Want to help make some of the best DIY rigs around so that we all benefit? Want to give back to the community? Interested in open source? SimCraft makes what are probably the most realistic full-motion racing simulators out there. They used to have a DIY arm where you could build your own from plans they supplied and then use their motion simulation software. I've been working with them to open source their old DIY rig designs (hardware). These are full-motion simulator cockpits made with 80/20 T-slot aluminum. I have some of the files as we speak, but a bunch of clean-up is needed to get the 3-degrees-of-freedom (3DOF) design to a point where it's easily usable by anyone. The community effort is initially focused on the hardware side of this design, but eventually, it would be great to develop an open-source software control to drive the motion. If you have any CAD skills, are interested in writing documentation/assembly instructions, have web design skills, or are interested in building/testing the cockpit designs, let me know! You can PM me on this forum. If you have questions, please ask in the thread! Open Source is free as in speech, not free as in beer. No one is paid to participate, but everyone is free to reap the benefits. The project homepage is https://opensimcraft.github.io/
Progress update -- We are currently trying to convert the original Sketchup files into something that can be used with FreeCAD. Unfortunately, Sketchup is a mesh-based file and there's no real way to go straight to FreeCAD with components. This means that the entire model likely needs to be redesigned. The first design actually is a 3-degrees-of-freedom (3DOF) chassis. Its specific folder is here: https://github.com/opensimcraft/theta-8020-3dof I need to upload a BOM/spreadsheet later that has all the "parts" and 80/20 machining codes which can be cross-referenced to the original ketchup model All of the 80/20 parts are available as STEP files which can be imported to FreeCAD. I have zero CAD skills (I can barely navigate in a CAD program). There are two other gents who have CAD skills but not the time right now. If you have CAD skills and are interested in helping the project, please hit me up.
