1. Do not share user accounts! Any account that is shared by another person will be blocked and closed. This means: we will close not only the account that is shared, but also the main account of the user who uses another person's account. We have the ability to detect account sharing, so please do not try to cheat the system. This action will take place on 04/18/2023. Read all forum rules.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For downloading SimTools plugins you need a Download Package. Get it with virtual coins that you receive for forum activity or Buy Download Package - We have a zero Spam tolerance so read our forum rules first.

    Buy Now a Download Plan!
  3. Do not try to cheat our system and do not post an unnecessary amount of useless posts only to earn credits here. We have a zero spam tolerance policy and this will cause a ban of your user account. Otherwise we wish you a pleasant stay here! Read the forum rules
  4. We have a few rules which you need to read and accept before posting anything here! Following these rules will keep the forum clean and your stay pleasant. Do not follow these rules can lead to permanent exclusion from this website: Read the forum rules.
    Are you a company? Read our company rules

Racing 6DOF stewart platform

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by Gadget999, Feb 15, 2019.

  1. dedraro

    dedraro Active Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2015
    Messages:
    100
    Location:
    Italy
    Balance:
    81Coins
    Ratings:
    +65 / 0 / -0
    How are the EV-VNHD7012AY? I saw that they are quite cheap, I would like to replace my ITB-2, can you recommend them instead of a sabertooth which is much more expensive?
    Thank you and awsome project
  2. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    the motors are 400w 25:1 gearbox - they seem to be quite powerful

    i will have all 6 of them working in the next day or so
    • Like Like x 2
  3. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    the ev-vnhd7012ay seems like a good motor driver

    the problem is the evalutation board is only 12v and i need to run them at 24v

    i use a 100A twin channel driver now
    • Like Like x 1
  4. dedraro

    dedraro Active Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2015
    Messages:
    100
    Location:
    Italy
    Balance:
    81Coins
    Ratings:
    +65 / 0 / -0
    ok i also need 24v, i will follow you like this, if you find something else i also evaluate
  5. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    20,535
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    145,034Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,776 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    SimTools sees each pair as 2 Axis, not 2DOF.

    So Axis1a and Axis2a are one pair, Axis3a and Axis4a are a pair and Axis5a and Axis6a are the final pair, corresponding to your Interface Settings and are named as such down the left side in the Axis Allocations.

    You can grab the SimTools manual here: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/rtfm-start-with-the-official-simtools-documentation.117/
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Hi noorbeast, thanks for the advice hoping to set up simtools tomorrow :)
    • Like Like x 1
  7. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    we have motion :)

    initial thoughts are the power of this rig is way higher than i expected - i have had to turn down the movement to 7% and used low numbers in the PID to slow it down - I think the sim could hurt somebody at full power !

    i have tested the rig with no driver/seat attached using lfs and also the motion testing output in SimTools

    is there another way to put the sim into a test mode so I can measure the current used in a certain test ?

    i will post a vid up soon
  8. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    20,535
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    145,034Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,776 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    I am not sure what you mean by test more, is it a replay you have in mind?
  9. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    yes a replay would be good - or a standard sim test like DOF 1-6 repeated
  10. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    20,535
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    145,034Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,776 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Not sure about LFS but you can do replays with motion using the Assetto Corsa AI:

    • Like Like x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
  11. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Motion vid of full range of motion

    • Like Like x 9
    • Funny Funny x 1
  12. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    quite a bit been going on with the sim

    i have 3 screen set up and had some grief getting them all to work together - turns out the latest driver was corrupt !

    my 2 x 12v power supplies have shut down a few times - i am going to program a chip to restart them if they go down

    today i took a race car for a spin round le mans - the motion was so powerful the sim pulled itself across the floor

    crashing a car is pretty painful !

    i am going to reduce the length of the lever arms to make the acceleration slower

    also going to do some tuning - should i be doing this in the PID in the motor drivers - or do some smoothing in simtools game manager

    video soon
    • Like Like x 1
  13. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    20,535
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    145,034Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,776 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    PID tuning is all about accurate hardware response: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/a-laymans-analogy-guide-to-pids-pid-tuning.219/

    Tuning a SimTools motion profile is about dialing in accurate responses for game telemetry: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/steps-to-create-a-motion-profile.228/
    • Informative Informative x 1
  14. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Some videos as promised

    I am not sure of the speed of the sim in mm/s but its so fast it scares the driver !

    We have turned it down to about 4%

    I need to do some work on the tuning and with the cv-19 lockdown i should find the time

    Here is my son using RF2 and Kart Kraft





    This shows the sim using short levers to reduce the amount of movement

    • Like Like x 2
  15. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    Latest video

    The car is an F1 car and is a bit of a handful

    • Like Like x 2
  16. Rifly

    Rifly Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2020
    Messages:
    55
    Occupation:
    freelance photographer
    Location:
    Latvia
    Balance:
    242Coins
    Ratings:
    +24 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    @Gadget999
    Your project serves as a good inspiration. Since I've finished my dof Im now started to look in 6dof :D so Im trying to figure out expenses of this kind of setup. motors/drivers/frame and time it takes to configure and fine tune :) I would be happy if you could share some light on these things
    • Like Like x 1
  17. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    i use a 400w dc motor with a 25:1 gearbox - a 50:1 gearbox would give the motors an easier time

    the motor drivers are 100 amps each channel and are very robust - i do not know the make of them

    the fine tuning is ongoing - here is a recent vid



    the sim needs bolting to the floor - sometimes it moves if you crash
    • Like Like x 3
    • Winner Winner x 1
  18. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    My sim is configured with 2 motors behind the driver, lots of sims are they oyher way round

    Is there an advantage / disadvantage to being oriented this way ?

    I noticed the rear right motor was warmer than the others, I think i will add some air cooling

    Is it normal for one motor to get warmer because most tracks are clockwise ?
    • Useful Useful x 1
  19. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Don't know if this may help, but on my old Stewart Platform, I use three bathroom scales to corner balance my sim (like I would do with my track car) and ensure that the motors had a reasonably equal/balanced load most of the time.
    • Informative Informative x 1
  20. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,897
    Location:
    London
    Balance:
    11,610Coins
    Ratings:
    +458 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino, 6DOF
    neat idea ! i will give it a go

    i will try a spirit level also

    the cog should be in the centre - i suspect the rear right motor is doing all the work on a clockwise track