Question New DIYer in the pipeline...

Hi there.
I recently came accross @Peacemaker105 youtube channel and his 6dof build, and made me dream of having my own before (or even instead of) the full cockpit I was planning on start building soon.
I only do DCS and I would love to have a rig like Peacemaker's. From what I've read in the forum, 6dof is the way to go for flight simulators, though I'm sure 3dof would also be a nice experience, specially me playing VR.

However, even as a DIY project, it is quite the expense to do it in one go, so I thought of maybe start with a 3dof one, and maybe upgrade later, using the parts I already had to distribute the cost in time a little bit.
Fist I thought of doing a 3dof like this one:
And start planning and working on building one like Peacemaker's. But then I came accross this one:
and I think that would be also very good for my use, and the upgrade wouldn't require dismantling the existing build and scavange the parts. It could be done by adding the other 3 motors and just modifying a bit the frame.
I might need to start with 90 degree gearboxes for the 3dof, and then replace them with straight ones, but it feels like a better upgradable platform. What do you think about it?

Regardless of what option I end up going for, there's one question I haven't been able to find, though I think I know the answer. Does the distance between anchor points, both in the base and in the seat frame matter? or is it enough to do your own approximate measures, as long as they are as close as an equilateral triangle as possible? maybe an equilateral triangle is not even required?

Thank you

Thank you noorbeast. I had already started reading that post, but it felt a bit overwhelming. I hope I will be able to understand it once I read it in more depth.

In any case, feels like my plan to first build the 3DOF version, and "easily" upgrade it to the 6DOF later, considering they have the same motor distribution, right?

I'm at the very earliest stage of the process, which is essentially exploring the different options, which ones are the best suited for me and reading and researching as much as I can, so basically I'm seeing other people's rigs and seeing which one I like for myself.
In the original post, I added two YT videos (not sure if you can see them, because I have a message that says I can't add external links, but I do see them myself). First video is a 3DOF setup (I think it's called a heave setup, where there are 3 motors in a 120 degree patern in the base, like the mercedes benz batch), and the second is a 6DOF stewart platform, but it has 6 motors in a 60 degree patern, similar to an asterisc.
The first rig has a 90 degree gearbox, and the second a straight pipe gearbox, so I would need to replace those in the upgrade.
Let me know if you don't see the videos, so I upload some screenshot images or something.

Ok, so my general idea, without too much details yet, would be:

• Build a base in the shape of an asterisc, each leg being at 60 degrees of each other.
• To start, I would place a motor every other leg, so they would be at 120 degrees from each other, with a 90 degree gearbox and a U shape bracket like in the first video.
• The platform would be connected to the base in a 120 degree triangle. This wouldn't change with the upgrade, as both the 3DOF and the 6DOF uses the same shape for the platform. The only thing that would change is the anchor points, that I would need one per vertex in the 3DOF, and 2 for the 6DOF.
• In this configuration, one of the motors would be at the back, and the other two front left and right.
• I plan on using ST80 motors and Thanos controller.
• If I ever upgrade to a 6DOF, I would replace the gearboxes with straight throw ones like in the second video. This will probably require some adjustment to the base, as the size of the different gearboxes will likely not be the same.
• Will add 3 more motors that will plug in to the Thanos controller, and rotate the base so the throw of the motors still matches the position of the platform (one anchor point to the back, two to the front sides)

Not sure if that's what you wanted to know of you need more details. As I said, I'm still doing research. I'm not even sure if I'm ever want to upgrade to 6DOF. I've read that for flight simulators, specially me that I fly DCS and movements can be a bit "rough" in a fighter, 6DOF is the best, but maybe I'm happy with just 3.

Notice the joints of the 3 dof vs 6 dof.
The 3 dof has revolute joints on the motors and that stops the rig from falling over. For example the only thing adding side to side stability on your example video is the rear actuator with its revolute joint crank arms.

The 6 dof rig has all spherical joints, the geometry gives the rig its stability. Look up stewart platform.

Also consider the cost of lifting a rig with 3 motors. It will take a certain amount of heft and quality. I wouldn't want to double that cost unnecessarily and have more motor than I need after upgrading to 6dof.

If you want a 6 dof for flight then I would suggest building that directly and with quality parts(brushless servos). If you dont know what you're doing just follow one of the builds on this site.

But if you're on a budget and want to build stuff with small parts and upgrade I would look into a g seat. As that can actually give you low and high frequency motion(and without false cues). Plus the amount of creative freedom is much more rewarding in my opinion.

I think I'll reconsider this project and make it a bit more of a longer term one, as I had originally thought, and aim directly to the peacemakers build, since he has kindly shared all the dimensions and intructions and it's a proven build.