Showroom 2DOF+Traction Loss; Newbie's Journey Into Motion (Ongoing)

06/10/21; Welcome

Hello fellow sim racers and flyers, just joined this amazing community a few days ago. Like you, I too am building a motion rig and I also have no clue what I'm doing. But, having read the plethora of threads and seeing the huge amounts of progress that people have made, it inspired me to document my own journey as it may serve useful as time goes on. This journal will serve to: 1) Help me keep track of the progress I have made throughout my rig. 2) Hopefully allow other people to ease themselves into the world of motion by seeing me go through the trials and tribulations, and relating to my cluelessness. 3) A place I can point to when my friends, family, and others begin asking what the hell I'm doing holed up in my garage. I hope you find my thread useful, if not at least somewhat entertaining.

*Disclaimer: This is the very beginning of my journey. This is by no means a guide/tutorial on what to do and I am sure that this journal will not be answering anyone's questions anytime soon. It's more so a written collection of my thought processes that allows one to understand why I chose a certain item/material, why I designed something a certain way, or how I came across a certain sum of knowledge. Although, I do hope that over time this thread can become the guide you are looking for. But, as of now, it is currently just a journal. I hope you understand. Now lets get to the build.​

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Current Progress: Gathering Parts
- Goal: Acquire sim racing gear in order to design cockpit

My motion rig will be geared for racing and driving so a 2DOF+Traction Loss system will suffice for me. Currently I do not have a build going as I am trying to accumulate my racing gear. Main focus so far is to design the cockpit; can't do that without sim gear. Having the wheel base and pedals on hand allows me to design around my components. That way I can fit my cockpit around my stuff instead of fitting my stuff around my cockpit. For me, I find it easier that way. With my old gear I use to own a Thrustmaster T300 but sold it because I decided to upgrade along with the rig. Managed to get a:

VRS Direct Force Pro: ​

I chose it because it was the "cheapest" (still expensive as hell) DD wheel base but it also had the quality and performance of the high end DD wheels that I have read about. Outputs more force, provides more detail, which improves overall immersion. Good enough for me, so I bit the bullet and settled on this one. My only concern is that it is very heavy and, because its a DD wheel base, I have to reinforce the wheel stand in order to mitigate "flex". I'm worried that the weight of the VRS DFP and the extra material will be too much and will either put a strain on my motors or will cause my motors to react slower. I am, however, looking into increasing leverage and reducing weight in other parts of the chassis in order to circumvent these issues. ​

Heusinkveld Sprint Pedals: ​

I have heard really excellent reviews on these pedals and decided to get them. I believe these pedals will offer the proper feeling I need which overall enhances immersion. Immersion is my driving factor in this set up. I'm not looking for realism, that would be impossible unless I drive an actual car, but instead enough detail and feeling to be "immersed". I also like the idea of future proofing my build. I dislike the thought of buying parts only to upgrade later, I'd rather have the stuff now. The VRS and Sprints will be enough to satisfy my needs and I have no plans on replacing them with anything higher. That is my end goal. But that is just my personal preferences, you do you. Use whatever setup you want.
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I currently have the VRS DFP but the Sprints have yet to arrive. Once I get them though, then I can get started in building my cockpit. You may be wondering why I started with getting materials and equipment for the cockpit instead of the motors and electronics. I actually have started acquiring parts for the electronics, it's just that those components have not arrive yet. I have my motors, IBT_2s, and will receive my Arduino UNOs in the mail sometime this month (more reasons on why I chose those parts in another post), but I simply do not have the knowledge on how to do so. Give me some time to read and learn and I can start making progress on those later. Also, I want to race. If the electronics don't work and I utterly fail, then at least Ill have a cockpit to race in, hence why the cockpit is getting a bit more love at the moment.

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Closing:

Hopefully my first post peaked your interest and you're willing to watch this newbie bring his motion rig to life. Any significant progress I make will be documented with details and explanations for why things are the way they are. This thread is intended for other newbies like me who are overwhelmed at the vast sea of knowledge this community has to offer and simply need someone to relate to. Also, its for those who are interested in following along my journey and learning bits and pieces along the way. If you are a veteran, then feel free to drop your knowledge bombs in this thread, any information and help for my build is greatly appreciated. Although, just keep in mind that I'm very new to this. Terminology and large sums of information will most likely overwhelm me so bits and pieces of information here and there to steer me along the right path is preferred. Will be back to update my progress and wish you all luck on your sim rigs ​

06/11/21; Good Day Today

Today I have been blessed by the "delivery gods". Just received my Sprints and Arduino Uno's in the mail today, despite me ordering them 2-5 days ago! Now I can gather the general measurements for my cockpit. Here are the mockups I did and my thought process behind them.
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Current Progress: Designing Cockpit
- Goal: Finding the "perfect" design

My 2DOF+Traction Loss motion platform is heavily inspired by Halloween2go, you can also follow him by his YouTube channel, D Max. If you're following my design and decide that my progress is too slow, then you can go to his thread as he has already finished his rig. I find his build to be very easy to follow and "beginner friendly" enough to emulate which will explain the similarities between the two.

The goal of my cockpit is to be sturdy, but lightweight. With the VRS and Sprint pedals being significantly heavier than I expected, I would need to reduce weight in other areas by simplifying the design to the bare essentials. I also want my cockpit to be slightly adjustable. I don't want to build an amazing rig just so I can race on my lonely throne. I want everyone to experience the world of motion. Luckily, everyone I know mostly fits within my body type and body mass so no need to put much thought into that. But, some adjustability will need to be incorporated so every one can be comfortable in the rig. With those two goals in mind, I managed to jerry rig a cockpit with boxes and furniture that conveniently fit into my general measurements.

These are the general measurements so far. With this I can figure how much material I would need. The plan is to use 1 1/4in square tubing as I believe it will be sturdy enough to handle the VRS but light enough to keep my motors happy. I went with a mix between the Formula and GT style seating positions with a slight incline to my seat as that is what I find most comfortable. No fancy process, I just sat in my seat and moved things around till everything "felt" right. Also got some members of the family to try out the cockpit as well and they were quite happy with it.

*Disclaimer: These are the measurements that work for me. My height is 5'4 so I'm able to get away with a smaller chassis and less material. It is designed this way to suit me and my racing equipment. If you're gonna follow this design, make sure to adjust the measurements to fit your needs. I know this is a "no-brainer" but I still feel like this should still be said.
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I will be buying the materials sometime next week. These are not the final measurements but a general guide to show me how much material I need to get. Final measurements will be documented when the chassis is complete. I will also order a mig welder and wait for its arrival as well. In the mean time, I will be thoroughly learning how to properly weld. Never welded anything before in my life but I am excited to give it a shot. Also, since my Arduino Uno's arrived 2 weeks early, I will be gathering the materials and equipment to get started on the electronics. Next week is going to be a busy week. Wish me luck.

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06/23/21; Lots of Progress

Last week has been a busy week. I have learned how to weld, used that knowledge to assemble my chassis, working to get paid, using my paycheck to order more parts, weekend with family because Father's Day, yada yada. It was a hell of a week, but I have made it out with a big smile on my face. Here are the fruits of my labor.
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Current Progress: Tuning Chassis and Sim Gear
- Goal: Work on electronics

Using the general measurements as a guide I remeasured the chassis with my materials. I decided to use
1-1/4 (48in and 72in) and 1x48 (also 48in and 72in) steel square tubing due to being light and sturdy. I thought about using aluminum but I heard about the difficulties that come with welding it and I got scared off. A lot of the measurements has to be changed due to how the chair, wheel, and pedals were suppose to be mounted. I also got rid of "adjustability" as one of my design goals because in the end its just gonna be me, and only me, racing; give or take the occasional family member and friends.

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(My very first weld. It was absolutely awful but I did get better after a few tries)









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Apologies for the massive jump in progress. I was in the zone and completely forgot to take more pictures. In another post, I will show the measurements, and go into more detail with how I assemble everything together. This post is mainly to show my progress.





Here is chassis so far. Its not yet complete as I still need to weld a mount for the shifter and I need a foot rest for the pedals. But so far, the chassis is "done" and it feels good to be racing again. The last picture is a photo of my pops trying out the sim for the first time and he absolutely loves it. This sim rig is partially for him as he's a massive car guy and used to race in his younger days. It feels good to allow him to go back to his youth. Again, this post is to show my progress. I will write another post very soon showing the measurements and explanations for why things are the way they are. But right now, I want to race. Still waiting on my electronic components to arrive so I won't be making progress on the electronic side till it delivers. ​