I am New to DIY sim building. Anyone chiming in with help is great.

First I should say I have nothing yet but a old civic seat and a logictech momo wheel.

My 1st diy sim I would like to build is a 3dof with sway, pitch and roll. as in picture

I can build and design (in that order) the frame work.

I would like to make it as small as possible and of course cheep for the first one.

After some reading I have questions about how to hook motors to the computer.

First do I need a motor with some type of feed back?

Hello, I am also new here, andwould like to know this info.

ok, looks like you are after a frame with a "yaw - drift" function in the rear.
Piece of cake, sort of.
I will get back to this a bit later, got to get kids up and ready for school. Give us 2 hours say.

Framing I can design with simple trusses. I figure it will be a 3 frame setup.
Stable base frame with a simple barring at the front connecting to the second actuator/motor frame.
That frame will be a triangle truss frame with a plank top and two casters on the rear. It will connect to the seat frame via a mack truck tierod end. The seat frame will have the pedals and wheel connected to it

with that my problems start.
first the motors. I would like to use the wiper motor idea because the more i can manufacture the more control i have. I will need to have every thing be adjustable.
so motor.... what do i need to know as critical to finding the right one.
Speed?
force?
feedback?
Recommended products?

What will be used to connect the motor to the pc?

Sorry, got busy.
With frame ideas, refer to these threads
http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/my-diy-3dof-motion-rig-project.4710/page-2#post-47039
http://www.xsimulator.net/community...r-with-a-rotation-axis.1531/page-3#post-43150
Motors, http://www.motiondynamics.com.au/worm-drive-motor-12v-24v-200w-180-rpm-20nm-torque.html very strong, reliable and can be overdriven abut 2.5 to 3 times rated current with no problems, or look for ebay equivalent. With a 50mm ctc lever I think it moves at something like 500mm per second.
Control boards http://www.pololu.com/product/1393/ , one per motor, 7 wires, one usb cable, no code to write.
Feedback pots http://au.element14.com/bi-technolo...ll-0-2v-20v-to-10v-pin/dp/2319662?Ntt=2319662
and put them into the back of the motor shaft like this

Not sure if i have missed anything.
Cheers, David.

Frame design I suggest you do not follow your design as the motor arms at teh back are too close, you need 20-30 deg angle from back ideally.

i made a very quick mok-up using sketch up.
but I dont know how to make it a jpeg

nvm i think i got it

I am just missing the sway motor

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/Electric/12V-DC-6-in-Stroke-135-lb-Linear-Actuator/8489072.p

What about this as a actuator

Hi James, that actuator moves painfully slow at 1 inch per three seconds. Acceptable movement varies heavily depending on whom you are listening to but generally faster is better.

so I do need a motor with some type of feedback and speed. or build my own feedback.

Most controllers will require feedback via potentiometers or similar analog devices. Arduino, JRK, SimAxe, etc. I think the SCN series linear actuators have internal feedback but do not hold me to that, I have no experience with them.

You will need to have some type of feedback, yes. We connect a potentiometer to the motors or actuators and then to the microcontrollers.

The Pololu JrKs are the simplest solution, just plug your power in, your potentiometers and a quick setup and you are done. Adruinos take more setup as there is two components to use, the arduino and a motor driver as well as the need to find and program a code into the Arduinos. If you have the extra cash JrKs are great, if not the Arduino solution works very well.

Ok mate would recommend building the top part first to get the hang of simtools and everything it requires.
Then build the next Dof under it.
Building in stages as you learn is a good idea, stop things getting to technical and blowing the brain.
Agree with @Historiker , Jrks are painless but if you are willing to learn and nut out how the ard works it is the cheapest option we have at our disposal.
I do have seat mover plans that I openly share here, Simple build and can be adapted to any motor and if you can weld about a 1hr to put together, no complicated design within it.
Let me know and I will pm the drawings to ya. Feel free to use them as is or even change them to suit what you want then they are yours not just a copy.

weld in 1 hr?
for you maybe......

Yes this will be from the top down project. essentually a 2dof on a platform

Depending on how quickly you want movement or the sense of immersion, I built my 2dof wiper motor sim with all the mechanicals then had a few hiccups with the Jrk set up.
Fortunately I had some bass shakers or transducers lying around and mounted two under the seat and two under the pedal box, hooked them up to the centre/sub channel of the sound card and powered them up with a car sub woofer amp.
I was amazed at the detail that came out of the sound effects of the games, particularly F1 2012 and Project Cars.
Currently I use a set of headphones connected to the left and right channels and the transducers for vibration, and I did eventually get the sim moving using the Jrks, the best option for a beginner.

i need some help figuring out which robotic parts i need. i found a site online that has a store in hamilton. before i go i would like some opinions on which arduino parts i need to buy and if there is anything else you might sudjest from the site. thank you.
here is the site.

http://www.ca.diigiit.com/index.php?route=common/home&session_id=a1j58c73omnrccdedp47m3pim1

The cheapo motors I plan to use. (if they are to weak for me I will make a kids one)
My question now is with only using 2 motor setups, How can I tell 1 how much power I need and what boards i need.
Why is it that most setups is see use to different boards , arduino and motor control.??
what should i look for when chosing a board?

as for what control boards you want to use , arduino and hbridges or jrks, choice is yours.