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Steely's G-Seat project

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by RowanH, Feb 1, 2020.

  1. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    Hi guys - I've been hacking away at a little G-Seat project and now in a state to share. It's *almost* done (well the back anyway). Just got to eliminate one area of belt slip and I can finalise it. Ultimately intending to have 4 panels, so 8 servos total (I think I might stop then....) on my rig.

    A bit of a walk through video


    Blog detailing progress along the way :

    https://www.rowanhick.com/2020/02/01/diy-g-seat-prototype-3-the-power-pack

    Cheers!
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  2. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    Well I thought I better update this thread.

    It's almost done ! had a month or so of testing under the belt, solid and *amazing*. I've updated my blog above ^^^ with full details (just follow your nose from the homepage). I've also released the files for this all up on github for anyone who's mad enough to want to build one.

    Enjoy ! R

    [​IMG]

    Here's a view of the "powerpack" which is the drive system that makes it all work :

    [​IMG]
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  3. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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  4. cfischer

    cfischer Active Member Gold Contributor

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    Really great work and documentation. Been watching your progress on RD. Thanks for sharing!

    Were there any lessons learned that you might change for a future version?
    With the experience you have on your rig, Id love to get your thoughts on seattimes g seat but he took all the videos off youtube.
    https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/seattimes-sims.11757/page-13


    Luckily MarkusB has built a gseat that has similar features of the aforementioned rig. Check it out if you haven't yet.
    https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/my-3-dof-motion-enhanced-g-seat.14950/

    What do you think of these more advanced gseat motions in comparison to your simpler GS5 style paddles?

    Ive got servo 3dof sfx style rig with a servo belt tensioner. It makes me hunger so much for a killer g seat and g helmet solution.
  5. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Nice work :thumbs. I have been developing mine for many years and agree they are very complex to build and get right. Makes building a 6DOF look like a walk in the park, but they do deliver if done correctly. Unfortunately like VR, it is almost impossible to convey how they feel from images or even a video. They are although next level in regard to simulation. RE: your belt issue, have you tried re-enforced belts? Picture of one of the belts that I used for belt drive tests. You can see the fibre re-enforcement to stop them from stretching and they are not made from rubber.



    Belt Drive.jpg
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  6. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    Thanks @cfischer. !

    Lessons (1) build it solid from the start. I gradually increased the strength,torque over the course of the various prototypes. At least for the strength/feedback I wanted it's got to now built like a brick s*t house. Infact mine got to the point of nearly injuring me - that one time I woke up with sore ribs....(2) don't underestimate simple physics and 10khz whines - going from 4 to 8 servos went from tolerable to intolerable. I'm looking at replacing my servo setup.

    I don't think I can comment on others without trying them out - really not fair to do so. Mine was built with car simulators in mind where-as a lot of other G-Seats I see are more aircraft focused and have more different types of movement.

    Cars are quite simple - but also brutal. You want the strength of being fully compressed on the paddles, like a car is on the limit loading up with a few G's, you also want the detail feedback of curbs, traction control, abs, gear shifts, weight transfer all that good stuff. The paddles have to constantly be "fluid" in time with the sim, if they 'stop' and are static then suddenly the immersion is broken. I definitely acheived that.

    You really can't pick it up in the videos but the feedback you get in mine is quite incredible. I put someone in the rig who's also got a good setup at home and here was his comments :

    "... The amount of detail coming through those back panels is insane ... "
    "... My expectations of how it would feel based on the videos were definitely short of reality... "

    I keep a detailed build log in my discord (follow your nose from my blog link above, you'll find it).

    Thanks @SeatTime for the tip. Yeah that's on the upgrade list to go find some nicer belts vs the Ali specials :)
  7. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Yes, those rubber belts were never designed to do what you want them to do. I purchased mine through Motion Dynamics and they were designed to handle the high torque of golf Kart drives motors etc. FI most of my G seat is made of steel plate.. so very solid.
  8. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    Cheers @SeatTime I see you're just across the ditch. Nice :) I'll see if I can get belts from them in the size I'm after. Running htd-5m 25mm wide on my g-seat.
  9. cfischer

    cfischer Active Member Gold Contributor

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    I've read through your blog several times too. Thanks for that as well!

    I guess I was asking you if you thought there would be any value for you to have more complicated g seat motion and I think you answered that as for cars: no.

    I too am interested in cars, particularly rally cars. I want to combine your power and stiffness with the more complicated motion from g seats like seattime and markusb as well as Stirling G Seat

    and ACMEs seat


    I see seattime and markus's seats as a gseat plus seatmover design. The seatmovers out there have a lot of respect from real racers with the skeletal cues and fast response.

    I am attracted to these "flight" inspired designs perhaps due to the flight that takes place in a rally car. Heave is a huge deal in rally!
    I see you are a fan of dirt rally 2 in your g seat. Do you find yourself wanting more cues, especially when you see what else is out there?
    Or are you content with what you have and don't see the point of more?
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  10. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    You're welcome.

    The short answer - yes very much content with what I've got and don't see any reason for more. You get out after an hour in the rig, up at it's max intensity levels, feeling pretty worked over !

    In my opinion (putting humble always sounds not so humble)
    - The platform mover provides the feeling of what the car is doing - heave/roll/pitch
    - The g-seat gives the sensation of what the lateral/longitudonal forces are doing surge/sway

    I *may* put in a belt tensioner, but I think that's where the rig will stop. I don't see any point in Surge, given the seat. You could argue I'm missing yaw, however I didn't like TL when I first tried it, but I do need to try TL again in someones rig. I think that may be very much personal preference and how your inner ear perceives it.


    R
  11. cfischer

    cfischer Active Member Gold Contributor

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    Cool, thanks for your feedback!
  12. gforce

    gforce New Member

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    Hi rowan,

    Thank you very much for sharing your gseat build!

    I am going down a servo gseat journey myself.

    Can you tell me what you final gear ratio is on your motor? It looks like you're using 60ST-M01930 with either 4:1 or 7:1 planetary gearboxes plus a 2:1 belt system that brings the total to either 8:1 or 14:1.

    Any thoughts on that final gear ratio? Wish you had more force? Sounds like you still limit the speed of the motors so you arent wishing they were faster.

    Why did you not go with this gearbox ratio using one planetary gearbox from china? Why add the belt system?


    How is the backlash from the planetary gearbox you bought from china? It seems you are happy with the one you bought. They do have lower backlash models if you're willing to pay for them. But is sounds like thats not necessary in your opinion.

    Thanks for the info and congrats on your build!
  13. RowanH

    RowanH New Member

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    Better late then never on a reply. Sorry about not seeing this @gforce

    - Final gear ratio is approx 14:1 - 7:1 gearboxes with 2:1 step down by the pulley system. This is on the bottom, on the top I'm 8:1 final ratio but that's because I bought 2x 4:1 boxes originally - that's too higher ratio, the servo's get warm after 10-15mins, hot in 20-30 mins.
    - Gearboxes were just the cheapest I could get that fit the bill, obviously you can spend a lot more - not sure you'd notice any difference with backlash
    - Belt system I chose so that I could translate the motion appropriately in a relatively small package. And I could play with gear ratios without throwing away gearboxes.

    All sorts of ways of acheiving the motion to lever translation, not sure mine is the best approach, but it works in the space available.
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  14. Erik Green

    Erik Green Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    6DOF
    Are you happy with the shape of the seatback paddles? Are there things you would change in the overall shape or bend angles?