Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2010
- Posts
- 2,597
Let me know when you're selling wheels. I'll buy one if you price reasonably 
Zee Sim Rig
- Thread starter Zeeflyboy
- Start date
Hah, reasonable is subjective!
It's always been a problem with this sort of stuff - if you are going to mass produce something it's pretty easy to get things down to a good price and a good margin. Making small batches or one offs is comparatively very time consuming, and of course time is one of the most valuable commodities of all!
For example it's why this base rig itself just isn't viable really as anything other than an endeavour of love, if I assigned even a measly £15 an hour for my time which is ridiculously low it would price itself out of the market. People in general aren't willing to pay for the time required, a problem my friend that makes bespoke furniture encounters regularly - many can't seem to understand why a bespoke wardrobe made by an artisan (him, I'm not referring to myself as an artisan lol) costs more than the one they can get down Ikea with a side of meatballs.
Anyhoo, Mostly finished the design now including quick connect and charging port on the rear - I welcome any feedback before it progresses to full realisation!
It's always been a problem with this sort of stuff - if you are going to mass produce something it's pretty easy to get things down to a good price and a good margin. Making small batches or one offs is comparatively very time consuming, and of course time is one of the most valuable commodities of all!
For example it's why this base rig itself just isn't viable really as anything other than an endeavour of love, if I assigned even a measly £15 an hour for my time which is ridiculously low it would price itself out of the market. People in general aren't willing to pay for the time required, a problem my friend that makes bespoke furniture encounters regularly - many can't seem to understand why a bespoke wardrobe made by an artisan (him, I'm not referring to myself as an artisan lol) costs more than the one they can get down Ikea with a side of meatballs.
Anyhoo, Mostly finished the design now including quick connect and charging port on the rear - I welcome any feedback before it progresses to full realisation!
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Caporegime
- Joined
- 13 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 26,152
Fantastic work here. A showcase of talent, design, execution and perseverance.
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2010
- Posts
- 2,597
Oh I hear you. What you're producing would cost thousands to make. I'm sully aware. It all looks exceptional.
So I wanted to do a few tweaks to the design which annoyingly meant another 17hr+ print!
I laser cut some faceplates for prototyping, actually quite like the wood look lol
New on left, old on right. You can see where the BlueHID control board sits.
Prototype faceplates (want to make sure positions are all good before committing to CF plate)
Also made some good progress on the magnetic shifters, but just waiting for a couple of parts so will show those in a couple of days
I laser cut some faceplates for prototyping, actually quite like the wood look lol
New on left, old on right. You can see where the BlueHID control board sits.
Prototype faceplates (want to make sure positions are all good before committing to CF plate)
Also made some good progress on the magnetic shifters, but just waiting for a couple of parts so will show those in a couple of days
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Got delivery of some bits today!
Some nice switches and encoders:
Printed some button guards and fitted to test the ergonomics... pretty happy so will probably make the proper faceplate soon.
Also did a render of the final version so I have a visual target!
The parts I was waiting for for the shifters arrived too. Very happy with it for a v1 and probably not too much to change.... The big screw at the back is the adjustable end stop but will be replaced with a grub screw when they arrive so won't be visible. Satisfying to use!
Bonus video:
Also as a fun diversion (because I don't have enough to be getting on with lol), I made my boy a mini compound bow on the 3d printer... it's actually a little beast and I think i'm going to win irresponsible father of the year award.
Some nice switches and encoders:
Printed some button guards and fitted to test the ergonomics... pretty happy so will probably make the proper faceplate soon.
Also did a render of the final version so I have a visual target!
The parts I was waiting for for the shifters arrived too. Very happy with it for a v1 and probably not too much to change.... The big screw at the back is the adjustable end stop but will be replaced with a grub screw when they arrive so won't be visible. Satisfying to use!
Bonus video:
Also as a fun diversion (because I don't have enough to be getting on with lol), I made my boy a mini compound bow on the 3d printer... it's actually a little beast and I think i'm going to win irresponsible father of the year award.
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Decided the ABS needed a bit more chutzpah, I've burnt out 2 trying to get sufficient feedback, so after some searching I came across this 40w puck from Dayton Audio... the one it replaces is 25w
I had to make a small mounting adaptor for it as the way it mounts is different, and it's not quite as pretty but hopefully the feedback will be better - will give it a try this eve!
Those are amazing pedals!
Thanks
So first things first, after handling the prototype I made a few changes to the knobs, making them slightly larger and easier to use. Here's the render with the new parts
Managed to get a bit of work done today. Firstl I made a battery holder mount for the BlueHID board:
Filling and smoothing the 3d prints is a bit time consuming but does make for a much nicer end product
Cut the CF plates:
I also remade the shifter side frames in CF:
So here's where it is at for now, still needs some clean up (and need some black screws!) :
So first things first, after handling the prototype I made a few changes to the knobs, making them slightly larger and easier to use. Here's the render with the new parts
Managed to get a bit of work done today. Firstl I made a battery holder mount for the BlueHID board:
Filling and smoothing the 3d prints is a bit time consuming but does make for a much nicer end product
Cut the CF plates:
I also remade the shifter side frames in CF:
So here's where it is at for now, still needs some clean up (and need some black screws!) :
Associate
Very impressive, really looks the business.
Thanks!
Just wanted to show off the finish after a rub down and wax, I think this probably ranks among my best rattle can paint jobs to date so I’m chuffed with that.
A lot of work though with sanding, filler, sanding, filler primer, sanding, primer, top coat, laquer!
In other news, I just recently took delivery of a thanos motion controller... seat belt tensioner will follow and later when I have some cash to burn the thanos will expand to give me full motion support. Exciting times!
Just wanted to show off the finish after a rub down and wax, I think this probably ranks among my best rattle can paint jobs to date so I’m chuffed with that.
A lot of work though with sanding, filler, sanding, filler primer, sanding, primer, top coat, laquer!
In other news, I just recently took delivery of a thanos motion controller... seat belt tensioner will follow and later when I have some cash to burn the thanos will expand to give me full motion support. Exciting times!
Wheel is basically done, all wired up and working too.
There are a couple of things that still need work - not entirely happy with the button surrounds so will remake those and also need to sort the hat switch surround, but good enough for now!
Old wheel vs new wheel:
Next up will be working on the new belt tensioner system!
There are a couple of things that still need work - not entirely happy with the button surrounds so will remake those and also need to sort the hat switch surround, but good enough for now!
Old wheel vs new wheel:
Next up will be working on the new belt tensioner system!
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2010
- Posts
- 2,597
It's beautiful, a work of art.
Thanks chaps
Yeah very happy with how it came out, now I just need a direct drive base to mate it with lol. I do have an adaptor I printed out to fit it to the thrust master base, but keen for an upgrade at some point.
The magnetic shifters are a revelation compared to the mushy spring shifters on the Thrustmaster, one of those things where you don’t really realise what you are missing until you try something better.
Yeah very happy with how it came out, now I just need a direct drive base to mate it with lol. I do have an adaptor I printed out to fit it to the thrust master base, but keen for an upgrade at some point.
The magnetic shifters are a revelation compared to the mushy spring shifters on the Thrustmaster, one of those things where you don’t really realise what you are missing until you try something better.
Thanks, very kind as ever!
With my Thanos and first 80ST servo motor arriving recently I have been scratching the old noodle about how to build a compact belt tensioner system using such a chunky motor.... this is what I've come up with. Let me know what you guys think! It incorporates a 7:1 planetary gearbox I designed, which should give a slightly scary amount of strangling power when pulling the harness. To prevent untimely demise from an autoerotic asphyxiation incident, I’ve built in some mechanical end stops in the form of those steel rods which prevents the system from being able to tighten past the ~50mm of total travel if anything goes doolally.
With my Thanos and first 80ST servo motor arriving recently I have been scratching the old noodle about how to build a compact belt tensioner system using such a chunky motor.... this is what I've come up with. Let me know what you guys think! It incorporates a 7:1 planetary gearbox I designed, which should give a slightly scary amount of strangling power when pulling the harness. To prevent untimely demise from an autoerotic asphyxiation incident, I’ve built in some mechanical end stops in the form of those steel rods which prevents the system from being able to tighten past the ~50mm of total travel if anything goes doolally.
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So finished the design for the belt tensioner with a few tweaks, I've also made a few little modifications with a view to being able to add acceleration surge in later using the same unit with either a mechanical or hydraulic pad in the back of the seat to apply pressure to the back when accelerating.
Here is a semi-translucent view so you can see the inner workings of the integrated planetary gearbox:
And here are the parts so far:
I've also made a few other parts but waiting fort some things to arrive in the post before I can assemble.
In other news I've also designed a piggyback damper system for the clutch pedal to give a more hydraulic feel to the motion, helps stop it springing back too fast
Here is a semi-translucent view so you can see the inner workings of the integrated planetary gearbox:
And here are the parts so far:
I've also made a few other parts but waiting fort some things to arrive in the post before I can assemble.
In other news I've also designed a piggyback damper system for the clutch pedal to give a more hydraulic feel to the motion, helps stop it springing back too fast
Associate
loving your work dude... nice
Cheers!
So who is good at physics?
Rated torque of the motor is 2.39Nm, I have a 10:1 gear reduction now which should I believe give 23.9Nm... The arms of the belt tensioner are at 70mm from centre of rotation, so I believe that gives 23.9/0.07 = 340N of force at that point, or the equivalent of 34kg
Assuming my rusty Physics memory is still correct If we look at peak torque that's 7.1Nm which translates to 71/0.07 = 1014N of force or 101.4Kg pulling on the belt. So in theory at least given my body mass this belt tensioner should be capable of simulating around 1.2g of deceleration at peak torque with sustained levels a more sane 0.4g or so.
Now the really important question - how much force do we reckon it takes to snap a collar bone?
Here are some pics of progress. I'm awaiting the motor mount itself before I can bolt it to the seat (hence the gap you can see between the motor and the gear unit). I also need to make an idler pulley to tighten up the belt a touch and make the carbon fibre cross plate but other than that it's all done.
In other news, I decided to sell a small portion of my crypto stash from a few years back, so have freed up some toy funds to pay for a VRS directforce pro wheelbase (when they come back into stock
) and enough left over to cover the costs of building 4x actuators for full motion.... exciting times!
So who is good at physics?
Rated torque of the motor is 2.39Nm, I have a 10:1 gear reduction now which should I believe give 23.9Nm... The arms of the belt tensioner are at 70mm from centre of rotation, so I believe that gives 23.9/0.07 = 340N of force at that point, or the equivalent of 34kg
Assuming my rusty Physics memory is still correct If we look at peak torque that's 7.1Nm which translates to 71/0.07 = 1014N of force or 101.4Kg pulling on the belt. So in theory at least given my body mass this belt tensioner should be capable of simulating around 1.2g of deceleration at peak torque with sustained levels a more sane 0.4g or so.
Now the really important question - how much force do we reckon it takes to snap a collar bone?
Here are some pics of progress. I'm awaiting the motor mount itself before I can bolt it to the seat (hence the gap you can see between the motor and the gear unit). I also need to make an idler pulley to tighten up the belt a touch and make the carbon fibre cross plate but other than that it's all done.
In other news, I decided to sell a small portion of my crypto stash from a few years back, so have freed up some toy funds to pay for a VRS directforce pro wheelbase (when they come back into stock
) and enough left over to cover the costs of building 4x actuators for full motion.... exciting times!