Showroom 2DOF Compact Motion Sim using 24v wheelchair motors

Hi all,

I am a long time lurker on the forums and have always wanted to build a motion simulator but my computer is based in my lounge and it isn't really an ideal place to dump a motion simulator. I don't have a spare room either so that option was ruled out. After seeing some of the more compact designs that have appeared I decided to take the plunge and try and make it fit in my little corner without taking over the lounge.

I live in the UK so my first issues were sourcing the motors. I found some ideal ones on eBay but they they ship from Canada, and one thing I am not is patient! The thought of waiting up to 8 weeks for a parcel to arrive sent chills down my spine. Then on these very forums someone mentioned wheelchair motors and my world was opened up.

So after settling on a pair of 10amp 24v wheelchair motors, I ordered a Sabretooth 2x32 and a few other parts from ebay/amazon, then took a shopping trip to Wickes. I don't have access to a welder and didn't want to pay someone else to make my project, I wanted to do it all myself. So I decided to make the build from wood as it's easy to work with.

As of today (06/12/17) I have completed the basic build of the rig and have now dismantled it to start tidying everything up and making some tweaks. My initial build ended up being too high as I used a bucket seat out of a Mitsubishi FTO which was on seat rails. I have not lowered the seat to the correct height but am waiting for some rose joints to turn up as my track rods from an ATV are now too long for the job.

Anyway, lets get started with some photos of the build so far!!


1) The day the motors and various parts started to arrive. This was the last day I was able to see what colour my lounge carpet was!




2) Here is a sheet of wood. Exciting isn't it! When people build a new house they post a photo of them breaking ground so I figured I would include a photo of me cutting wood!



3) Here the base box is constructed using two sheets of 12mm plywood and 2x2 wood. This will allow my to hide all the wiring later on. One of the motors is in place and bolted on from underneath. The dog is wondering what the heck I am up to now and why there isn't any room for him to lay down anywhere inside!



4) Both motors mounted and the center mount bolted down. This is a 4x4 Post holder from Wickes. It seem fairly strong in construction and should allow me to adjust the height of the seat fairly easily. There are two cross beams bolted to the bottom of the top plate to give it extra support.



5) All the wing now done temporarily so I can test to see if this thing is ever likely to work! Consists of a Sabretooth 2x32, Arduino and a 24V 25AMP Power supply from Amazon. I purchased two power supplies, one for each motor but have just wired the one up to start with for testing.



6) The central universal joint is mounted onto a block of 4x4 wood which can be cut down to adjust height later. The UK is some military part that I got off eBay. It has bolt holes on each side so fixing it is made very simple. Also the arms are now attached to the motors. This is 4.5mm steel bar from Wickes. I cut it down to size with an angle grinder then drilled the holes using HSS drill bits and some WD40. Since the motors have the wheel mounts on them it was easy to mount the bars using the original fixings so no welding or anything was required.



7) Now to mount the top plate and the angle brackets. The brackets should really be mounted to the bottom of the wood but the platform wasn't level then. I know at this point that I am going to need to adjust the height so I just mounted them to the top for now. Used two track rods from an ATV to mount the base to the motors. These are too long now so have ordered some rose joints and threaded rod so I can customise the length.

Also you can see I have now mounted the hall effect pots. I have a 3D printer so I designed some custom brackets to hold the pots in place. It's times like these I love having a 3D printer! I have already designed version 2 of these brackets so they are stronger than before as one of them didn't survive me kicking it!



8) Time to see if it will take my weight



9) Bucket seat from a Mitsubishi FTO mounted to the base plate, time to start up Simtools and see what it's all about. As you can see I have to prop up my steering wheel due to the height of seat. However it all worked and after tuning the motion profile a bit it started feeling really good.



10) Time to stick the Mrs on it so if it all falls apart I don't get hurt . With this combined with my previous simulated wind project it is quite an experience!



11) Enough playing for now, in theory it is all working so it's time to pull it all apart again and start tidying everything up and fix the height issue. Here I have drilled the holes for the motor wires and mounted the sabretooth, arduino and one of the power supplies. All wires feed directly into the base to give everything a tidy look.



12) A quick photo of the underneath of the base board



To be continued........

I am now waiting for some rose joints and some bolts to turn up. Once these arrive I can start to put it back together so until then, goodbye

Looks good. First shakedown a success.

looking good would love to see a video of it in action!

Here you go



The motion profile needs tweaking but I've only just started looking at all the settings so will probably be after some guidance soon. But at least it all seems to move in the right direction

That's pretty cool my friend! Nice build! Since I see the wheelchair motors are available I was considering using them for a build. Any advice on how powerful they are 10amps at 24V.. DMAX

Interesting motors, the gearbox housing does not look standard, I have not seen this yet.
I have also always wondered why motors of the same power and voltage have different sizes.
I have about the same characteristics, but the size is twice smaller.