motor even kicks hard in testing, irrespective of its intended gentle use as a baby rocker.
  15. substatica

    substatica Member

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    Yeah, I still plan on adding a second mount point through another 1 or 2 motor bolt holes, just didn't get around to it today. I don't see a problem with the pot mounts, if the motors flex too much the pots are going to get wrecked no matter how they're mounted, I'll run it with some cheap pots first and see.
  16. Nick Moxley

    Nick Moxley Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    WHY cant you just make a Triangle bracket and utilize all 3 mounting holes, Thus Eliminating the chance of even remotely damaging the pots, Your welding skills seem fine.
  17. substatica

    substatica Member

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    One of the bolts attaching the gear housing to the motor is in the way of creating a brace for mounting hole #1 in the photo, also hole #3 in the photo is just a little too high for the square tubing I've got to reach without making an L bracket for it. Could you describe further what type of triangle bracket you mean? I numbered the mounting holes to help with descriptions.

    IMG_0810.JPG
  18. Nick Moxley

    Nick Moxley Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Very Crude, and Not a triangle at all, Lol sorry about that, Overall tho you just need get at Minimum a 2nd bolt through, 3 isn't technically needed but if you can, Why not.

    Attached Files:

  19. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    A variation of @Nick Moxley's suggestion, making use of the flat area around the shaft hole for stabilisation. It could be welded to the existing upright and bolted to the base. You would want something solid like 6mm to fabricate it from. It could be a scalloped bit of angle iron if you can get enough height. You only need a scrap, perhaps try a fabrication shop for an offcut.

    brace bracket.jpg
  20. substatica

    substatica Member

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    I'll probably go with something like this, though I don't have anything that will cut curves on steel or weld plate thicker than what you see, so I'll probably stack two pieces of the square tubing I have, weld them together and to the existing brace then bolt them to the motor and base.

    IMG_0810_1.jpg