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Showroom SFX-100 Project with AliExpress Profiles (WIP)

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by Groquest, Mar 24, 2021.

  1. Groquest

    Groquest New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2020
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    Location:
    South Korea
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    1,308Coins
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    +7 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    4DOF
    Hi, I'm building an SFX-100 project + aluminum sim rig with aluminum profiles from AliExpress.


    Here's my rig (without the motion simulator bit).
    KakaoTalk_20210306_140756790.jpg
    3D printed components and profiles
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214357260.jpg

    More components from AliExpress
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214357489.jpg

    The cutting of the profiles are of sub-par quality. I'm worried if it will cause mechanical issues later. I do not recommend buying from AliExpress. But they are really cheap. It only cost me $100 for the profiles and 32 slot nuts including shipping fee.
    I bought them as a last resort because Kinetik did not ship my order for more than four months (I opened a dispute in PayPal and got my refund).
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214357729.jpg KakaoTalk_20210324_214358000.jpg

    Wired up and testing the motors.
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214356430.jpg
    I used Wago connectors to daisy-chain the power cables.
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214356671.jpg
    I went with the Thanos controller for my project.
    KakaoTalk_20210324_214356961.jpg

    I will post more once I get the license for SimTools.
    • Like Like x 2
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
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    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
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    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
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    144,596Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,741 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    DIY license eligibility works the other way around, one of the criteria is that the build thread show some effort in detailing the build and your thread should show the rig is completed ready for testing, as the point of the free license is to encourage, detail and showcase DIY rig building:

    To qualify for a free license:

    • You must be building a true DIY motion simulator. (Not built from a kit or purchased from a simulator seller, a model simulator does not qualify.)
    • Have a unique build thread or Showcase in DIY Simulator Projects. (The thread should show some effort, which means it should show progress to the rig testing phase.)
    • Have been a member of the community for at least 30 days.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. Thanos

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

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
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    Occupation:
    Electronics Engineer
    Location:
    United States
    Balance:
    2,692Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,043 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform, 4DOF, 6DOF
    You can try the free FlyPT mover... (you can donate if you like it).

    And perhaps SRS later... ;)
    • Like Like x 2
  4. Groquest

    Groquest New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    4DOF
    Thank you, Thanos. I will give it a shot.
  5. Groquest

    Groquest New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2020
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    Location:
    South Korea
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    1,308Coins
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    +7 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    4DOF
    Someone messaged me about where to get the profiles:

    Here's the link:
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32796414687.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.21bb4c4dvORuxu

    Place an order and send a message to the seller (do not proceed with the payment). They will ask you what exactly you need. Tell them what you need (cut to 250mm pieces and the slot nuts) and then they will quote you. In my case, $100 including shipping (slow shipping) and 32 slot nuts and M14 x 1.5 tapping all 32 holes. Bear in mind that I live in Korea, which is right next to China. Your shipping cost may be more expensive.

    If you want to go this route, you will need to purchase 32 M14 to M10 thread inserts which cost me about $30.
    Also you need 32 M10 bolts instead of M8 ones.

    Currently I am having a hard time inserting the threaded inserts because it is so tight. Not even my impact driver can do the job. So I'm using a long hex wrench to do it manually. I'm suspecting the tapping quality is not up to standard. So I recommend getting a M14 tap and do it yourself.

    Also this project requires a different set of stl files for the 3d printed parts as the shape of the profile is different from the one from Kinetik.
    You can get them here (it's in Korean, but you can see the file link in English):
    https://blog.naver.com/parkmini/222245894946

    Coin donations are very much welcomed. Thank you.
    • Like Like x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
  6. Leihschirm46

    Leihschirm46 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2021
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    Occupation:
    IT
    Location:
    Austria / Vienna
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    71Coins
    Ratings:
    +4 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, 4DOF
    very nice setup , you will have a lot of fun with sfx ,
    • Agree Agree x 1
  7. Groquest

    Groquest New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2020
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    Location:
    South Korea
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    1,308Coins
    Ratings:
    +7 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    4DOF
    Slider assembly. Make sure to not unscrew the bearing completely. Many sfx-100 tutorials mentioned this, and I had read them all, and I still made this mistake somehow. Took some good 10 minutes to shove the ejected ball bearing inside and put them all together again.

    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_10.jpg

    Attaching slider assembly to the mount. It was a very tedious job screwing those four bolts into the mount.
    Watching Netflix while screwing these things helped.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_09.jpg

    Inserting threaded inserts to the profiles. Took a lot of effort to drive those things inside. I used WD-40 in place of tapping oil. For some reason the M14 x 1.5 tap by the AliExpress seller was not quite compatible with my threaded inserts. So the threaded inserts kept getting out of alignment. I had to spend a lot of effort straightening the threaded inserts in the midst of screwing them in (by applying extra perpendicular force to the hex wrench while screwing).

    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_08.jpg

    Rough edges and remnants of aluminum were filed away. I washed the profiles with water because there were aluminum dusts everywhere.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_07.jpg

    I applied bearing grease on screw and Super Lube on the 3d printed sliders.
    I was very generous with the amount of grease. I hope they don't cause problems later.
    I went with 3d printed grease nipples to save money. All of them ended up snapping while inserting them to the ball screw. Do not even think of using them.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_06.jpg KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_05.jpg

    Inserting the linear bearing. A lot of grease has been applied inside.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_04.jpg KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_03.jpg

    The perfect fit of the slider makes it very satisfactory to put these things together.
    * Before this step, you need to put the T-slot nuts inside the profile. I realized this after the full assembly and had to come back to this step later.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_02.jpg

    Finished building all four of the actuators. Phew!
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393_01.jpg

    Fixed the motor drivers to the tray that came with server rack which will keep these things.
    KakaoTalk_20210402_213321393.jpg

    All that's left is attaching the actuators to my rig! See you in the next post.
    • Like Like x 2
  8. Leihschirm46

    Leihschirm46 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2021
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    8
    Occupation:
    IT
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    Austria / Vienna
    Balance:
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    +4 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, 4DOF
    huiii, i wanna see the next progress :) and if your are done , the smile :)
  9. Groquest

    Groquest New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2020
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    Location:
    South Korea
    Balance:
    1,308Coins
    Ratings:
    +7 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    4DOF
    Before attaching the actuators, I decided to give it a test run just to be safe.

    First, I had to cram the motor drivers and the Thanos controller in a server rack.
    It looks easy, but it isn't. It took me more than an hour to do this.
    KakaoTalk_20210407_225707662_04.jpg

    Ready for testing.

    KakaoTalk_20210407_225707662_03.jpg

    I used FlyPT mover program for testing.
    The actuators seemed to work just fine in Assetto Corsa. So I went ahead with attaching the actuators to my rig.

    KakaoTalk_20210407_225707662_02.jpg KakaoTalk_20210407_225707662_01.jpg


    Ready for test drive!
    KakaoTalk_20210407_225707662.jpg

    Unfortunately, the motion was very jerky and unrealistic due to having zero knowledge about tuning the motion parameters (surge, sway, roll, etc.). I am nauseating right now after one lap of Nurburgring GP circuit.

    I could not find FlyPT Mover tuning tutorials so I guess I'll try it again with SimTools.
  10. Thanos

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

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
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    Electronics Engineer
    Location:
    United States
    Balance:
    2,692Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,043 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform, 4DOF, 6DOF

    Perhaps you want to try SRS... they have 30 days money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with it:
    http://simracingstudio.rurl.me/thanos



    https://www.simracingstudio.com/post/3-reasons-why-you-should-choose-sim-racing-studio

    Plus now it supports Space Monkey...
    https://www.simracingstudio.com/pos...car-4---5-star-wars-squadron-vtol-vr-www1-etc


    Quick start guide for AMC-AASD15A controller setup:
    https://bit.ly/3lX6ON5

    Tuning guide:
    https://www.simracingstudio.com/forum/motion-profiles/srs-2-0-motion-tuning-guide
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2021
  11. mprofitt

    mprofitt Member

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    Did you use the same 3d printed actuator parts as on the SFX-100 website?

    I have the same issue with Kinetik and need to order aluminum elsewhere.