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Force Feedback Train levers

Discussion in 'DIY peripherals' started by gazz, Jan 2, 2022.

  1. gazz

    gazz Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2012
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Scarborough
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    My Motion Simulator:
    Arduino
    I want to make a semi universal driving desk for a train simulator (train simulator 2020)

    It will be for post ~1980's German trains, which have 1 or more levers for power and brakes.. and it's these power and brake levers i want to have 'force feedback' on.

    The levers are a disc of aluminium about 125mm diameter, and ~35mm wide, centre of the alli disc is mounted on a shaft to the underside of the desk, so about 35% of the top of the disc pokes through vertically, and a length of ~20mm round bar sticks out the top of the disc with a knob on top... and that's your power or brake lever.... with about 75 degrees of travel.

    These control levers have 'notches' or detents, the number, position and 'strength' of these notches vary between the different trains/locos. and thats why i am thinking of a force feedback way to provide these notches... a different set of notches will be loaded depending on which train is being driven.. there will be a total of 4 levers, but not all trains would use all levers.. so unused ones would just be ignored (i'd possibly make the shaft removable or something)

    Below is a mini driving desk i made about 8 years ago:

    S-Bahn simulator.jpg

    It's based on a BR 425 train's driving desk, with a combined power and brake lever,
    The 'notches' are done mechanically with a spring loaded 'rocker' that pushes into semi circles cut out of the bottom of the alli disc,

    This gives a hard to overcome notch in the centre, a lighter notch either side, then it's smooth all the way forwards, and smooth till the bottom of the brake portion, where a light notch indicates full service brakes, and a heavy notch for emergency.

    So of course this desk is for one train style only, and could only be changed by swapping the whole lever assembly out.


    I'm thinking i'd need to sort of make a single axis force feedback joystick type thing here, a DC motor, belt drive for gear reduction (to give more than 75 degrees of motor movement), and a rotary encoder for feedback position sensing,
    Plus a potentiometer for the position output to the simulator (as that has a program that translates potentiometer position into virtual notches depending on the train loaded)

    The hardware side i can handle, it's the software side,
    Any ideas what i could use to do this? ive played with arduino's, but programming them is my weak point.
    gazz, Jan 2, 2022
    #1