2 DOF Seat Mover - GIB

@Archie my local steel supplier was METALAND and the guys there looked after really well. But I can't actually remember what it cost me though.

I have now got another supplier who is actually a privately owned vineyard machinery engineering place. Bu they have all sorts of steel available too.

Have you got steel suppliers nearby? Even if there are engineering companies around, you could always ask there too.

This is one place I found online.
http://www.onesteelmetalcentre.com/products/aluminium/plate

Not sure if they are close to you and what their prices are. Give them a call maybe.

Personally I had never considered places like Bunnings. I had a quick look at their website and that does seem expensive.

I know there are cheaper materials I could have used but the checker plate just looks so god damn cool.

@Archie
Checker plate is a cool look indeed! The place to get it an offcut are the aluminium suppliers as quite often they have offcuts available. I personally use Capral and Action Aluminium here in Melbourne.
I will be getting some checker plate myself.. .what size are you looking for

Mini update: Power supplies and POTs have arrived. Motors and Jrk's are on their way.
I have also managed to track down a uni joint.....gotta love freeby's.

Thanks @kanuk - I will measure up my lengths and let you know. I'd only be after the 2mm - 3mm thickness as I want to bend it around MDF. But to be honest I'd be happy to get anything, subject to cost (ie wife!) as always

Thanks @GIB SimRacing - I live in the home of Steel (Wollongong, BHP are based here) - You would think there would be some "factory outlet" or something... I will have a drive around the industrial estates and check it out.

We do have a OneSteel also, so might well be worth a look. Thank you (and @kanuk - Thank you!)

Sorry for late reply, just catching up.....

Hey @Archie If you want to use checker plate to cover MDF then you only need very thin stuff. 3mm would be overkill. 1.6mm is usually a good way to go as it is cheaper and also easier to bend around things plus, even at that thickness it is quite strong.

Thanks @GIB SimRacing - Will have a look around. I'm either going to checker plate or the 3D Carbon Vinyl.... Decisions Decisions...

@Archie - Yeah I agree with noorbeast. For a floor, you are better off with checker plate as the carbon film would wear and then look not so good. Other than that, go nuts with the carbon fibre film!

Ok, I took the seat off my sim and started by finding the balance point. Once I had that, I put the seat temporarily on top of the uni joint. And by temporary I mean just sit it there I wanted to find out what sort of motion range I am to expect so I can build the frame accordingly.

What I found is that the motion range at the uni joint is less than I thought it would be. So that's cool.

Am I correct in thinking that the motion for accelerating/braking especially is actually quite little? Otherwise the legs will get too short to reach the pedals very quickly.

Depends on your build @GIB SimRacing - It all depends on the levers you choose for your particular setup.
I might be wrong, but I doubt you would achieve a throw back (surge) with such a degree of motion to make you unable to reach the pedals.

Maybe post some pics of your thinking?

I am sure you know this, but make sure you are in the seat when finding COG, and load up everything that will move with the sim, otherwise you will over work your motors.

@Archie - Yeah I do know this. But I will check it a few more times yet before building anyway. To be sure...
@noorbeast - I have watched a few videos but was never looking at that specific part.

I will do some more research.

@GIB SimRacing , can we see pictures on your intended design?
and from another thread, 25:1 you may be able to move slightly under 12v load, but its not an issue. Once the motors are going its no problem. If not confident, use 60:1 boxes then.
As for surge back enough to pull your feet off, not likely, unless you have 6" long levers, of which I DO NOT suggest.
Best was I found was I sat the seat where I was comfortable , with my legs not too stretched. If yo have ever sat in a real race car, its slightly cramped because it needs to be to keep you on the pedals and wheel. Think that way with your build.
Dave.

Here is what I intend to do.
The priority is to get the motion working correctly. Everything else I will build to suit.


So for the motion part of it, I was thinking of making it like this:


@bsft - Are you after any other info?
If that will work, I will then build the rest of my sim around that.

I am still unsure of the final design as such. Because I want to re-use as much as possible of my current setup, I keep looking at it and trying to come up with various different things.
I get a bit picky when it come to the way this thing will look.

I hope that gives you guys some idea as to what I'm up to.

PS: Sorry for the simple picture. I tried using Sketchup but that program is driving me crazy!

Yep thats fine, even pecil and paper scanned would have done the job.
Now go forth and build my friend

Your not the only one lol... After using Solid Edge Sketchup is frustrating to say the least. Blender is pretty decent for a free program but has a rather steep learning curve (also its more for 3d animation but I've made 3d structural models with it).

@bsft - Sweet, cheers. I am glad that this idea will work. Building will only start on the weekend. Unfortunately I won't have the time before.

@Alexey - There has to be a decent program out there for engineering 3d structures. A program one does not have to sell various body parts to pay for it.

Motors rocked up today. I also have the uni joint and a few bits of steel waiting to be worked on. Hopefully get some time on the weekend to start building.
Pics will come once I started the build.

It might not mean much to you but I'm excited.