2DOF DCS Motion Pit

Hi there!
This is my first attemp to build a motion platform for my sim pit with oculus.
Now i have started with the electrical and software side of the project, and i am happy that it works!



Next step will be the mechanics, and the comes the first questions:

The Seatshaker with 2 whiper motors looks easy to build and reliable, but Pitch and Roll seems to be a little less for flight simming ... 20° or even 30° should be the goal !? Or what says the pilots here?

For more movement i will need other motors i think and now i am searching for them.


greetings from germany
Johannes

What you think about this motor as basis for a chain gear?
Ebay number: 311210526024

Sorry i am not allowed to post links at the moment.

Ok thank you, so let's say 10° should be enough? My thoughts are, in a flight sim, you will have longer pitching and rolling situations (banking without turning or climb / descend at a constant rate) than in a racing sim where you "just" have the acceleration

That Sounds promising! Thanks, i will see what i can Build
My goal for the Platform are 20°, i dont know if i can make it. stronger Motors seems to be required

@Intruder: I can absolutely confirm the statements of @noorbeast. I have built a 2DOF seat mover that inclines about 10 degrees for both pitch and roll.
I have used it with Flight Simulator X, and yesterday also with @value1 's brand new plugin for Aerofly FS 2 which got ready just yesterday.
When I started building my simulator, I had exactly the same concerns as you. For this reason I spent considerable effort in building a linear actuator that allows for a rod movement of about 30cm, see here:
https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...ation-for-oculus-rift.7684/page-2#post-102870
and here:
https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...ation-for-oculus-rift.7684/page-2#post-105159

Then I decided to first try the usual 2DOF approach, but I built very long levers, see here:
https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...ation-for-oculus-rift.7684/page-2#post-110777

Now version 1.0 of my simulator is ready, and I am using a lever length of 4cm which results, as mentioned above, in an inclination of 4 degrees:
https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...ation-for-oculus-rift.7684/page-3#post-114278

I am flying with Oculus Rift, and as @noorbeast says, your brain helps you a lot in pretending a much larger movement than the simulator actually performs. Besides, the flight sim plugins (FSX and Aerofly) not only provide values for the roll and pitch angles, but also for for roll and pitch accelerations(!). By using these values you can simulate the effect to roll a bit further with each new stick movement, although actually the seat moves back in between. This is really awesome.

Besides, in specific designs a small angle has some considerable advantages:

• When using a VR headset (like I do), you don't have any need for motion cancellation with an inclination angle of around 10 degrees. (Background info: The headset cannot differentiate between your head movements and the movements of the rig. There are some threads here discussing this topic.)
• I have a pure seat mover. That means, only the seat moves, while my feet rest on a non-movable base. When the angle is too large, I discovered that it feels unnaturally, because the knees are bending too much. And this destroys part of the immersion.

When I started building, I actually did not believe the statements I now make by myself. But now I really enjoy my current version. (Which does not mean that I will not continue improving it.

Best regards,
Markus

Thanks Markus! That Sounds really promising ! Can't wait to start building. Back to eBay- searching Motors

What do you think about this Motors? Usable?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/182283184481

I just see that the sale is done. So did you buy the motors?
I don't have much experience in this, but I think that wheel chair motors are a good choice.

I saw that these are 24V motors, and I am not sure how they work with 12V (if you plan to do this). Is it just that you get half of the speed, or does it have other implications? Maybe some experts here can answer this.

I am using these motors:
https://www.motiondynamics.com.au/worm-drive-motor-12v-24v-200w-180-rpm-20nm-torque.html

They are used in several projects around here. Actually I am satisfied with them regarding speed and torque, except the fact that the holding torque is rather low, so that they are back-driven when they are not powered.
Besides, ordering them from Australia means additional costs for shipment and tax.

Hi
Thanks for your answer!
I have had no patience yesterday so i ordered them.
I plan to use 24v 20A power supply, if it's not enough for both motors i will use one for each.
Found a data sheet of the motor and the gear, it seems to have a full metal planetary gear, that's not bad


And I was on foray at a bike and a car garage (both friends of mine) and it was successful:

Maybe I will build a bike chain gear... let's see

New day, new parts: this time 2 stabilizer from a car, and another set of bike pedalarms wit (theoretical) the same diameter as the motor axis



Price until now: 0€

next step, 18mm Multilex wood 1x1 meter for the ground plate and platform base

this is a great topic. the title is 2DOF DCS Motion Pit, by DCS do you mean digital combat sim flight sim? i'm using that now with rift CV1 and it works and looks great and thinking about building a 2DOF motion rig to use with DCS. i'm primarily interested in combat and aerobatic stuff, not really into cruising around in a 737.

what i've gained from this thread perhaps is that its better to limited range of movement with fast movement. is that right? so a moving seat that does maybe 10 degrees pitch and roll fast (how fast?) and returns to a neutral position is better than something that does say 100 degrees slow?

thanks, i've just found out about this
https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/low-cost-2dof-motion-simulator-kit-dynamic-kit.8570/
and i've started a thread here https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=174771 and it looks like someone has ordered the DKPro rig, so i'm waiting to hear about their reaction to DCS on that

i notice the spec on the DKPro says 'Linear velocity: Home - 0.20 m/s with 400N Pro - 0.50 m/s with 340N' so 500mm/sec is in line with than the recommended 150-700mm/s in that link

Hi Steve
You're right, it's for DCS:world with CV1 , seen your threat over there
I will try what feels good to me and what I can build . At the moment I'm waiting for the motors , when they work I will see how fast and far I can get without cooking my IBT_2s or my PSU

i just tried a simple test using my standard rig (an office chair with joysticks mounted to the arm rests) and the CV1, and a 1WP (wife power) motor to simulate pitch.

she didn't do a great job of sync'ing the pitch movements on screen with the chair before she got bored, but the few times she did get it right, it was pretty cool.

not really a conclusive test however

one thing i read was to get a realistic sensation, you need fast movement, something like 150-700mm/sec https://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/speed-needed-for-good-motion.218/. i'm not sure where that measurement is meant to be taken, seems like specifying degrees/sec would make more sense, but what strikes me is if you only have a limited range of movement, say +/- 15 degrees, you'll burn through that range pretty fast, probably less than a second. so you may get the feeling of pitch and roll on the first part of the motion, but then left with nothing, which i suspect will be quite confusing.

cool, i was thinking about the cost of building something like that DKPro. on ebay (id=321131266235) i've seen a nice 24V 200W worm drive motor for $278 with free shipping from china, and there's a place in Bangkok where i think i can pick up some used ones for about $100 each. those IBT-2 things are only about $15 and an arduino is next to nothing. for a power supply, i was thinking a couple of car batteries in series and a 24V charger. for the mechanics, i can have something welded up here for a few dollars, so i think between $500 and $700 for the whole lot.

Yes it can be cheap, and 24v is not bad! Today I received my Motors! Yay! 670w and 160€
Hope they work