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RaguTom's Build - 6DOF on a budget!

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by RaguTom, Jul 15, 2016.

  1. ferslash

    ferslash Active Member

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    man, it sounds like a dream... cheap powerfull easy :D
    i would like to have one of those cards :D (i would only use it for three motors but i would like to have it) :D
  2. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    [EDIT]
    I originally said this is not possible....I erased all of that.

    Here is the update :)

    You can run any of these combinations:
    6 DC two wire motors run bi-directionally (most common...Gear motors, actuators)
    12 DC two wire motors run single direction only
    4 "3phase" motors run bi-directionally
    3 stepper motors

    The boards can be LINKED to provide additional outputs if needed, for example, if you need to do 6 steppers or 6 "3phase" or 24 motors.

    Tom
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2016
  3. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    I would love for you to have one of these boards! We have not worked out distribution yet... how does a set of gerbers, and bill of material, and code to hand off to a circuit board company sound? They would be able to produce the board, populate it and program it. I'd hate to invest in a bunch of produced boards and sell like 2.... But all of that will come in time. Still need the full prototype and to do some testing!

    Tom
    • Like Like x 2
  4. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, 4DOF
    That's perfect for me, I want to build a 4 motors sim.

    So, once you get it ready to show it working we could make a list of interested people and work it out.:cheers
  5. 1oldbiker

    1oldbiker Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    Oh, I want 2 boards. I'm going to whip up a 6dof soon. I was going to use ards, mm's and simtools. This project sounds interesting.
  6. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    You will only need one board for a 6dof set up :) I'll keep you in mind once it is done!
  7. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    I didn't want everyone to think I hyped and disappeared! So here is the latest update:
    • Board plotting was finished
    • Sent to prototyping. Board costs $33 to proto, with about $70 or $80 worth of parts on it. We got 4 blank boards for testing with parts we installed by hand. Unfortunately, time consuming to assemble. But it is done.
    • Coding for the PIDs was finished with a brand new method to test. The PIDs run the motors dead on precision with NO OVERSHOOT.
    • Wifi was implemented, and to be honest... communicates faster than USB! A+ for less wires!
    • Currently installed FETS support up to 35 amps continuous. "upgrading" current capabilities are as easy as soldering on "better" FETS.
    • We are now working on obtaining the best but cheapest wiper motors we can. I picked up a few on ebay for testing. We currently have a semi-finalist: a $30 wiper motor out of a Chevy E-series Van. With our current rigging, we can lift and stabilize a 40 pound bucket of water, 12 inches, at blazing speed. This requires a counter spring, which we are working on finding the best way to do this. Linear springs limit the motion too much. The reason why this motor is a runner up is because we KNOW there must be a similar motor that has metal gears instead of nylon! I found some DC actuator motors from AM (http://store.amequipment.com/226-series-gearhead-motor-64mm-12v-left-hand-p-359.html) that may be great and definitely have metal gears, unfortunately they are $100 a piece....which isn't TOO bad. I'm up for suggestions if anyone has any!
    • Our current estimated total build price, including electronics parts, board, Chevy wiper motors, steel for the frame, and power supplies is right around $500. This, of course does not include monitor, PC, racing seat, etc.
    • Like Like x 2
    • Informative Informative x 2
  8. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Great update!
    When do you think you would have something to show us?
    Also, getting a card that can control 6 motors and making it for wipers is not the ideal... I would need 60amps per motor with 120amps peak, I'm building a 4 motors sim, could be doable?
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
  9. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    The board has individual power supply inputs for each motor. You can use as many motors as you want up to 6 on a single board. If you need 12 motors, you can use 2 boards. If you only need 4 motors, it's one board with 2 unused channels. Also keep in mind that we have only tested up to 50 amps. Once our rig is built here, we can change some things around.
    • Like Like x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  10. 1oldbiker

    1oldbiker Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    I hope this hasn't through the cracks. I want a couple of these cards!
  11. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    It has not fallen :) We are making refinements as we find issues. We are actually getting ready to weld the frame up.
    • Like Like x 1
  12. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Quick update! The project had been slow moving and tedious in regards to making the couplings for the motors to the arms. Lots of cutting and welding steel and aluminum. We are through the nasty parts and are in the home stretch on the platform. We now have all 6 motors, which I will give way more info on after proof of concept. I keep writing more here and then erasing it because nothing I write today sounds correct.... I'll be back soon with more info. I'm going to enjoy some turkey today :)
  13. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF

    Have you no pictures of your progress ? All sounds very interesting ;)
    • Agree Agree x 3
  14. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    I guess that would be a good idea! I have some of individual piece pictures now, but I'll get some more tomorrow when I go to work on it. Gotta stop at HD tomorrow to get some heavy bolts for the arms!
    • Like Like x 4
  15. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 6DOF
    So I did take some pictures of the build today. I'll have some pictures of the board as well once we have it connected! Motor mounts, arms, arm to motor bushings, connecting rods, bottom platform and top platform were all made from scratch.

    We have already decided on some major changes. Smaller top platform, and much shorter connecting rods. 2ft didn't seem so big on paper!

    Aligning joints before welding:
    imagejpeg_0_7.jpg

    Welded platform, drilled bottom holes for motor mounts:
    imagejpeg_0_3.jpg
    Wheelchair Motors and mounting plates
    imagejpeg_0_5.jpg


    A peek inside a 350watt people mover. All metal gears are what gives these the upper hand against wiper motors. With all of the weight being supported directly by the motors, they have to be ready to do some work.
    imagejpeg_0_8.jpg


    Planning and math stuff :)
    imagejpeg_0_10.jpg

    Motors mounted (today's work)
    IMG_20161126_130704.jpg

    Female heim joints, cut pieces of 5/8" all thread, and 1/2" conduit. This was done to save weight, but is going to be modified. If we take the connecting rods down to 1ft instead of 2ft, we should be able to get the same weight with just full all thread.
    IMG_20161126_134606.jpg

    Well, it moves....
    IMG_20161126_141929.jpg

    We are waiting on some parts still, including more cone spacers for the heim joints, and pots for the feedback (for now).

    Tom
    • Like Like x 4
  16. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

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    Don't you think it's too high?
    Also the levers looks too long for 350watts motors maybe, but you would see it once in action.
  17. obobo

    obobo Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I thought about the same thing, I find that your rods are very long,
    For your cranks, you foresee what travel? + -15 °?

    Cranks are in what material? Aluminum or steel?
  18. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

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    Looking good @RaguTom lovely job :) and thanks for the pictures they do tell a thousand words ;)

    I'm not too sure about your lever length and your rod length and also the angle from the lever to the platform. Time will tell and you will know as soon as you get weight on it and motion :)
    • Agree Agree x 1
  19. RaguTom

    RaguTom Cool Guy, Chronic Long-Winded Poster Gold Contributor

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    :) the rod lengths are way too long.... I'd be scared to get on that thing currently. Though if it was setup as a large scale flight simulator platform, it wouldn't matter too much. As far as the lever lengths, it will definitely be experimental. We were able to lift and support 40 pounds with a lever twice as long as that. If it is too long, we can drill holes a closer towards the shaft as necessary. From fully down to fully heaved, we have 13 inches of travel! lol!

    @obobo We allowed the cranks to physically have a 100 degree range of motion. Depending on what happens when this thing is utilized, that will be limited in software to what ever is necessary. The levers are made from 1/2" thick aluminum plate.

    @SilentChill Thanks!!! Its all an experiment for sure. I'd definitely love to hear some input on the angles. Common sense and visual appeal says the rods should go straight up to the platform, but that causes the two links to work in the same range of motion. i.e. if you sway, you cause the links on some arms to both move vertically, limiting the range. Mathematically and as shown in videos of professionally built units, the arms seem to come back on themselves at an angle. This allows one link on any arm to face one direction, and the other link on that same arm to face a different angle. With that setup, you would have a much higher range since one ball is moving vertically and the other ball rotating in it's bore, without a limit. I'd like to hear what people have to say about this. It could be all an illusion!! That being said, changing it to straight arms simply involves unbolting the top platform and rotating it one position. We figured we would eventually try both and see which works better.
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2016
  20. adgun

    adgun Active Member

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    Hi
    Can you make this 36 / 48 volt ready?
    regards Ad