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Question My 3dof motion simulator

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by Hale L, Jun 17, 2020.

  1. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Motion platform, 4DOF
    Im not gonna be using batteries. I have 4 power supplies and 4 motor drivers. 1 per motor. Any idea on gauge of wire I should use going from the power supplies to the motors?
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I would suggest the heaviest wire you can attach to the controller.
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Damien602

    Damien602 Member

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    The gauge of wire needed will depend on its length and the current it needs to carry. But remember the 'length' is there and back since the current flows through the entire circuit. If your power supplies are a long way from the motors then thicker wire is needed for the same current.
    12 guage wire should handle around 20A for runs up to 3 meters in length. (5% voltage drop tolerance)
    https://www.solar-wind.co.uk/info/dc-cable-wire-sizing-tool-low-voltage-drop-calculator

    But as noorbeast says... use the heaviest wire you can attach to the controller.
    The only issue with using thicker wire than needed is extra cost. The issue with wires that are too thin is heat, smoke and then flames.
  4. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    Hello I am wondering what is recommended for powering my power supplies? They require an input of 12 amps at 110vac or 7.5 amps at 230vac. I’m not sure on the amperage capabilities on the breaker board for my room. I can check On that. Should I run a separate cable and plug for each power supply? Or should I go to 220vac? Not sure what the best route to take is?
  5. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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    220vac should be able to supply 13a

    I reckon you could wire them both to a plug protected with a 13a fuse
  6. yellofella

    yellofella Member

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    hi buddy.
    your power supplies are 600w each so at 24v it will be 600/24 = 25A as you already know but 600w at 240v is 600/240 = 2.5A. A 3A fuse to each supply will be the safest way but i wire all 3 of my 480w 12v supplies to 1 cable with a 5A fuse in the plug and have no problems.
    As for the cable size from your power supplies to your motor drivers bigger is better but costs more. I use 10awg high quality cable with yellow crimp connectors. I pull the yellow surround off and then solder the cables to the connector and heat shrink them as that is a much better connection than crimping.
    hope this helps
  7. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I have an arduino uno r3. Not sure where to start with programming it? I have purchased simtools.
  8. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Depending on what control boards you choose likely SMC3 or one of its variants is the easiest path as it has an app for configuration: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/arduino-code-for-use-with-various-hardware-and-simtools.31/

    You will need the Arduino IDE: https://www.arduino.cc/download_handler.php?f=/arduino-1.8.13-windows.exe

    And set it up for the Uno:

    Uno.jpg

    Then set the Com Port:

    ComPort.jpg
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I thought that smc3 was only for 3dof.
  10. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    each one can control 3 actuators (the 3rd one is less resolution)

    I use 3 of them to control a 6dof - 2 actuators each
  11. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    What do you mean by each of them? Are you saying you have multiple arduinos?
  12. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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  13. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    OK, would you recommend me getting a second Arduino? I could run two motors per Arduino. I'm using 4 Cytron 30 amp motor drivers. Is there a way I can do it without another Arduino? Looking for the simplest way I can do it. Thank you for the help.
  14. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I decided to just go ahead and order another arduino.
  15. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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    Yes i would use 2 of them

    You can also use the arduino nano
  16. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    Ok thank you, I will be using 2 arduino uno's with smc3.
    • Like Like x 1
  17. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    Do the Arduino's need to be wired together somehow? Or do they both plug into my pc separate? Can I do this x2(arduino-2 cytron 30 amp-motor). I can make a wiring diagram if that would make my question easier to answer
  18. yellofella

    yellofella Member

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    hi again
    You may be over complicating things for your first sim. As i mentioned before keep it as simple as you can until you have a working sim then you can expand/experiment later.
    The SMC3 code will run all 3 of your motors on one arduino. The analogue resolution will still be 10bit on all 3 motors and will all feel and move the same.
    The arduino has hardware limitations on the atmega 328p ic that it uses. For our needs in sim building we need pwm pins to use 20khz pwm as that is the max that most motor drivers will run at and will not produce motor whine that humans can hear at that frequency. Although rufusdufus wrote some amazing code for the SMC3 the arduino hardware will only allow timer 1 to be set accurately to 20khz( motors 1 & 2) and timer 2 to either 31khz or 3khz. Most of us use motor 3 at 31khz with no problems (including myself) but this would be the reason for only using motors 1 & 2 on the arduino and using a second arduino for motor 3
    If you do use 2 arduinos then you wont need to connect them together in any way. Both ground wires will be connected together at the pc end using the usb cables. Connecting ground on arduino 1 to ground on arduino 2 using jumper wire will cause a ground loop and should be avoided.
    hope this helps.
    • Like Like x 1
  19. Hale L

    Hale L Sim Racer

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    Thanks for the response. I will be going with 2 Arduino's because I have 4 motors. It is complicated for my first sim but I am proficient in the mechanical side of things and there are plenty of people to help me with the software side of things.
  20. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    its easy to configure - use 2 x usb leads and config them in simtools
    • Agree Agree x 1