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Post by tronicgr on Oct 13, 2014 18:02:29 GMT
Right on time. You should be receiving your boards soon! Use shielded cables, audio signal cables are the best for this. You can use the shield for ground (GND)! For potentiometers, I would suggest contactless-magnetic ones from Digikey. They are not affected by electrical noise as much and are going to last much longer than contact pots: www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/6127V1A180L.5FS/987-1392-ND/2620661Plus they have travel 180 degrees that is exactly what we need for 6DOF platform, mounted directly on the output of the gearbox, rather using reduction gearing or belts... I cannot see the item on ebay you posted as it says it was removed... Thanks Thanos
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Oct 14, 2014 17:26:38 GMT
Awesome, glad to hear my electronics are on the way =) I'm working on getting the crank arms made now, and I'll order the wiring and POT's as soon as possible.
Predictably our honeymoon vacation went way over budget so things are going to be super tight for a bit, not to mention the holidays coming up... Maybe I can give each of my friends and family one hour of sim time for Christmas instead of buying them stuff!
Thanos your help is an invaluable resource!
Trip
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Oct 27, 2014 14:49:13 GMT
I'm stalled out at the moment on this build waiting for finances to recover (after the wedding and honeymoon) enough for me to buy the remaining components I need. In the meantime I'm building a new custom left hand joystick type controller pretty much from scratch using stuff I've already got on hand. Time is tight but I should be able to finish up most of the work on the base while I'm waiting for funds to buy the resistors, crank arms, wiring, steel, etc.
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 6, 2016 13:53:12 GMT
Alright folks, the time has come to resume work on my Stewart Platform! Over the past two months I've built a finished room in a portion of the basement to create a room to house the motion simulator. The room still needs a lot of detail work done to complete the sci-fi theme but it's far enough along that last night I started back in on building the motion sim.
Due to the possibility of water problems the room I built to house the motion sim is on a computer network center floor I bought used, so the actual concrete floor is about eight or nine inches below the floor level of the room. To create a nice finished appearance in keeping with my room theme I'm deviating from what others have done by bolting my gearboxes/motors to a false floor instead of a frame. The floor panels will be secured in place by bolting through to modified floorstands glued/bolted to the sub-floor.
*update* The following text in grey no longer applies! I realized I can invert the gearboxes and build 3.5" spacers to get them high enough off the floor so the crank arms don't interfere! Added bonus, this also means I'll have MUCH reduced risk of the tie rods coming in contact with the motors! Yes, the manufacturer says inverted installation is fine, I just have to add some oil.
This design creates some problems unique to my project, the foremost being the need for "wells" in the floor for the crank arms/tie rods to dip into, otherwise the floor would be very much in the way!
I don't really want to make the wells any larger than needed, but I also don't want to have to repeatedly take apart the rig to enlarge them because they are too small. Can anyone with a similar platform tell me what the maximum angles are on the tie rods during max-travel operation?
My crank arms are longer than the others I've seen, to give me the option of increasing travel in the future if I have enough power, without having to have new ones made. This means I need a larger opening than would be required if Stevant or one of the others with a similar rig were to measure for me so I don't think there is a super simple way to determine. I don't have the hardware yet for bolting my tie rods to the crank arms so that also doesn't help. I suppose that's probably the first purchase I should make to further the project eh?
Also, I'm super happy that while I was neglecting my build @ga-DAWG created an awesome step by step thread for me to follow and save me from having to ask a lot of questions!
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 6, 2016 14:54:16 GMT
Alright here is a pic of the current state of things, don't mind the mess ;P Next step is to disassemble and cut the holes for the crank arm wells and make holes for wiring and bolting to the stands then paint the panels. After that I plan to install/modify my floor stands and attach them to the floor before reassembly in the vain hope that I might not have to do a full disassembly again! Then it will be time to build and wire things up, and make a temporary wood upper frame for testing. I estimate I still need another $1,500 to $2,000 worth of parts I don't yet have funds for so I will stall out at some point but the biggest chunk of that is braking resistors which if I recall I can get up and running without. I also need sensors, all the wiring, hardware, a welded metal top frame, and other assorted items. I'll post pics as I progress.
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Post by paulg100 on Aug 6, 2016 17:06:07 GMT
Hi
Are you planning to use this with a screen or VR?
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 7, 2016 7:11:40 GMT
I'm all about the VR! I've got an Oculus Rift CV1 just dying to have motion added to the mix =).
I don't know how much it's in my head but especially playing DIRT Rally I am hyper aware of the fact that motion is the one thing missing, it's an awesome experience by itself but it's that one last HUGE missing ingredient!
I sure do wish Oculus would give us accelerometer/gyro correction for motion sims but they have said publicly that they aren't interested in bothering with that at this point. I know it's a super small niche within an already arguably niche market but VR and motion is such an obvious and powerful combo that you'd think with the funding they have they could put one or two guys on it for a week or two and get it done. They don't even need to provide hardware, just give us the software side!
Irregardless there are a number of people using the Rift CV1 and DK2 with Stewart rigs and they say that the lack of motion correction is only a nuisance and not a serious issue. Your brain mostly cancels it out.
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Post by paulg100 on Aug 7, 2016 8:25:17 GMT
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Post by mhensen on Aug 7, 2016 9:22:24 GMT
I'm all about the VR! I've got an Oculus Rift CV1 just dying to have motion added to the mix =). I don't know how much it's in my head but especially playing DIRT Rally I am hyper aware of the fact that motion is the one thing missing, it's an awesome experience by itself but it's that one last HUGE missing ingredient! I sure do wish Oculus would give us accelerometer/gyro correction for motion sims but they have said publicly that they aren't interested in bothering with that at this point. I know it's a super small niche within an already arguably niche market but VR and motion is such an obvious and powerful combo that you'd think with the funding they have they could put one or two guys on it for a week or two and get it done. They don't even need to provide hardware, just give us the software side! Irregardless there are a number of people using the Rift CV1 and DK2 with Stewart rigs and they say that the lack of motion correction is only a nuisance and not a serious issue. Your brain mostly cancels it out. I am running the Oculus CV1 in the motion sim.. and it does really feel super.. besides a 'sinking view' in the cockpit! The only problem you are probably focusing on is the fact that you get lower in the car along the ride. on the xsimulator forum they mentioned the same problem for 6dof rigs exactly as mine.. 'sinking into the car'. The blame is the roll motion.. I have tested it and disabled the roll and started driving and that sinking was gone.. Now I have a 3 axis camera gimbal coming in next week and will compensate the roll so that the oculus camera stays 'leveled'.. the Pitch and heave is no problem, so you would only need to have the roll axis compensated and keep that leveled.. As soon as I have tested it I will let you guys know if things got better or not! but based on some tests I think this would work! For now I have a 'recenter view' button close at the thumb and still love to drive all the fast cars I would never be able to otherwise (with 6dof on).. But running a 'race' is not really possible dus to the many 'recenters' I need to give... Also note that to 'trick' your mind with 6dof and oculus together you need swift motions, not long sweeping motions, that would make you quite sick :-) I rather have all the axis on 50% range and set the online speed of the controller at 80 (instead of 50). But of course this is a personal opinion.. but on the higher speed and the smaller axis range you really can pump up motions like heave,surge and pitch, so you can bump your head against the headrest on shifting gears.. :-) Add a bass shaker under the seat to complete the small vibrations.. If I have the gimbal installed and it is working as I expect it to work I will shoot a video. Hopefully the video clarifies what I try to tell. With king regards, Michael
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 8, 2016 5:03:34 GMT
Sweet, I knew I'd been directed to cheaper braking resistors here but hadn't gone and refreshed my memory as to how much cheaper! My inverters are the same Hitachi's a bunch of others have used, but I'll check before I order (resistors will be last since I can build and test without them. From what I remember I was told my platform will work ok without them even, but perform better with.
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 8, 2016 5:22:52 GMT
I'm all about the VR! I've got an Oculus Rift CV1 just dying to have motion added to the mix =). I don't know how much it's in my head but especially playing DIRT Rally I am hyper aware of the fact that motion is the one thing missing, it's an awesome experience by itself but it's that one last HUGE missing ingredient! I sure do wish Oculus would give us accelerometer/gyro correction for motion sims but they have said publicly that they aren't interested in bothering with that at this point. I know it's a super small niche within an already arguably niche market but VR and motion is such an obvious and powerful combo that you'd think with the funding they have they could put one or two guys on it for a week or two and get it done. They don't even need to provide hardware, just give us the software side! Irregardless there are a number of people using the Rift CV1 and DK2 with Stewart rigs and they say that the lack of motion correction is only a nuisance and not a serious issue. Your brain mostly cancels it out. I am running the Oculus CV1 in the motion sim.. and it does really feel super.. besides a 'sinking view' in the cockpit! The only problem you are probably focusing on is the fact that you get lower in the car along the ride. on the xsimulator forum they mentioned the same problem for 6dof rigs exactly as mine.. 'sinking into the car'. The blame is the roll motion.. I have tested it and disabled the roll and started driving and that sinking was gone.. Now I have a 3 axis camera gimbal coming in next week and will compensate the roll so that the oculus camera stays 'leveled'.. the Pitch and heave is no problem, so you would only need to have the roll axis compensated and keep that leveled.. As soon as I have tested it I will let you guys know if things got better or not! but based on some tests I think this would work! For now I have a 'recenter view' button close at the thumb and still love to drive all the fast cars I would never be able to otherwise (with 6dof on).. But running a 'race' is not really possible dus to the many 'recenters' I need to give... Also note that to 'trick' your mind with 6dof and oculus together you need swift motions, not long sweeping motions, that would make you quite sick :-) I rather have all the axis on 50% range and set the online speed of the controller at 80 (instead of 50). But of course this is a personal opinion.. but on the higher speed and the smaller axis range you really can pump up motions like heave,surge and pitch, so you can bump your head against the headrest on shifting gears.. :-) Add a bass shaker under the seat to complete the small vibrations.. If I have the gimbal installed and it is working as I expect it to work I will shoot a video. Hopefully the video clarifies what I try to tell. With king regards, Michael This is very interesting, and leaves me a bit confused. The only way I can see this working is if the Rift camera actually does give input on rotational movement which I didn't think it did at all. Very clever of you to find this solution if it works, and I'm very much looking forward to hearing your results. Also, I'm about to crank up my machine and make my wife tilt my Rift camera around =P. I actually asked in the Rift forums if it would be possible to use the camera exclusively for tracking by software disabling the on-board sensors so they are ignored and letting the camera provide info on rotations instead (it works for TrackIR right?) and they said it would be too inaccurate and have too high latency. Also I expected the problem would be pitch just as much as roll, and yaw being a nuisance as well. Glad to hear it's less than that.
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 8, 2016 5:29:26 GMT
Where the heck is the manual for the AMC1280 USB!? I saw someone in the shoutbox said on the blog half way down but I stared at that page for over 15 minutes and didn't find it. I also looked in the forum post that says the manual is inside and didn't find it there.
I need to figure out how much shielded wire I need (for the 6DOF expansion board too), but will need full wiring instructions later.
I have a big roll of 18/6 security system wire which will save me a good chunk of money if it's good for my sensors etc.! It has a foil shielding inside the plastic, so should be good as long as 18 gauge isn't too small, anyone know if 18 gauge will be adequate?
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Post by paulg100 on Aug 8, 2016 7:19:57 GMT
yes 18 is fine
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Post by Trip Rodriguez on Aug 8, 2016 8:52:21 GMT
paulg100 Sweet! This means the money saved on that can go toward getting other components sooner than expected! It just occurred to me that it might be allowable to invert the gearboxes so I checked the manual and it's a go! This means more clearance so tie rods are much less likely to ever contact the motors like happened to GA-DAWG and also means I only need 3.5" spacers to mount them directly to the floor and not have to make the wells in the raised floor I planned. Not needing to cut openings in the floor to clear the crank arms and tie rods simplifies things a LOT and also means I can easily use the super heavy duty steel bolt down floor tiles I originally hoped to use. The only down side of course is the platform will be 2 inches or so higher off the floor. Question: Does the software have an option to "park" the platform with the crank arms in the straight down position to make it easier to climb on? Thanks again guys, I'm surprised at how quickly answers are coming =) Also I copy/pasted the following from where I originally posted it on @ga-DAWG 's thread just in case some of you might see it sooner: I'm a bit concerned about certain dimensions and don't find the info without doing a bunch of figuring and math subject to error.
1. Rods- My rods (purchased nearly 2 years ago) are 22 1/4 inches long from center to center. The main thing I'd have thought a possible problem would have been clearance to the motors but I'm going to invert my gearboxes which should give me lots of clearance there. Still I would really like more info on rod length: Is 25" the ideal rod length or was it selected for another reason? Would this affect the effective final drive ratio (via change to total mechanical advantage)? I assume it would affect max angle and interference with the motors/gearboxes but no idea of the math required to understand the relationships between these things.
My brain says that longer rods would give a larger range of motion but have less mechanical advantage but I'm not sure that is right. If so my crank arms longest setting (of 4 holes) is about 6.25" which I think is longer than most others have used with similar builds so I might be able to make it up there if having shorter rods but longer arms doesn't have any kind of significant down side.
2. Base dimensions- I set up my base layout over a year and a half ago but it's not too late to change it but I'm having a hard time finding raw dimensions which is what I need since my base is a different design. Right now my shafts center to center are 35 11/16" on each pair. I'm re-drilling the holes anyway so I can adjust them to 36" exactly if needed but it might mean another hour or two of measuring and head scratching =P. I also need another dimension before I drill. Right now, between the tips of my shafts on center are 19" (see attached image) when measuring from one gearbox to the nearest gearbox in the next pair. Is that correct? How critical is this dimension? Just to explain why I'm complicating things my gearboxes have significantly different dimensions than yours and look to have longer shafts as well. Also my base is a flat platform I'm drilling holes in rather than a frame.
Thanks for all the help!Attachments:
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Post by paulg100 on Aug 8, 2016 12:06:36 GMT
"Does the software have an option to "park" the platform with the crank arms in the straight down position to make it easier to climb on?"
yes
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