Showroom Budget Compact 6DOF Universal VR Flight / Racing rig - MSFS, SMC3, FlyPT, Transducers, Controls

Thanks. I don't notice any significant backlash. There is a bit of cogging but in MSFS2024 it's completely masked by the turbulence and constant movement, I can't feel the cogging at all during flight, though I can in pure testing without a game.

I was advised not to use the 3rd motor functionality of SMC3 firmware by the gurus here. It has a lower resolution, I think, because it was pushing the Arduino limits. Arduinos are cheap, so 3 boards is fine.

As for the "NC" you are correct about the datasheet, to my surprise. I'm using the wiring that was working with SMC3 in another build and copied what works. Looks like it's not needed, if we believe the datasheet, but it doesn't hurt as well.

RE Arduinos: Perfect, I knew there would be a good reason and that’s good enough for me!

For the drivers, and the ECB in general, I just want minimal wires and for it to be very neat, so I’ve removed the original connectors in favour of a 3 pin JST and will make my own cables so they can be routed as required.

Nice work. Tell me if it all works out at the end.

The motors you use are not very expensive. My problem is the backlash on current motors (wormgear).
Because I want to keep my sim affordable and dont mind the time to work on it I am thinking about
ordering 2 for testing.

Thank you.

Another option I came across is the Dofreality SFU gearbox upgrade. Not very
hard for me to build such a mechanism.

If backlash is youre problem go for the fsu ones . There probely will not be much backlash difference between youre wormgear and a 2 stage spurgearbox
regards Ad

@Ronan Design Hi Roman, with regard to my question, I think the only difference, that I see right now, that I used the "serial output alignment" according to the FlyPT model.
E.g. Serial A1-2 = [A<Axis 1a] [B<Axis 2a] and so an. And not like you A1-2 = [A<Axis 1a] [B<Axis 6a]
Please see the attached pictures.
Does that cause any problem with SMC3?

I’ve thoroughly enjoy this build so far. It’s mostly going to plan too.

I had a look over the build guide and notes and read them end to end twice, followed your blender model for the frame sizing and I’ve broadly followed the plan for the ECB.

I did however make some changes you may consider putting in your plans.

After working out that the motors will draw 13A at full load, I realised that the relays are only rated for 10A. With 20A fuses, 16 AWG cable and 10A relays, the fuses should really be 10A as the lowest rated component is the relays. If I start to blow fuses, then the fuses and the relay board should really be upgraded to high current ones. I do believe however, with the correctly sized gas struts fitted (still to source)

So I’ve added a second 4 channel relay module to handle the runaway stop switches, then have each motor on its own relay. I'm also powering the relay boards with their own 5v supply as turning on 6 relays was drawing too much current causing the Arduino to drop to 3v and crash.

I’m also using a sheet of aluminium as a common heatsink for the rectifiers. I’ve opted to use them in full bridge mode to protect the GND rail too. It technically doubles the heat produced but is electrically more sound.

Last night I had a motor powered for the first time and turning via the motor driver buttons after verifying all this cabling using my multimeter.

Still to solder the Hall effect sensors and print the rest of the brackets once I’ve done a test fit of one. With all these cables being laid out the way they are (which I do think looks very cool), I’ve struggled to keep the shielded audio cables clear of cables, but will test and see how it performs and make adjustments if required.

Custom perfboards turned out great. It makes the arduino a hot swappable. I’ve aimed for everything in this build to be removable/replaceable should anything go wrong. Connectors over soldering where possible. My little boards bridge that gap in one place that’s easy to test. Might consider getting a handful of PCBs made to formalise the design.

Plan is to put an acrylic cover over the electronics and add some small fans to push air over the heatsinks.

I’ve marked up and will make the motor mounts tomorrow. I’ve got some 5mm angle steel that should do nicely.

More updates to follow!

Hello, Roman!
What are the maximum roll and pitch angles as well as vertical G provided by your platform?