Designing and Building a Full Motion Cockpit

I'm pretty sure they are , this is why some use car batteries it's a very cheap option in comparison to other solutions

Not all motor systems are equal ,
The reason why the SCN series
( usually SCN5 or SCN6's ) are popular is because they each a full servo unit as part of a servo system
-this they'll be no performance issues ( heat fade etc ) mine don't even get warm they are truely incredible , insainly responsive too
(More speed on tap thats needed )

Of course there is a big cost difference , I looked into these various options prior to my build

I use an SX4000 interface this runs x4 SCN6's , a 2nd interface can be used for more actuators for a different type of design , costs add up but the actuators it just plug in & work ( 1 plug into wall no batteries or anything to think about )

I use sim commander software
( both the interface & software is from some perience )
I also use sim-tools software for DCS world ( sim commander for all race sims )

 

The forum allows you to start a "conversation" and invite one or more other people to that conversation. Nobody else except those people can see it.

 

Thank you!! This very interesting.

I would like to setup a private thread for those who wouldn't mind agreeing to not reproducing my cockpit. However I can't seem to figure it out.

 

Sorry I cant make such an agreement. From time to time I meet the head of development of a high-end simulation systems company. After some beer and your maybe great ideas aren't safe.

@Adrianstealth
The motors in the vid are BNIB Parvalux PM-90 Brushed DC Electric Motor. 12V 4000 RPM. 270W
They are very cheap,only ~£25 each. Getting very hot... Needs cooling... I think nobody know how long they will last in such an use case.

I'm very interested in your 4DOF design. 4DOF .. so you simulate yaw, pitch, roll and heave, right? Is your Oculus camera mounted on the moving platform? Does you have/had any problems in combination with the Oculus Rift? I guess you bought your SCN6 at SimXperience?
I'm interested in your design because i think 4DOF is enough for simracing and I don't trust cheap components (longevity, response time ..) May I ask you to post a picture of your motion sim?

 

@vegaguy5555
I didnt wanted to hijack your thread by asking Adrianstealth about details of his motion sim. But i guess - and I think it could be important for your design - the combination of motion sim and the VR headset i think isn't that easy. You would think it is the best to put the Oculus camera at the moving platform as reference. But if you know the inner system of the Oculus Rift, that is, movements in general are detected by accelerometer, gyrometer and magnetometer, the Oculus Rift camera only corrects measurement errors/offsets of these sensors from time to time (slower and longer periods). So it isn't safe to assume all problems are solved by putting the Oculus camera at the motion sims moving part because you could very much influence the accelerometer, gyrometer .. system by your fast motion sim movements. And btw what do you do when the HTC Vive is used as VR HMD?

 

Thanks for your honesty!

I can't post a picture yet. Sorry.

The scale drawings are unique looking so I think I'm on a new line of thought here. It looks nothing at all like the x-sim.

I can't wait to try it!!

There maybe a good reason why it isn't done the way I have worked out? The only way to know for sure is to build one.

I think you're right. There are a lot of cheap actuator alternatives. Thanks guys for product names and numbers.

If I say too much I will lose my funding, which I understand makes it hard to have much of a conversation on a public forum but at the same time I have no one else to ask some of these questions of sim cockpits.

I have started to make a thread many times in the past couple months but couldn't risk saying the wrong thing, until now, out of frustration, I needed to talk to someone who understands sim racing.

Thanks for your help everyone! It really is a big help. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one in the world interested in sim racing and cockpits.

I live in a conservative small farming town with an agricultural college and all my friends think I'm crazy. Everything here is mostly horses, cattle and oil field. In a way you guys are my only friends.

 

That is a very good point. I haven't thought of that.

And don't worry about hijacking my thread. Information is the only thing that is important. My ego comes last or at least that's what I try to keep in mind.

Thank you for your respected insights.

 

I'll take some pics & post them

its actually quite simple -the seat you see in my pic is a rocker motion, its on a base that has pitch
( car pitch for kerb bumps/ track inclines/declines/accerlerate/brake etc) + all is rear traction loss

it works very well, bear in mind its all very slight -lots of quick small movements not something that throws one around much,
the VR cams are mounted separate from the rig/motion which actually adds to the overall effect its incredible

not much movement is needed for a great experience IMO, just low latency quick motion & a good software profile
( of course on a good motion hardware setup )

Vittorio -thanks I thought they were budget type motors , I'm really not sure if I'd be happy with this type of setup as I'm very sensitive to lag and anything that's inconsistent etc ( heat fade or diminishing performance etc ) great budget solution though

 

Vegaguy

good luck with this project, I'm guessing the design your thinking of is no secret, I considered about 7 types of possible motion designs prior to going this route, the only thing I'd consider more if I were doing it again is perhaps using carbon fibre and having the same motion result but through a slightly more compact design ( remember though the less leverage = more loading = less response & more pressure/wear/tear on hardware )

open mind though you could have something completely new & effective

 

@Adrianstealth
Thx for sharing your motion sim design!