New to 2 Dof Need help

Hello ,

My friend had given up on his 2 Dof racing platform and have given it to me as a Gift.
Got really excited and set it up , Immediately upon setting up I notice lots of free play on the motor gear box.
Is this normal ?

By Any chance will a properly setup wiper motor system be as good as simxperience actuator system?

It's normal for there to be some play in any linkage, so i guess the question is, how much play is there? Have you used it yet?

NEvermind I just saw your video. Hard to tell but is the play between the plate and the stud coming from the motor? Could potentially be due to the hole being oversized. Worth taking a look at replacing the piece

Thanks for your fast reply.
The plate and screw/stunt is tightly secure, linkage tolerance are good.
do you think it is the gearbox?

Thanks for your reply.

Ultimately and hopefully I will be capable enough to build a 3 dof rig.

Pardon my questions, what is CTC? Will the 200w 180rpm wormdrive DC motors with 25:1 gearboxes and 60-65 CTC levers have the same free play as my current motor? these motors are rated 200Watts =

@Benjamin oh , thats the base I built and sold to boons!
That was several years ago.
Here it is, 3 years ago

As for play, there is a bit in the gearboxes, its normal.
Once you are weighted on it, its not a problem
Mind you, boons bought it as a seat mover and eventually put a full frame on it, despite I told him it may not be a good idea. try rotating the gearboxes 180 deg, but loosen the bolt in the shaft first to do so.
Now, question is, are you going to stay with that base? Or pull it apart and rebuild it using the existing motors?
The lever on them is 40mm I think from memory, which is adequate for even a shoulder mount seat mover. Mind you, the pots on them will do ok, but maybe changing them to a higher res pot and connecting it directly to the back of the motor shaft.

Its not wipers, even though they look like a large wiper motor! I built that base. They are the 25:1 gearbox 200 watt motors.
@ACSlater , as stated, you are a SCN user, then unless you have used these motors, you really dont know
Examples of being faster than a SCN sim.
@eaorobbie sim in early days. you can take it up with him if you disagree on speed, but I know hes had a SCN sim in the past and I trust him when he says 65mm CTC levers move faster.


and 40mm centre to centre levers on my shoulder mount DC motor seat mover

Thats really Cool, thank you build the rig for him.

So high chance the gearbox is damaged? When new do you recall how was the tolerance like?
Do you still have the Pid setting for these?

I am open to any options which perform the best. I don't mind rebuilding the entire platform.
I am looking for fast and responsive feedback, as little free play as possible.
My ultimate aim is to add one more DOF "traction lost"

The best option without free play is belt driven, because you can put tension on belt see thrustmaster tx wheel for example.

I dont think the gearbox is damaged. They are designed to have play when you wiggle them. Once they are loaded its not a proble. I recall Boons asked me this ages ago. I only suggested rotating the box to see if it lessens. But id say it will nit make a difference. I had 2 hire sims for a while which saw a lot if different weight players on them. There was play like that in the gearbox but it was never a problem. Nothing broke. Even the seller of the motor and boxes says there is supposed to be some play.

Pardon? I didnt know we were talking about a wheel here....

I think Benjamin didn`t like knok sound when motors change direction.

I mean example for free play problem on motor drive. Just give an example. I understand everything you talk about here.

@Benjamin oh , there is supposed to be play in them. They are designed like that. I can tell you that once you are on the frame and a load is against it, there is NO PLAY TO BE FELT.
Many of us can verify that . I can tell you from experience that its normal when you wiggle them for that to happen.
As you got the base for free, perhaps just set it up. Unless you have used other devices before, like Dbox and or SCN actuators, then you are not really in a position to compare.
I have played extensively and it cost me to do so on those style of sims. DC motors can perform just as well if not better.
Now back to sim design, use the motors you have. If you are going to redesign, the question is how much room do you have? A traction loss 3rd DOF frame could take up quite a bit of room, @Nick Moxley sim would be a good place to start for design ideas. I suspect he has a link.
@Cvetan Cvetanov , no worries, as stated, there is supposed to be some free play, but once you are sitting on it, that slight load holds things tight.
@Benjamin oh , I dont have the PID settings, you would need to post ALL screen shots of each motor in JRK utility settings so I can see them and advise please.

I am sure that depends on the gap between the wheels. But this gap, he showed make a loud sound when motor change DIRECTION no mater how big you are. You force it in one of two directions.

Have you used these DC motors before?

Before i used wipers and after some use (3 months) they start to knock like thees. The worm gear inside is analog of wipers. Overloading of gears make them to wear. Now i make sim that is fast and the noise coming from twisting of the frame (i work on this). It is worm gears driven too, but toothed wheel has something like nylon coating on it and feels soft.

I used to use wipers as well, these motors are NOT wipers, the plastic gear is much stronger and yes has some play bu they have not failed me. If I have to go through all the builds, hire sims, 100s of players, etc to point out that, I might as well just leave this forum, because the amount of times people have "corrected" me without sufficient evidence is astounding.
Balance it right, dont overload them like others have done, and they DO NOT FAIL.

You are right over all they do it`s work and no fail. I believe they are fast . Headphones when play make problems like that disappear.

Exactly! the original owner found that it was quiet enough to use once he sat on it.
As for noise from devices.....