Racing rig extrusion and bracket supplier in central europe

[Lesthegringo]

Guys, sometime in the new year I want to try and make a second rig to allow me to keep my Flight Sim A10 cockpit rig assembled and working, as it is getting to be a pain having to constantly reconnect everything during swaps between race sim and flight sim.

I'm happy to leave the existing rig as a flight sim, and construct a purpose built one for the race, and since I no longer have access to my TiG welder am considering making one from the aluminium extrusions that seems to be favoured by a lot of people.

Due to the constraints of space I have, I would prefer to design and construct a bespoke one to fit my circumstances, and Ihave a CAD program that helps with that. What I don't have is the knowledge of a supplier of the extrusion here in central Europe, and of course the brackets (I presume they are die cast?) that link the extrusions together. If anyone can point me to someone who can supply and deliver lengths of extrusion and the appropriate brackets I would be grateful. If there is a site that has the sizes and specs of the extrusion and brackets I would also like to where to find it so that I can make CAD drawings for Solidworks.

Cheers

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

Looks great!

Fusion 360?

Les

 

[NeoGrotesk]

Yeah Fusion 360, still getting the hang of it but it's good fun.

 

[Lesthegringo]

I've been trying to switch to F360, but the fact that they don't allow me to import all my solidworks files means that I have a huge amount of work to do just to get to where I am already. Solidworks is clunky and a bit buggy, but I end up being able to make what I need using it, even if it doesn't look anywhere near as nice in the renders.

I was searching the net for some information of what's inside those cheap tachos and gauges, but drew a blank. That means I'll have to wait a few weeks while ones that I get off Amazon or fleabay get here. Nonetheless, I'm pretty confident that I can make a working binnacle that would fit between a wheel and the DD1 base. I have a nice suede Momo wheel, and with one of these https://www.simracingmachines.com/WebShop/fanatec-csw-base-wheel-emulator
I should be able to connect it all up. Since the F312T4 has an H pattern gearbox, I don't need as much space between the wheel and dash.

Well, that's the theory, anyway!

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

Just noticed that you have what looks like the NLR V3 base underneath your seat - I have that too, and was going to dismantle everything to get it out and measure it up for modelling in CAD. I don't suppose you have a 3D model I could cadge off you...?!

Cheers

Les

 

[NeoGrotesk]

I'm afraid I cheated with that and just made a box with chamfered edges! I got the dimensions from the manual online.

 

[NeoGrotesk]

Taking my rig apart because we're moving house soon, figured I'd take the back off the cheap tacho I have in case the photo is any use to you?

 

[Lesthegringo]

Yeah, very helpful - it's obvious that the real stuff is in the lowest PCB, and the rest is just stacked

Thanks indeed!

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

Well, my wife has certainly given me food for thought. She knows that I enjoy making all this stuff and designing the rigs and components but quite astutely she has pointed out that I spend (read 'waste') a lot of time doing stuff myself that already exists out there. The tachometer is a case in point, studying the SimHub stuff and this video

shows me that 90% of it is all done for me, and if I want it to look like a particular car's dash, that is simple cosmetics. Basically, she says stop ****ing around with stuff you don't need to and concentrate on the bits that don't exist or are specific to my needs.

Good point, well made.

On the subject of the rig frame, where I have shown her what I want to do (after all I do have to seek permission, I know my place in this household...) she continues by saying 'why are you designing it? Why not buy a kit like all the sensible people do'. I argue that I can make it cheaper by designing it myself, to which she replies that I always end up spending more in dribs and drabs because you realise you need something else or miscalculated, whereas the kit has all you need. Not only that, but by getting a good quality kit with positive recommendations, you may pay more initially, but you spend less in the end and will be happier with it.

Again, good point, well made. I knew I married her for a reason.

So I have the green light to get something a bit better than my initial plans. I have seen the Sim-Labs P1-X, and am rather drawn to it, but am a little confused by what comes with it. I see that you can specify the side mounts for the DD1 but am not certain if the wheel deck or front mount also can accommodate the DD1. I also saw a video where there were mounts for the NLR V3 seat base but want to know if they can only be fitted at the top, as it seems to make everything very tall. Can they be mounted upside down to drop the V3 down a couple of inches?

So if anyone has experience with this, I would like to know how you have dealt with these issues. I'm not in a hurry, I'd targeted after Christmas for this anyway but would like to make sure I get what I need rather than have a load of bits left over!

Cheers

Les

 

[NeoGrotesk]

With the rig, I'm afraid don't know about the p1x (I have the gt1 evo) but send Darko at sim-labs an email with any queries. It'll take him a few days to get back to you because they're constantly busy but honestly their support is fantastic.

 

[Lesthegringo]

Thanks, sent a mail in asking about it, it will be interesting what they reply. Seems to be a generally positive vibe about them with the only negative comments they attracted being with regard to shipping times, which in the current climate is no surprise.

The mountplate version looks like it should handle both wheel bases from the spec, but I'm confirming that it is without the need to drill

Les

 

[REDRANGERPWNZ]

As for the supplier of extrusion I can recommend Alvaris from Czech Republic. They produce profiles themselves.

Profile Range 8 | Alváris Profile Systems

www.alvaris.eu

Accessories Range 8 | Alváris Profile Systems

www.alvaris.eu

 

[Lesthegringo]

Thanks, will check them out!

Cheers

Les

 

[Petterio]

As for the supplier of extrusion I can recommend Alvaris from Czech Republic. They produce profiles themselves.

Profile Range 8 | Alváris Profile Systems

www.alvaris.eu

Accessories Range 8 | Alváris Profile Systems

www.alvaris.eu

Do they sell straight to consumers? I tried to look for a way to order some accessories but couldn't find one - might be of course the fact that I'm not from any of the listed countries...

 

[REDRANGERPWNZ]

Do they sell straight to consumers? I tried to look for a way to order some accessories but couldn't find one - might be of course the fact that I'm not from any of the listed countries...

They do, contact Szymon Zacharko <szymon.zacharko@alvaris.eu>
Ask him if they ship to other countries in EU.

 

[Lesthegringo]

Guys, some feedback from Sim-Labs

They confirmed the wheeldeck can accommodate both the CSL elite base and the DD1 /2 bases without any work or drilling.

They also showed some ways to mount the V3 in such a way that it sits lower, and reconfirms the very adaptable and flexible nature of the kit; I would be foolish to look beyond it, even if it is not the cheapest option, and the speed and quality of the responses from them really do inspire confidence.

I will start another thread about it anyway, but am interested in any comments on what would be considered 'must have' accessories for the frame kit

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

After a lot of procrastinating and faffing about I finally made a start on the external tacho binnacle for my rig. These pics are just work in progress, but hopefully should have it finished in a few days time

Unfortunately two ancilliary gauges are not properly supported, but I'm wondering if the Fuel gauge can be made to export using simhub, and the water temp. It would be worth trying to get that working

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

A bit further with this, now got to sort out the gauge glass and tidy up the wiring. Happily both the temp and fuel gauges work

 

[Lesthegringo]

All working nicely now, tacho gauge glass in and the wiring tidied up at the back. I 3D printed some better covers for the small gauge mechanisms, plus some standoffs and brackets for the PCBs and Arduino board. I have to still make a better solution for the 12v supply line.

For those who struggle to make a single LED gear shift light due to Simhub not supporting single LEDs, the tacho came with one that can be set independently of the Arduino, and it took literally two minutes to adapt it for use; you can see the 12mm red LED poking through the fascia, it works great.

Lastly, note that if you are setting up 3 gauges off one Arduino Nano like I did, what pins you choose for the PWM output seems to be fussier than it first looks. The only PWM capable pins are 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 & 11. Using other pins can cause problems, and I also found that pin 3 could not be made to work no matter what. If you are finding your gauge acts strangely, or seems all or nothing, check out which pins you are using and maybe try another

 

[Lesthegringo]

A little more for this now, I designed and 3D printed this steering wheel boss cover with a Ferrari Logo on it for the cannibalised G25 wheel I'm temporarily using until my Momo wheel gets here. The G25 wheel is coupled to one of SRM's Fanatec wheel emulators, which I'm just using as a 'dumb' wheel with no buttons on it as per the ones the old 70's and early 80's cars had. SRM's emulator works brilliantly, thoroughly recommended and a sight cheaper that Fanatec's own super-over-engineered 'universal' adapter.

The boss cover needs a lick of black paint plus the logo painting properly to finish it, but I'm really happy with the result. A Lotus 79 dash and wheel cover is next on the list!

 

[Lesthegringo]

Forgot to mention, I finally got the Sim-Labs P1-X rig, it was delivered a couple of weeks ago. What do I think of it...? Well, I can't say as it is still sitting in the five boxes in which it came as just before it arrived I was notified that I will be moving again. When I get to the next destination I will go through it and probably write up my thoughts on it.

Les