1. Do not share user accounts! Any account that is shared by another person will be blocked and closed. This means: we will close not only the account that is shared, but also the main account of the user who uses another person's account. We have the ability to detect account sharing, so please do not try to cheat the system. This action will take place on 04/18/2023. Read all forum rules.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For downloading SimTools plugins you need a Download Package. Get it with virtual coins that you receive for forum activity or Buy Download Package - We have a zero Spam tolerance so read our forum rules first.

    Buy Now a Download Plan!
  3. Do not try to cheat our system and do not post an unnecessary amount of useless posts only to earn credits here. We have a zero spam tolerance policy and this will cause a ban of your user account. Otherwise we wish you a pleasant stay here! Read the forum rules
  4. We have a few rules which you need to read and accept before posting anything here! Following these rules will keep the forum clean and your stay pleasant. Do not follow these rules can lead to permanent exclusion from this website: Read the forum rules.
    Are you a company? Read our company rules

Compact Racing Sim - 6 DOF

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by early_m, Aug 13, 2020.

Tags:
  1. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    A lockdown project. More details coming soon.


    • Like Like x 7
    • Winner Winner x 4
    • Creative Creative x 1
  2. MarkusB

    MarkusB Well-Known Member Gold Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2015
    Messages:
    552
    Location:
    Germany
    Balance:
    4,212Coins
    Ratings:
    +594 / 2 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, 3DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Wow, that looks amazing. You are definitely a talented CAD magician. If the real thing comes near this 3D animation, I definitely want to see it. Good luck with this project.
    • Agree Agree x 2
  3. gforce

    gforce New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2020
    Messages:
    14
    Balance:
    169Coins
    Ratings:
    +16 / 0 / -0
    Sick. I love the bent arms for a tighter fit.

    Natural question: what software for the animation?
  4. Will974

    Will974 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2020
    Messages:
    122
    Occupation:
    Industrial Ingeenering Teacher
    Location:
    Reunion Island
    Balance:
    875Coins
    Ratings:
    +112 / 1 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    6DOF
    The quality of this video is awesome !!!! And the rig is very beautiful with some inovation obviously !!! Wait to see the real simulator :)
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,886
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,543Coins
    Ratings:
    +453 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Is this a 3d render ?

    What is the speed of the movement in mm/s
  6. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Thanks, it will be exactly as per the video. Excited to start the project soon
    • Like Like x 3
  7. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Thanks, the arms are also to ensure the pivot points are around the location of the centre of gravity.

    Modelled in Autodesk Inventor. Animation in 3DS Max with fstorm render.
    • Like Like x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  8. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Yes its a render of my design, build will commence shortly.

    Linear speed will be approx 550mm/s.
    • Like Like x 1
  9. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Certainly some real talent on show here :thumbs.
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
  10. hideki

    hideki Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2014
    Messages:
    169
    Location:
    Spain
    Balance:
    - 198Coins
    Ratings:
    +51 / 1 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, SCN5
    Gorgeous Sim man. Planning to sell or just for you?
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
  11. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Thanks. No plans to sell, just for me
    • Like Like x 1
  12. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Will it be AC, or DC with existing parts?
  13. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Motors will be 24V DC

    Note sure what you mean by 'existing parts'?
  14. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    The main aim of this project was to create a compact and cost efficient 6 DOF simualtor, while maintaining performance and build quality.

    The cheapest commercial 6 DOF simulator I could find is the DOFReality H6 which retails for appox $4000, so this was my benchmark to beat in both performance and cost.

    Some H6 stats:

    Motion range: 17°
    Speed: 500mm/s
    Torque 25Nm
    Floor foot print: 1200x1500mm

    I have decided to use 400W 24V DC motors with 1:50 gearboxes which provide the following:

    Rated speed: 60 RPM
    Torque 48Nm

    I plan to use 100mm CTC levers, but the lever will also allow for 80mm as a back up in case there are issues with load.

    I therefore calcualte the linear speed to be 630mm/s @ 100m, and 500mm/s @ 80mm.

    Total movement of the 6 DOF can be seen in the video. I am able to achieve 26° pitch, 22° roll and 25° yaw.

    The floor foot print of my simulator can be seen in the image below:

    Floor Print.jpg

    It is only 865mm at its widest point. It is a little longer than the DOFreality H6 but this is due to having more of a single seater style design. Also the peddles are adjustable. The H6 uses a separate control box that is not included in their floor foot print dimensions, so this is additional to the sim. My design is fully self-contained, with all electronics situated in the base.

    Base_internal.jpg

    The goal was to ensure that the main base, arms and seat stayed within a 1m diameter area, which has been accomplished:

    Base dia.jpg

    I also wanted to ensure that the seat was easily accessible, so the seat height is similar to what you would find for an office chair, at 480mm.

    Chair height.jpg

    One of the most important aspects of the design was to ensure the arms connect to the top frame at approximately the height of the centre of gravity. This makes it much easier on the motors. In order to do this I had to design the arms so that they bend around the frame, as the compact nature of the sim meant that they clashed with the frame if they were straight.

    The wheels and peddles are fully adjustable so that a wide range of users can use it.

    More pics:

    Front.jpg
    Rear side.jpg
    Rear.jpg
    Side angle.jpg
    Top End.jpg
    Top.jpg
    Base.jpg
    • Like Like x 4
    • Winner Winner x 3
  15. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Sorry, I thought you may be sticking with DC motors due to you already having parts off another sim. For a 6DOF application, Once you add up the cost for a good DC setup (Good Power supplies, Batteries, good quality drivers and motors; nowadays its not that much different to a powerful AC Servo/encoder motor setup - with performance hard to beat.
    • Agree Agree x 3
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2020
  16. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Oh I get you. Dont think the 30kgcm hobby servos off the gseat will be up to the challenge ;)
    The motors with sabertooth come in at £850. To replicate the compact setup with ac servos and planetary gearboxes the cost would be £2700. Could get the price down by going the actuator route but this would increase the size of the sim when one of the main aims is to keep as compact as possible.
  17. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Yes, understand those planetary gearboxes are expensive, just possibly trying to save you from the pain/expense that myself, Silent Chill and others have gone through. All the best with your project.
  18. Thanos

    Thanos Building the Future one AC Servo at a time... or 6

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    Messages:
    1,346
    Occupation:
    Electronics Engineer
    Location:
    United States
    Balance:
    2,692Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,043 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform, 4DOF, 6DOF
    Ok, what you are going to use to power these motors? Did you add the cost of PSU or/and Batteries you will need? Also mind you will need really think wires to handle the current peaks, otherwise the wires will not get just too hot, they may even melt or catch fire.
  19. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    What issues did you have?
  20. early_m

    early_m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Messages:
    317
    Location:
    Chelmsford
    Balance:
    818Coins
    Ratings:
    +340 / 4 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform
    Powered with 1000W PSUs. Using sabertooths with capacitors, so no batteries required? Not sure about wires yet. Is there a guide or calculator to figure that out?