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Milt's budget build - DIY 2dof compact seat mover

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by Milt, Mar 17, 2018.

  1. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Nice progress :thumbs

    I would suggest perhaps redesigning the top connection bracket so you can rotate the heim joint 90 degrees, as it risks binding the way it is.
  2. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Good point. I noticed the joints binding a bit at the extremes and loosened up the bolts a little to allow it to slip. Not ideal, but works for the time being.
  3. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Just got my DIY license for SimTools! Just need a few more coins to get the plugin package... ;). :):):)
  4. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    I have donated some coins to get you started, please add posts to let us know how your rig goes with different games, and if you can please add a video of your rig in action!
  5. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Thanks noorbeast!

    Downloaded some plugins and got motion working in Dirt Rally 2.0. Getting the motion profile correct and tuned is a whole new project! Much more involved than I expected, but documentation is good and testing is fun. Here is a video of my first movements on DR2.0 with a basic profile. Definitely need to rework my heim joint connection at the seat as noorbeast suggested because there is some play and binding at different points in the axis throw.

    Excuse the driving... I was concentrating on the seat movement more than where I was going.

    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2020
  6. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Made a new heim joint mount. Not ideal, but I I had to make due with what I could find around the house. It will have to do for now...
    IMG_20200401_140035.jpg
  7. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    That is much better and can never bind :thumbs
  8. Milt

    Milt Member

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    I am thoroughly enjoying the addition of motion to my sim racing experience. The increased immersion is even more than I expected! I even feel like I can nail threshold braking a lot more consistently with the surge motion.

    I do think I am losing some fine-scale motion resolution due to backlash in the gearmotors so I plan to add some tensioning springs or bungies to help.

    Also, it's time to mount my H-pattern shifter. I am guessing it would be better to have it mounted to the motion seat, but wanted to check with others with more experience... With a seat mover (not a whole frame mover) is it better to mount the shifter to the moving seat or static mount to the table?

    I'll post more videos of my rig after some tuning soon... For now I can't stop playing Dirt Rally 2 and hotlapping Nordschleife in AC.
  9. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    With the shifter it is a matter of personal preference, my shifter is mounted off the wheel, so is independent of the seat movement, which conveys the sense of body movement with the likes of surge, particularly in VR.
  10. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Great! It certainly will be easier to mount that way. I'll give it a try attached to the desk and see how I like it.
  11. Milt

    Milt Member

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    I was poking around my parts bin and found these stiff springs that just happen to fit my U-joint perfectly. They provide just enough force to keep tension on the gearbox to minimize the play due to backlash.
    IMG_20200426_083135.jpg
    • Creative Creative x 2
  12. Che Franklin

    Che Franklin im alot brighter than i look.. Gold Contributor

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    hi could you pm me i have some questions on ur setup i could not get simtools to see the kangaroo Im finding the arduino side harder than the kangaroo software
  13. Milt

    Milt Member

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    Just picked up a nice bucket seat from the local parts yard for $45USD! It's the passenger seat out of a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 GT and in really great condition. This seat is a lot heavier than the old poly seat I have on my seat mover now, but I'm sure my motors can handle it.

    IMG_20200602_110847.jpg
    • Like Like x 1
  14. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Nice one.

    As a bonus you could use the seat slide mechanism to make adjustable pedals. I did that for my dad's haptic rig, with adjustable tilt via bolts with wing nuts (wingnuts added after this photo), it it pretty easy and convenient for different size users and does not mess up the balance of your seat shaker rig:

    [​IMG]
    • Like Like x 1
  15. Milt

    Milt Member

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    That's a great idea, noorbeast! Unfortunately, I just tried to pull the sliders off my seat and found out the slider frame is integral to the seat back pivot. I could probably make it work with some extra effort, but I'll probably keep the slider on just for ease of mounting.

    The wood frame was intended to be temporary, but I'm having too much fun racing to take it apart and rebuild in aluminum...
  16. Krzysztof Dej

    Krzysztof Dej Active Member

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    How to make 90 degrees movement limit by software?
  17. Milt

    Milt Member

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    In DEScribe software for the Kangaroo X2. On the positioning tab there is an option for soft limits. I set mine to 12500, which for my system is 90 degrees. That value is a calculation of encoder resolution and gear ratio, it will be different for each system.

    Inked_describe_positioning_LI.jpg
  18. andres50

    andres50 simulador de vuelo (flight simulator 2020)

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    [QUOTE = "Milt, Post: 153169, member: 29377"]Good to know. I can't find gear ratios for the motors I'm looking at but guess I could figure it out once I get them in hand. I'm thinking about leaving the electromechanical brake on the motors so I can lock them out when needed. From my research it is usually 12-24v applied to the brake will release it...?[/ QUOTE]
    Hey, I had the same problem when the chair ran out of power moving forward or backward so I had to put on the electric brakes that I had removed. My electric brakes run on 12 volts.
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2021