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Spherical style rig

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by bestenator, May 8, 2025 at 21:04.

  1. bestenator

    bestenator New Member

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    Hi noorbeast!

    Thanks a lot for the warm welcome and for pointing me toward the FAQs and glossary—you were right, they’ve already cleared up a few things!

    After spending the last few evenings trawling the forum and the recent‑projects list, I’m still coming up a bit short on detailed builds that follow the Yaw VR v1 / semi‑spherical concept. I remember stumbling across a post (I think it was connected to the Feel Three crowd) where they drove the hemisphere with a chain around the rim instead of omni‑wheels—a clever way to avoid traction loss. Unfortunately I can’t seem to track that thread down again. If it rings a bell, could you point me to it?

    Also, several members have mentioned an “open‑motion‑sim” Discord—especially the #spherical‑rigs channel—where the latest files and discussions are shared, but I haven’t found a current invite link. If you have one handy (or know who I should DM for it), I’d really appreciate it.

    Thanks again for your guidance, and I’ll start a build thread as soon as I have something more concrete to show.

    Best regards,
    bestenator
    bestenator, May 8, 2025 at 21:04
    #1
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Please be aware that a spherical wheel driven style rig design does not ensure absolute precision control, given it relies on friction.

    The basic construction of the commercial product is obvious from its own set up video.

    The more common similar application in DIY is the hamster ball design: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/diy-prototype-360-hamster-ball-sim.17555/

    While all rigs have some inherent design compromises I tend to think the hamster ball design has more than most.
    noorbeast, May 9, 2025 at 00:46
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  3. bestenator

    bestenator New Member

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    Thanks for moving the thread and for spelling out the trade-offs so clearly. I completely agree that a wheel-driven spherical rig is always at the mercy of friction, and the “hamster-ball” layout adds a few extra compromises on top of that.

    One point that worries me even more is the loss of linear cues because the pilot’s head sits so close to the sphere’s centre of rotation—you end up with great pitch/roll angles but very little actual translation, so the vestibular system isn’t fooled as well as it could be.

    I’ll keep digging through the forum (and the build videos of the commercial unit) to see whether a more conventional 3-DoF seat-mover might be a better fit for my space and goals.

    Thanks again for the guidance!

    bestenator
    bestenator, May 9, 2025 at 00:57
    #3