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Starting out on my project

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by Dicky, Apr 11, 2026 at 18:34.

  1. Dicky

    Dicky New Member

    Joined:
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    Balance:
    18Coins
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    +0 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino
    Hi everyone, I'm new here and I'm just starting to build a 2DOF simulator with Arduino. Could someone please tell me where I should start? Thanks in advance for any advice.
    Dicky, Apr 11, 2026 at 18:34
    #1
  2. Dicky

    Dicky New Member

    Joined:
    Saturday
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    +0 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino
    Hi everyone, I've started this project. I'm about to test it with the SMC3, but nothing moves when I set it to motion or manual. Can anyone help me? Thanks to anyone who can give me some advice.
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 13, 2026 at 00:19
    Dicky, Apr 12, 2026 at 15:27
    #2
  3. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    22,172
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    154,648Coins
    Ratings:
    +11,190 / 57 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Can you please post pictures of all your SMC3 settings and detail the control hardware being used.
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2026 at 00:20
    noorbeast, Apr 13, 2026 at 00:14
    #3
  4. Garrett

    Garrett Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2026
    Messages:
    33
    Balance:
    189Coins
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    I know you cant post photo's initially, but please do once the forum rules allow you to do so.
    • Agree Agree x 2
    Garrett, Apr 13, 2026 at 01:00
    #4
  5. Dicky

    Dicky New Member

    Joined:
    Saturday
    Messages:
    3
    Balance:
    18Coins
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino
    I'm building 2dof taking inspiration from scruck's tutorial, using arduino uno r3, two ibt7960 and angle sensors.

    I followed the SMC3 setup from the tutorial for motors 1 and 2:
    step 1;
    fpid/1;
    kp=300;
    Ki=0;
    Kd/Ks=1;

    Fpwm=20kHz;
    PWMmin=0;
    PWMmax/PWMrev=130;

    Max Limits=10;
    Clip input=200;
    Deadzone=0.
    Dicky, Apr 13, 2026 at 07:21
    #5
  6. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    22,172
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    154,648Coins
    Ratings:
    +11,190 / 57 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Is the code set to Mode 2: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/problems-with-my-simulator.15382/#post-207320

    If so, at what point in the setup steps did it fail to respond as expected, using the suggested settings?
    1. Disconnect the motor power supply
    2. Make sure Simtools is not running – we’re not ready for that yet!
    3. Wire up the Arduino (with SMC3 installed) to your H-Bridges and connect to your computer via USB
    4. 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)
    5. Set the Kp, Ki, Kd, PWMmin, PWMmax, PWMrev to 0 for ALL motors (This will make sure the motors don’t move)
    6. 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)
    7. Turn on the power to your motors – nothing should move at this stage!
    8. Set Kp to about 400
    9. 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.
      • If it is then that motor and feedback is wired correctly - proceed to test other motors.
      • If it is moving away turn off motor power immediately (or quickly reduce PWMmax again). In this case you need to either reverse the wires to the motor being tested –OR– reverse the +5V and GND wires to your feedback pot for the motor being tested (do not do both). Restart the test from the beginning.
    10. Do the above for each motor
    noorbeast, Apr 13, 2026 at 10:11
    #6