Showroom SeatTimes 6DOF DC build

I'm quite keen to produce something similar to hire out. Interested in whether you think id be certified to be used in a semi commercial fashion.

Either way, the sim looks excellent.

This is such a complex area - look what happen recently at 'Dreamworld' in OZ - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-28/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-dreamworld-tragedy/7974358 - without the right commercial structure and insurance you could be in all sorts of trouble - but they still seem to run gokarts for the public don't they . First up, recommend that you put together a proper Business Case to make sure it is commercially viable.

Thanks for the info!

Have you thought about any safety measures in case something goes wrong? like an actuator running past its stop switch? or a motor losing power?

Oooof if it runs past its stop switch something has gone seriously wrong and it will self destruct !!! and if a motor loses power you wouldn't believe what happens but the actuator stops moving


Sorry for jumping in I just had too

not a problem.

I was initially looking at importing one of these to nz

https://manker.en.alibaba.com/produ...ator_with_VR_headset_good_for_investment.html

but I quickly realised if one of the actuators on that breaks it'd be a mission to replace/get repairs, not only that but the 6dof setups look a lot better.
So i decided to building my own would be the best option in case of repairs. (I have some engineering experience)..

Have many members of this forum done commercial rigs? You lot seem to be able to produce a lot for the costs compared to the big manufacturers.

Yes, my actuator stop switches will drive the actuator in the opposite direction only when triggered (using the PWM logic), I also have a red stop switch fitted to the right of the steering which shuts down all data to the sim and like @SilentChill said , if it loses power it just stops. One or more motors stopping is not a safety issue. Also if using BFF software, once the rig reaches a pre-set G setting from a crash, it will go to its home state - where you have to enable it again from a button on the steering wheel (Aerofly FS also has a crash reset feature). I find this a great option, as crashes can be quite a ride in our sims (really have to do a video one day) and can put allot of stress on the rider and rig.

So the G-Seat is nearly ready to go. Completed some successful software tests with Simtools, but still some configuration work to do, should be installed into the seat (just clips in) and running on the sim very soon . Picture below - comfort/anti pinch foam removed from the center for clarity.

Thanks for the teaser seat time. Love the carbon fiber.

Gave the G-Seat a run on the sim - it is brilliant - hard to explain, like a step up from bass shakers when I had the 6dof turned off. The constant pressure during a turn is quite convincing . unfortunately the rigid carbon fibre sheet the servos are mounted to makes an excellent speaker, so have pulled out the servos to re-mount them with some sound deadening material and rubber standoffs. FI - The servos are very quite running off the enclosure.
For info - weighed the carbon fibre enclosure - with the six steel hinges fitted (but no servos) it came in at 400grams.

Excellent. So you had the g seat running with the 6dof then? How do you think they work together? Does getting pitched back and squeezed feel better than one or the other? Do you think having pressure simulated will change the way you tune the seats rotations? Can you tell I'm excited? haha

Have not done much tuning with both systems yet, as being close to my head the noise was annoying me and decided to get that sorted first before moving on. Happy so far and it will likely change how I tune the rig as it was the reason I built it.

Amazing stuff @SeatTime always one step ahead of the crowd that's chasing you (Well maybe only me in that crowd)

. Hi @SilentChill - Were just both trying to chase perfection on a low budget - hows the new setup panning out - working better? I think these G-Seats (and my next mod ) will get popular with more than just the 6DOF crowd, as they are so compact and light with great resolution and response.

Next mod !?!?!?! Give me chance to catch up lolol

I'm really happy with my rig the extra angle on the actuators has definitely helped and drilling holes has helped to get some air circulating in the motors. The amount you feel is incredible compared to my old worm gears, its the little things that the camera does not pick up. I had a quick run on no limits last night with roll and pitch set to 60% each, all I can say was it was rather wild, talk about overkill

I think that if you can get Dirt Rally dialled in right then you know any other game/sim will work fine as nothing pushes the rig to its limits like that does.

All I need now is proper 6DOF math and then its real HAPPY DAYZ !!

I already have proper 6DOF math available with BFF - but it is not the 6DOF math that I like about that software, it is the way the filters can be adjusted with a percentage of surge being able to be rolled into the pitch axis and sway into the roll axis. This gives a much better feel to the sim forces wise, but in Simtools V2 we should be able to do this (I actually tested out a plugin that could during the beta test!). So a 6DOF math plugin by itself for me in Simtools is not so important.
Re: Next Mod - it is a natural progression - you should be able to guess it .

Hmm which plugin and how ? I would love to be able to get surge working better

And my guess is 360 Degree Yaw rotation ??

The math plugin was made specially for me as a test at my request -
Showed working in this video

Unfortunately it did not work with the later versions and I could not apply any filters with it, which is why it was so 'violent' in the video.
Actually thought about a 360 yaw, but testing with CV1 put a big no on that. Ok - Servo controlled seat harness tensioner .

Ahh nice a step above the old spring tensioned harness

So, here's a video of the G-Seat fitted to the sim in action (6DOF is off) sway DOF only activated with 70% of the available movement selected. This works so much better than I expected, with the paddles really pushing/releasing from my ribs as they would in a real car through a corner. Adds so much to the simulation.

Brilliant G-seat project execution @SeatTime, as always!

I bet others will now put this on their to do list for 2017.