Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )

[RCHeliguy]

My rig has likely reached a hardware plateau for a little while.

Ordered a couple more exciters to bring my total to 6.

 

[OlaGB]

I promised to test with and without the linear bearing to show whether it was necessary or helpful.
I think this 30 second video shows pretty conclusively what that answer is.

Stock Ultimate+ cushions pressing to about 60kg or so.

I tested the following:
1. Weak Spring ( Yellow )
2. Strong Spring ( Red )
3. Weak Spring with linear bearing support

I probably should have dropped the rig rather than have it up on casters when I did this. You can see the rig wobble a bit and that wouldn't normally happen.

You can also see that the Ultimate+ stock brake pedal cushions do offer a reasonable amount of travel. They have soft cushions that will increase travel by another 40% or so.

This was a really nice improvement, would be interested to hear youre thoughts on how you sense the tactile difference from not braking to pushing brakes.. I’m expecting the linear bearing to have enough friction that the springs wont do just as good a job, but might not be too bad?

A bit complicated to build, but looks good!

 

[RCHeliguy]

This was a really nice improvement, would be interested to hear youre thoughts on how you sense the tactile difference from not braking to pushing brakes.. I’m expecting the linear bearing to have enough friction that the springs wont do just as good a job, but might not be too bad?

A bit complicated to build, but looks good!

If I have 100% braking, that is typically not for a very long time and it's in a straight line. "Typically" the only effect I might feel is ABS or a bit of wheel slide. I haven't done serious testing with this yet, but I do feel a lot more through my pedals than I did before since they are now part of the moving system. Engine rpm comes through the throttle pedal much better.

I can definitely feel a lot while trail braking that I didn't feel before.

Under strong braking some effects come through stronger than others and that may be friction based, but the transducers are pretty strong and as I mentioned in another reply the co-efficient of friction for the UHMW linear bearings is less than 0.13. So the transducers only need to overcome the equivalent of about 18lbs of friction when I'm at 100% brake pressure and less when I'm not. When trail braking it is only a few pounds.

Suggesting I could just add power was wrong, because at all other times when I'm not braking hard I don't want it to feel over powered.

I need more testing. Obviously the dynamics have changed between having a tactile foot plate and a tactile pedal deck.

 

[Slick Trickle]

RC, I've enjoyed this long thread, but so far I've only made it to around 70 page mark. It's like reading a long novel, but with glorious pictures. I've been on the fence about getting the Prusa 3D printer for some time now, especially after seeing all of the different items one can build. I am 54 yrs old and retired in the U.S. I'm no engineer, but I do have a nephew who went to Purdue and a friend who attended Rose-Hulman Jokes aside, if you had to do it all again, would you still buy the same Prusa 3D printer or spend more on a bigger faster 3D printer? Did you ever think about buying another Prusa so you could print a couple things at once?

 

[RCHeliguy]

RC, I've enjoyed this long thread, but so far I've only made it to around 70 page mark. It's like reading a long novel, but with glorious pictures. I've been on the fence about getting the Prusa 3D printer for some time now, especially after seeing all of the different items one can build. I am 54 yrs old and retired in the U.S. I'm no engineer, but I do have a nephew who went to Purdue and a friend who attended Rose-Hulman Jokes aside, if you had to do it all again, would you still buy the same Prusa 3D printer or spend more on a bigger faster 3D printer? Did you ever think about buying another Prusa so you could print a couple things at once?

I've been very happy with my Prusa printer. It seems like it has been "just right" in terms of size and capabilities. It has been incredibly reliable and a real work horse.

Even though Prusa has a very cool more expensive printer coming, I don't have any need to justify that purchase, but I am glad I got the i3 vs the mini.

There have been times when I wished I had more than one printer, but I haven't been impatient enough to buy a 2nd printer.

 

[Ruttman98]

Mark,

Your energy and passion make me exhilarared AND exhausted!

It took me more than an hour to install isolator springs under my seat mounts and to tighten my old Thrustmaster TX tighened for a test run before sale.

Your videos are appreciated and valued. They are cautionary tales as well as they clearly show how one thing leads to another in rig mods and the amount of time required.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Beware the lure of the simrig children!

 

[KnIgHtCoM]

Ordered a couple more exciters to bring my total to 6.

What amp are you going to use to power the extra set?

 

[RCHeliguy]

What amp are you going to use to power the extra set?

I'm just putting them in series with my bottom two exciters.

If I want more channels, then I need another sound card, and another amp/dsp.

 

[anton_Chez]

Took me all weekend to do my seat and pedal dampers plus the plate. Was an absolute nightmare but it's just coming back to being as I want it now. All things need readjusting and realigning once you move the seat.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Through drilled the rear 40x40 and now have 4 large M8 T-bolts running through the profile instead of the joining plate on top. A bit cleaner looking.

Replaced a piece of far too long 40x80 with a shorter piece. Looks a bit cleaner too.

 

[KnIgHtCoM]

The through bolts look much cleaner. The square joining plate on top was bothering me with the aesthetics.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The through bolts look much cleaner. The square joining plate on top was bothering me with the aesthetics.

I agree. I would have just ordered a piece of 40x160, but 8020.net doesn't have them. SimLab has them for a reasonable price, but the shipping was $85 for about a $50 part. There are a couple places I could order them from, but I didn't bother to get a quote for the parts. I'm sure I'll eventually order one, but it doesn't look bad right now, so I'll stick with this for the short term.

 

[KnIgHtCoM]

I've been ordering profiles recently from a vendor in China. They carry 160 if you're interested. Cost ends up being cheaper than 8020 even after shipping, but there's delays in logistics right now due to the Covid lockdowns.

 

[RCHeliguy]

If the quality is good, feel free to share the link. Others may appreciate it as well.

 

[Ruttman98]

If the quality is good, feel free to share the link. Others may appreciate it as well.

Ditto!

 

[KnIgHtCoM]

Buy Products Online from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com

Send them a message for custom size cuts. They also can CNC aluminum plates and anodize most parts in black.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Wow! That was a huge mistake!
I didn't realize that I had my linear bearings backwards.

All those eyes on my project and none of you noticed that all the stress was on a couple little side notches! The large flat surface that is supposed to support the load was on the wrong side and not even engaged. I would have worn out those little 1/4" side tabs and it would have developed play!

All better now no thanks to all of you!

I had to flip the bearings and the top mounts to opposite sides to get it to fit.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm hoping it's obvious I was going for humor with that last post.

To be clear I did make a mistake initially installing my bearing backwards, but that's all on me.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Packing up my Sprints, plates, HRS pedal faces, etc.. to go to a new home
I did my best to put them back to factory settings. Including bolts/T-nuts for direct profile mounting and beveled bolts/locknuts and M8 quick releases for plate use. Hopefully they will make someone else happy for many years.