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Showroom Simple seat mover

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by Mike Melga, Feb 15, 2021.

  1. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Hi everyone.

    I am coming from this thread:
    https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/newbie-starting-my-rig.15004/

    Now that I have the basic knowledge and all the required hardware, I am ready to start the building phase.
    If all goes well...it should be up and running in 1 or 2 months (saturday is the only day I can work on this).

    I will be posting pictures of the building process.

    Please note that it is my very first build. No experience in sim racing or this kind of builds.
    So... I think I may need some help from you to configure/tune the motors.


    My first question is:
    - I have a Fanatec SQ Shifter. I was thinking in mounting it over 4 vibration isolators and attach a bass shaker directly to the shifter. My only concern is that if so much shaking will eventually tear the shaker apart :)
    What do you think?

    Regards,
    Mike
  2. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    First stage of welding. Some parts just for measuring.

    Next saturday: pedal area and monitor mounts.

    Attached Files:

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  3. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Another saturday of welding.

    Attached Files:

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  4. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Welding stage complete.
    Next step: painting

    Attached Files:

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    • 12.jpg
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  5. RacingMat

    RacingMat Well-Known Member Gold Contributor

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    I think that the bass shaker is better where you can feel it continuously (seat, pedal...)
    On the shifter, it's less useful IMO.
  6. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Yes, that's what I thought.
    I will stick to two on the seat.

    Thanks!
  7. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Structure painting done. Only small additional steel sheets need paiting.
    Started the final assembly inside the house.
    Next phase is electronics and cabling. Then sound and cable management.
    Final phase is paneling.

    I guess I'll need an addicional 2-3 weeks to get everything going.
    I am counting on your help for the motor configuration :)

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 1
  8. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    One quick question:

    Do the motors or the motor drivers need any kind of cooling?
  9. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Motor drivers generally do need cooling, with suitable heatsink and fan.
  10. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    I've checked the motor driver specs and they don't seem to need cooling but I'll add a fan just in case.

    One other question:

    This weekend I'll start my motion configuration. I am planning to use SMC3. I will follow this guide:
    https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...3dof-motor-driver-and-windows-utilities.4957/

    Where exactly do I set the limits of my seat movement? Is it the 'Clip Limit' and 'Max Limits' of the SMC3 parameters?
    It says I have to start with 255 on both parameters but nothing else. This part seems a bit confusing :(
  11. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    What hardware are you using?

    See the second post in that thread, the Clip Limit sets the range and Max Limit is the safety limit.

    [​IMG]
  12. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    I am using an Arduino Uno with Cytron MD13S drivers.

    So...I'll start with 255 and work myself down until I reach the desired limit?
  13. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    You can work out the range you are planning on and use actual movement in conjunction with the SMC3 graph to pretty quickly work out where that is going to be settings wise.
  14. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Fair enough :)
    I'll try it this weekend. Thanks again for all your help!
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  15. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    So....I made all connections, uploaded SMC3 to the arduino and followed this:

    1. Run the Windows SMC3 Utility software and make sure it communicates with the Arduino (There is no need to set baud rates, they are not configurable)
    2. Set the Kp, Ki, Kd, PWMmin, PWMmax, PWMrev to 0 for ALL motors (This will make sure the motors don’t move)
    3. Set Clip to 255 (you need to do this first) and Limit to 255 (This will give you plenty of margin if something goes wrong while setting up)
    4. Turn on the power to your motors – nothing should move at this stage!
    5. Set Kp to about 400
    6. Now slowly, increase PWMmax… at some point the motor should start to move. When it does check the “Green” feedback line is moving toward the “Blue” target position.

    I've set all of those. Worked my way up to 255 on PWMmax but nothing moves. Also can't get to put motor 1 and 2 into ON position. What am I doing wrong?

    Attached Files:

    • smc3.png
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  16. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    BTW....motors move if I press the +/- button on the Cytron MD13S.
  17. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    This weekend I made my final mountings: bass shakers, simucube board, pedal set boards, pedals, audio amplifiers and motor control.

    All tests were successful except for the motor movement :(

    Attached Files:

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  18. Mike Melga

    Mike Melga Member

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    Ok...so I decided to take this afternoon off to check on the motors.

    I already figured out why SMC3 didn't allow them to turn on: the pots feedback signal was way off so it thought the motor was out of position.

    So...I manually put the green line of both motors inside the 'max limits' area and SMC already allows to turn them ON.

    What now? Having the motors in the default (center) position should I align the green line in the center?

    What exactly sets the boundaries in the motor travel? Is it SMC or Simtools? Are these 'max limits' that I set in SMC saved to the arduino? Don't think they are...
  19. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
  20. André6969

    André6969 New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    I was reading all of your simulation chair construction process and it seemed to me quite interesting, I have some ease of access to certain materials (such as hinges / motors / cardan) and I also have ease of construction of the structure, my only I'm afraid I will have problems with the softoware and arduino as well as the simtools, and I'm currently waiting for the engine controllers to arrive so that I can carry out tests with smaller engines that I have so that, if it goes well, acquire engines indicated ...

    For now I only have one question

    Where did you put the potentiometers on the chair's motors, it was not supposed to be on the shaft of the gearbox (I couldn't see it in your images) ??
    Where did you mounted the potentiometers (in the motion system motor) ??

    Thank you and good luck
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 8, 2021