How to start a project

Hi,

It's my first post here.
I'm new in this things but i'm very interested to learn how to build one of this things. I'm a mechanical engineer and my nightmare is not the construction of the set but the electronics...
I need something like a tutorial or a guide. For what i've realised, the most common is the 2D simulators.
So, where can i start???

Thanks!!!

http://www.x-simulator.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1083

Hi!!! Thanks for the reply!

The link was very usefull. For what i've undertood, this topic referes to a specific actuator.
Is there any other actuators that suit to this applications? Are the prices like this: 300€ per actuator??

Thanks!

You are correct, this information focuses on the SCN5. It also applies to the SCN6. These are currently the only commercially available actuators supported and are proven to perform well. Aside from the SCN5's, you will need to build your own actuators or follow Tronics project and use DC motors with a H-Bridge, his controller, etc..

I don't think that there's much debate about which option performs best, the SCN5's are a masterful piece of work and are prioced very well for their performance level.

If you are into designing and building electronics, then Tronics project may be the one for you because you'll get to spend many weeks, maybe months gathering parts and tinkering it all together. In the end, you can save yourself some money if you do, and the end result should perform reasonably well.

I am prohibited from discussing prices here and I cannot speak to the prices across the industry. I can however offer you links to the option that most X-Simmers chose as far as where to purchase SCN series actuators. Disclaimer: One of these is my company.

150mm SCN5 Starter Kit Bundle (everything you need)- http://simxperience.com/SimXperiencePro ... fault.aspx

100mm SCN5 Starter Kit Bundle (everything you need)- http://www.simxperience.com/Store/tabid ... fault.aspx
If the SCN series isn't right for your budget, then I would suggest reading all 96 pages of Tronics thread and trying that option. viewtopic.php?f=25&t=559

Dyadic SCN5 150mm Actuators - http://www.simxperience.com/Store/tabid ... fault.aspx -OR- http://www.miraiintertech.com/home/purchase.php

Dyadic SCN5 100mm Actuators - http://www.simxperience.com/Store/tabid ... fault.aspx - OR- http://www.miraiintertech.com/home/purchase.php

:

Check out some of the Joyrider based 2DOF simulator builds on the forum:

mario-s-tronic-joy-based-sim-t2315.html
start-of-a-joyrider-based-simulator-t1804.html

Wooden simulator with a different frame (Just the way I would do it):
articsimulator-joyrider-made-of-wood-t2063.html

Just a few examples. They are cheap and fairly easy to build. The electronics might give you a hard time but I'm sure someone will be nice enough to build you one for a price.

Thank you all for the replies. I've spent a lot of time vieweing the posts of how to build a simple simulator as Frakk told me. I'm very enthusiastic but my problem is the electronic connections and i would like to attack first that problem and then if i can put something working on in test mode i woud start building the frame...
Can this be done?

Dear bvillersjr,
I understand what you say and i agree that those actuators may be better to fill it, but is a risk for me to invest in that withou knowing if the all thin it will work...

I need really some help with all the electronics procedure that i must take...

Thanks!!!!

I'm afraid that I don't understand you question or request. Which simulator style are you trying to build? If it's based on SCN5's then there really isnt any need for any electronics procedure. You can either use the SX-3000 which is simply plug-n-play or you can buy any FTDI based off the shelf adapter and use the wiring diagram shown in the SCN5 hardware thread that I pointed out earlier in this thread.

If it's the H-Bridge / Controller solution that you desire, then most of what you need to know is covered in the 96 page post I mentioned earlier. As painful as it is, if this is your chosen course, I would suggest reading all of it so that you get the background and understanding of various design decision points. You will find everything that you need to know in this thread including PCB designs, etc..

The first thing you should do is decide on your:
-Budget
-Type of simulator
-What you are willing to make and what you are buying pre-made.

Then we can help you with the details.

Dear frinds, thanks for understand my stupidity in this things but i'm really new in this, so, answering your questions:

1-I supose i want a 2DOF simulator, but i think i've seen different constructions with 2DOF...
2-Budget: i don't really defined budget, because i'm initializing into this world and i don't know the normal budgets for the different tipes of projects
3-I'm willing to make all the mechanic parts (with some advices of course). All the rest i need to buy
4-In relation to the electronic connections i would do it if i know exactly what type of connections i must do.

For what i understood, using the SCN5 may simplify this because it has few connections??
But is it really like this???

Now i don't have any reference in values (money) that are common to spend in each type of simulator. I've noticed also another thing: the most simple simulator and that will fit for me is the one that the unique parts moving are both actuators in the back of the seat.

Is there any alternative to the scn5 actuators because i think that they are quite expensive, even if those are the common values for this type of applications...

Thanks once more for the pacience

As I suggested earlier, read through the builds and familiarize yourself with others' work. See how things are done and what connects to what. There is a lot of good information here and I cannot summarize all that for you.

The SimXperience Starter Kit is very simple to use, just plug it in, setup the program and it works:
http://simxperience.com/SimXperiencePro ... fault.aspx

There are no cost effective alternatives for the SCN5 actuators yet, and if you really look at what you get they are not that expensive.

You have to do your homework and read some topics. The links we have given you are good start, so make sure to check them out. After you are done, look for other simulator build topics in this DIY motion simulator projects category. That will narrow down your scope of what you want to do, you can ask more specific questions and we can give you better answers.

OK!!!

Thank you very very much for yout pacience. I wil study the subject and i hope that within a few weeks i can think in my project, to put here some good and reasonable questions to you.

Thanks once more!