Possible Blue Tiger Replica

I've been lurking about here looking at and reading about the various methods used and must say - very impressive group.

I am leaning towards trying to replicate the Blue Tiger sim and wondered if any of you have seen or thought about the mechanics involved. http://www.bluetiger.com/media.html

I plan to use a universal joint like many here but looking at the sim I want to replicate I fear the force and travel could be an issue.

Any thoughts / ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

this is the parent company of the bluetiger. this should give you a better idea of how they setup their machines to get the motion. http://inmotionsimulation.com/

they have some videos of the simulators moving to show you even more how they do it. just go to the products tab and then they all have a video clip showing you.

if you scroll down they have version that looks like the bluetiger only cooler. starats at 15,900.00 but it sure looks wicked. weird thought that the seat and pedals move but the tv doesn't. that might seems weird.

Thanks njracer - that was a big help.

I want my sim to include the pedals and steering wheel in the movement which is one reason I like the BT design. I'm studying two ways to accomplish a 2 axis platform. One using the universal joint swivel the other using a gimbal frame. I think I can accomplish either with two actuators. The vertical axis may be cool but this being my first attempt I will try and keep it simple.

hey jrl check this out, this guy has the frex simconmotion system but he modified the frame to have the pedals and wheel move with the seat. since sirnoname has the scn5 actuators working and is going to release x-sim 2 at the end of the year, this might be another option to go with. look like it moves really quick in the video and might be a cheaper way of doing this with a very similar result. also with the univeral joint it might make the cockpit move better then that stock frex pivot and go quicker then the guy in the video. just to give you another idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88iGKpLyLcg
and another
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZFnVvZUFc better example, better angle

Thanks again njracer.

With the wealth of knowledge on this forum I think it better to seek advice rather than trying to re-invent the wheel. With that in mind I would appreciate any input.

I'm planning on using SCN actuators, an aluminum Kirkey seat out of my old race car, a MOMO GT wheel / pedal assembly (I have access to a free one) and will likely build the frame with aluminum slot profiles. I would prefer the entire cockpit moving as a unit to include the seat, pedals, steering and monitor. My questions:

What amount of pitch and roll is optimum for racing simulation (primarily road racing)?
Is the modified universal joint the preferred method or is something else better?
By trying to make the entire unit move as one will I have more weight (I'm close to 200 lbs) than the SCN actuators can handle reliably and with good speed / smoothness?

When you use the scn5 to move the whole thing you wont get that nice effects ! This are small and fast actuators ideal for moving your seat fast , not the whole cockpit.

well the scn5 actuators weren't technically designed to move a seat for a motion simulator either. i really don't see a difference in speed, force, and effects from watching videos of just the seat moving and the second video i posted above moving the whole cockpit. as long as you have the weight balanced right it shouldn't be too much more load really. you're adding a 5lb wheel and pedals, and half your leg, from the knee down, and a few more frame pieces. it looks pretty good and fast to me.

this is only to get some ideas and this looks like it was worthy enough to post, i think it moves fine. i'm personally going to just move the seat as i like the concept better then moving the whole thing

The idea is ok, just hear the wonderful noise in the first video, i think it is the same as i got once were i sat leaning complete forward and my little scn 5 did a calibration. its just to much for them ..

I agree. I think that moving the wheel and pedals along with the seat causes you to lose much of the simulated G-Force effects. Frex did a comparison of the Rock-N-Ride style simulator vs. the Frex style simulator vs a real race car, and measured muiscle tension / compensation in the neck, back and arms when going into a corner etc.. They have the results depicted on their site. I think it is http://www.frex.com/gp/

Also, what this guy did makes no sense at all. Why would you move the wheel/seat and not the pedals? How would this improve on the original Frex design? As far as I can tell, adding the wheels and pedals to the movement will only reduce the realism and increase the stress on the actuators.

However, to each their own. I wish you luck with your project.

yeah i think it'll be better to move just the seat, gives you that feels of being throw around in the car from the g's.