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Time for upgrade 2DOF to 6!!

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by poman, Dec 5, 2015.

  1. Pit

    Pit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold Contributor

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    You are asking seriously? There two different user, the one user is doing what the teacher is reciting mechanically and the other one is reading and understanding...please do not feel offended, I like to support any new user here but my time is spare so do not expect too much :)
    • Agree Agree x 1
  2. poman

    poman Active Member

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    well, i am not offended, more shy of asking, but i tought maybe my request was not clearly done, here is what Rufusdufus tutorial said:

    Software Setup

    As the SMC3 is an Arduino motor controller the first thing you need to do is get the software onto your "Arduino UNO R3".

    1. Download the SMC3 software attached to this post (SMC3.ino)
    2. Get the Arduino IDE tools installed on your computer if you don't already have them. Follow the Arduino Getting Started guide found here: http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows (Note the step for installing the drivers!)
    3. Open the SMC3.ino with the Arduino IDE
    4. Edit the code at the top if the file to select the MODE you will be using
    5. Compile and Download the SMC3.ino program to your Arduino UNO R3

    If you want, you could now jump to the Windows SMC3 Configuration software and check communications before proceeding further. (Refer next post)

    Point 4 says to edit the code to the mode i will be using, which is mode 1 for sure, i am not sure what to make of this...just trying to follow all the steps in order to have less questions, i know i might be asking much, but if anybody else like to join the discussion, feel free
  3. Pit

    Pit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Mode 1 = MotoMonster and similar
    Mode 2 = Chinese H-Bridge or similar

    Yo can edit the ino file by using a text editor or within the Arduino software after loading/opening the sketch.
    • Useful Useful x 1
  4. poman

    poman Active Member

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    tks Pit, but i already figured that out, again i didnt ask a clear question, what i need to know is which line(s) i need to change within the program to enable only one mode, do i really need to do it, i read the hole program, which i have not much of a clue to what C++ language looks like and how it works, to notice that there seems to be half of the page labelled : define mode 1, and halfway down until the end it is: define mode 2, does that mean i have to delete everything labelled mode 2, recompile and reupload into the ard?
    I will try it and see i guess...
  5. Historiker

    Historiker Dramamine Adict Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    In the SMC3 sketch, at the very top is says this:

    // Set to MODE1 for use with a typical H-Bride that requires PWM and 1 or 2 direction inputs
    // Set to MODE2 for a 43A "Chinese" IBT-2 H-Bridge from e-bay or equiv

    #define MODE1


    If you are going to use Mode1 make sure it says #define MODE1, if you are going to use MODE2 make sure you change MODE1 to MODE2. The Sketch will then ignore anything that says Mode2 (or Mode1 depending on which you defined) for then on.
  6. Historiker

    Historiker Dramamine Adict Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Addendum: If you are going to use Mode1 then you do not have to change anything inside the sketch. It is defaulting to Mode1.
  7. poman

    poman Active Member

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  8. Pit

    Pit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold Contributor

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    He copied and pasted it (thankfully and much appreciated) for you what is already written by the author.
  9. poman

    poman Active Member

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    All right, another big step for me, here is a video of the set-up i used to have my first motor moving, btw the arm i am using is connected to another pot, they were all mounted so i used one from another motor set-up. The first thing i wanted here is to test that my motos are working properly regardless of settings before i instal them into their final spots. I would just like for people to confirm me that this is what i am supposed to have as a result of following rufusdufus's tutorial, pretty sure it is ok but just in case...tks
    • Like Like x 4
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2016
  10. zigzag49

    zigzag49 Active Member

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    Private video:(
  11. poman

    poman Active Member

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    @zigzag49 , can you try it again, sorry, i believe i forgot to share or something...i am 50 and a bit neebee to theses things. when i am logged, i can see it !!
  12. zigzag49

    zigzag49 Active Member

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  13. poman

    poman Active Member

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    @zigzag49 , when you say GOOD, it certainly mean the video is now available, but is my test good too?
    Tks again and sorry for asking twice :)
  14. poman

    poman Active Member

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    After testing for the hole afternoon with the same set-up in SMC3 util, i am happy to report that all my pots are working, all my ards and to my relief, all the motos are working!!! dont want to be cruel @SilentChill , but i got to be lucky i guess, all 16 motos i order(4 spare) works under load and in reverse, well see with extreme load how they behave, but for information, i bought them on e-bay from seller Alice 1101983 which i will give a good rating.

    During the process of testing the ards, i noticed on some of them a winding noise coming from motor and i was able to remove it by reseting the ards with the small button on the board, i also noticed on my pots that there seems to be 2 spots were the motor would change direction and one of them didnt had a slow down section, it was quickly changing direction??!! is this normal? they all did this and they are 10k contactless from digi-key...

    Now on to wiring the hole thing on my panel...
    • Winner Winner x 1
  15. poman

    poman Active Member

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    Prepared the motos for wiring this morning and after testing them i realised they came hotter than i expected without much load, i had previously bought small heatsink because i didnt came accross the big ones i saw with fans i a thread, so i will surely have to buy fans (any sourcing is welcome) that i will mount directly over them and hope it will be enough. As you can see i shorted some connections directly underneath to save time for wiring :) 20160313_095310.jpg 20160313_095330.jpg
    • Like Like x 1
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  16. Pit

    Pit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold Contributor

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    Great idea to connect the pins as you did. Bad idea are the coolers, they are too small, due to the size and the kind of aluminium the cooler is not able to conduct the heat outside of the chips...
  17. poman

    poman Active Member

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  18. poman

    poman Active Member

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    Here is the update from this week-end progress...all the fork connector are soldered cause i forgot to bring the right crimper from work, it was more time consuming but on the other hand, i think that my power connections are going to be more reliable that way, the hard part of wiring is finished and working as you can see all the power leds are ON, now on to the signal wiring and arduinos next week-end.
    I also made the connections for the red panic button and came to a small problem, all the capacitors in the motos and my power supply are getting discharged before the voltage drops and they take about 3 sec, in case of emergency it will be scary to wait :), i had tought it would be wise to cut the 110v to the power supply to prevent electric damage...anybody have a better suggestion?
    Tks and have a good week!! 20160320_175908.jpg 20160320_182019.jpg 20160320_182051.jpg 20160320_175759.jpg
    • Like Like x 5
  19. Pit

    Pit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold Contributor

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    wow, so much power...all these MMs are working? Where did you buy them?
  20. poman

    poman Active Member

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    Yes they all works...it look monstrous LOL, and another good news today, i read that Pcars will be supported by my VR helmet that is coming sooooooonnnnnnn !!!!!