3 DOF first project in school

Post to create my project
Hello everyone! I'm new here but I've been exploring this forum for a few months. I intend to build a 3DOF Simulator at the school I'm teaching now. My aim is, firstly, to use the simulator at the events in which the school participates to catch young people's attention. Secondly, I also want to do this because I've always dreamed of building a simulator. During my Internet researches, I found this forum and since October 2019 I have been reading as many posts as possible, taking into account the little free time I have. With all the posts I've been reading during these months I decided to replicate the Milani Fabio's project. https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...namic-workstation-project-upgrade-4dof.13102/
It's very well documented, apparently very simple, very clean and it is very similar to what I had idealized. I got in touch with transtecno to buy the same engines but the most similar engine they had for sale was this ECM 350/050 U 60 240 T1 and I bought it, but I didn't notice one important detail: the engine is 500W and 29.4 Ampere. Now, taking into account that the motors are 500W of 29.4 Amps, I will have to get more powerful power supplies and a more powerful power board. Considering your experience in simulators, I would like to know your opinion about the type of power supplies I should buy to power these engines and which power board I should buy: the sabertooth 2x32 or the sabertooth 2x60. I hope I can count on your help for this long road that I have to travel.

hi buddy
Ill try to answer your questions if I can and explain why but this is just my opinion if it helps.
The motors that you have purchased should be a great fit for the sim you are trying to build. I wouldn't be to worried about them being higher amperage than the ones @MilaniFabio has used on his sim that you are trying to replicate. The amp rating of the motors is a maximum rating and means if you used the same driver as he has you wont overdrive the motors as much. His motors are 20.5 amp rating but he is driving them with a sabretooth 2x32 amp driver so is able to overdrive the motors by 11.5 amps (approximately 30%). Most motors can withstand this, I overdrive my pgsaw motors at about the same amount and they are fine. Now the theory is this, the more current you can drive the motors with the faster they will try to get to the required point and the more weight they will be able to support/move.
The sabretooth 2x32 as mentioned above is a great driver although expensive as far as drivers go. For you to have 3 motors connected you will need two of them costing £100 each (£200) and one side of one of the drivers wont get used (although you may choose to use it for oversteer later). Seeing as you have got higher power motors at near 30A I would probably go for the cytron 40A driver.
https://www.robotshop.com/uk/cytron-single-10--45v-40a-brushed-dc-motor-controller.html
You can buy 3 of them for £60 each(£180) which is less than two sabertooths 2x32 and more powerful. With good coolers they are rated at 80A max so 3 of them will easily move the weight of your sim equipment and a child (A seat harness might be a good idea with that much power available and a light load for safety)
As to power supplies then I myself would probably go for the ones that @noorbeast uses. I believe they are 24v 575w server power supplies and I would use one for each driver. These will only supply about 24A per motor but will probably be enough for your needs. If you required more power later then you may be able to pair 2 of them together but you would have to get the advice from other forum members for that or put battery's in parallel with the supply (Most modern drivers require this anyway so check the datasheet).
Be cautious when buying power supplies. The 575w server power supplies probably will supply close to 575w as they say as they are good quality power supplies. However be carful if you choose to buy cheap Chinese power supplies rated at 600w 24v. I have opened many of these type of supplies and rarely does the circuit board rating match what they sold them as. I have opened supplies ratted and sold as 480w to find that the circuit board has clearly got 360w written on it. Mostly opened to replace cooling fans but noticed it so thought id mention it. They all worked ok but probably couldn't deliver the power they ratted them at.
Its great that you are going to try to involve the school children in your project to maybe inspire them as to what can be achieved if you put your mind to it.
Hope this helps

Hello, thanks for your reply I really liked your analysis, it seems to me a good bet to use cytron 40A, however in terms of information there is less than sabretooth. If I understood your idea, each motor will have its power supply, basically it is to build a power module for each axis (motor + cytron 40A + Arduino + power supply). If something burns it doesn't spoil the others. I've been looking for 24V 600W power supplies and they are very expensive considering that I will need 3. But 12V power supplies are much cheaper, is using 12V power supplies in series a good solution? Taking into considering the power of my engines, I think I will also have to use batteries. Due to the covid-19, this is all a bit delayed, the goal is to achieve all the material and do tests in September to explain things to the students and assemble the material in a definitive structure.