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

[mechsicko]

This will work. The molded part is on the left and lightly sanded to remove flashing. After polishing it should look very good.

View attachment 383747

When I flipped the mold, there was a bit of air in the mold.
Since the mold is sealing well, I'm going to mold a straw into the next mold and pour from the back and just tilt the mold to make sure that it the high point. I'll have little nub to sand off, but otherwise it should be perfect at that point.

View attachment 383748

That bubble is probably not from air being trapped but rather a carbon dioxide bubble that formed from atmospheric humidity reacting with the resin though could just be a trapped bubble. Normally casting like this is done in a pressure pot at 60psi though and the only thing you degass is the rubber for the mold, not the resin you're filling it with.

I work at a special effects company these days but also made silicone molds and parts for years before that. Not sure what pigment you're using (you're calling it dye so even less sure) but I highly recommend a product made by SmoothOn called UVO. It's a UV stabilized pigment that's super easy to use and can make fully opaque parts.

I think I saw you're using epoxy but that's a not an ideal resin for this, between shrinkage and its brittle nature. A urethane like Task9 (low shrinkage and very tough) by SmoothOn https://www.smooth-on.com/products/task-9/ or Innovative Polymers equivelant IE3075 http://innovative-polymers.com/images/specs/Classic-Shore-D/IE-3075.pdf would be better.

If you want to maintain precise dimensional control and reduce your finishing process use a 2 piece mold that bottom fills and has risers, this way you only need to cut a few sprues and deal with a few nubs and have professional looking parts. Here's a little album I put together making a mold of a trigger for the left hand Warthog grips I used to sell, demonstrating using Lego for mold walls and how to make a bottom fill mold with a vented riser

https://imgur.com/a/cWC8I

Here's a pressure pot I made for casting out of a pressure pot for painting, which also has a heating element built into it as I was producing year round and needed to control the temp as well as a built in moisture filter which has since been replaced by more traditional desiccant

https://imgur.com/a/RKTky

Also, silicone molds will only last for like 20-40 pulls before it starts getting too tired to yield good parts so you want to take molds of your mold so you can make new production molds as they age if you plan on doing this for any length of time. Lastly, while silicone has natural release properties, it also degrades over time and you need to use some kind of mold release. Mann200 is my preferred product for this. https://www.mann-release.com/products/ease-release/200/#

 

[RCHeliguy]

That bubble is probably not from air being trapped but rather a carbon dioxide bubble that formed from atmospheric humidity reacting with the resin though could just be a trapped bubble.
<snip>

Thanks! Good stuff!

However, I moved on to making tooling and machining the parts out of solid Delrin. I like the look of the machined part much better, I'm also much more comfortable with this process to get the quality that I want. I'm using very high quality bits to do the cutting, drilling and routing and they should last a long time.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I took a detour for my next rig project.

I've been using a remote controlled fan that sits at wheel level in front of my rig for a while, but it requires that I put it up there so there is setup tear down time and I wouldn't mind something quieter.

This is an experiment. The Noctua 200mm x 30mm fan below puts out a respectable amount of air AND since I'm in VR, I can mount it much closer to me since there are no screens to worry about. It's only about 18 dB, so I shouldn't hear much of it.

Below is the fan, a 12V x 2A PS and a PWM control board with knob that snaps to an off position and allows a nice analog rotation to full blast.

I'm not sure yet how I'll mount it, but I'm expecting it to be just above my SC2 Pro and just back far enough that I don't worry about getting into it.

I need to finish building my 3D printer if I want to print out a mounting bracket for it, but I may just make something out of wood in the meantime.

For scale

 

[RCHeliguy]

It looks like I'm getting a 12V signal out instead of a 5V PWM signal. This makes no sense since it has a 555 chip on the board. It works fine using the motor out from the board, but I'm getting a 1.76V to 12.5V Motor out from this board.

The bottom line is that I'm getting a similar volume of air at the much closer range this will be mounted vs the much larger remote fan that is further away.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Don't worry @DrRob It may just be that I was reading a +/- PWM shift. Noctua makes good fans and this one appears to be running well. I'm going to very carefully test running this wired with all 4 fan wires connected.

 

[DrRob]

Don't worry @DrRob It may just be that I was reading a +/- PWM shift. Noctua makes good fans and this one appears to be running well. I'm going to very carefully test running this wired with all 4 fan wires connected.

Will be interesting to see with which details you'll come up with.
Not a VR guy myself, but still looking to improve cooling during races.
Thought about seat cooling... But that one is more complicated I guess.

 

[RCHeliguy]

In other news, these things are getting closer.
Just started chamfering them after this picture was taken.
Next comes wet sanding and polishing.

Creating the fixtures to build them precisely was fun, but everything after that is work.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I think I've got finishing working well now. Wet sand on 400 grit wet/dry adhesive backed sandpaper.
Then use us a medium scotch brite drill pad and then a soft scotch brite pad.
No sharp edges and it looks good at least to me.

These are my last shots of this. I'll be getting back to that rig fan shortly and then my 3D printer.

 

[RCHeliguy]

My NX4-6000 should be home soon after a repair because of something stupid I did.

In celebration, there is a Buttkicker Concert ordered to meet it when it gets here. I've decided that I'm going to put it on my seat. I'm very happy with the Aura's under my foot plate and by my shift gear, but I'm thinking that my seat might be able to use a bit more oomph. I'll custom build a new mount for it, have plenty of aluminum plate and know exactly how I want to support it.

I've also got my clutch pedal off because I wanted to do something with that, but I keep changing my mind on how I want to do that.

My fan project is still in pieces.

My 3D printer is still half assembled.

My production run of wheel hangers is making progress.

Currently working 7 days a week and a lot more hours per month than I have ever done in my entire history. I had a single 100hr work week once when I was in my 20's. What I'm doing now has been going for over 6 weeks now and is not sustainable.

Hopefully I'll get closure on some of these projects this month.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I covered the upside down label with an adhesive backed Roundel. I'm still deciding whether to keep the Roundel or black it out.

The cardboard is currently cut to fit around the top of the SC2 with the idea that it will fit over the existing 8mm bolts and a lock nut can secure the bottom.

Moving up there will be a pivot to angle the fan with adjustment knobs. I'll probably use smaller knobs than these. I don't think the fan blows hard enough to require extreme torque. The pivoting lengths will likely be much shorter.

The first working prototype will fit 1/4" plywood where the cardboard is. A thicker piece of wood will be glued/bolted to the 1/4" plywood and drilled sideways for the pivot.

Where the black Delrin is below the prototype will use 3/4" wood white oak or plywood. 3/4" is nearly a perfect thickness to fit inside the corners of the fan so it can be through bolted.

Finally a good use for my edge guide

Think I've got the full design now.

 

[RCHeliguy]

It's not huge, but it feels very dense. Measures 10.9 pounds according my scale.

 

[DrRob]

That's a proper piece of kit! I know this one from various Home Cinema setups.
I really like the fast kicks these units can push out.
Have fun!

 

[RCHeliguy]

I got a comment from someone telling me that picture above looked the beginning of a MacGyver episode.

This is what I've come up with to mount it on the back of my seat.
My hope is that with 2 pieces of 1/4" aluminum through bolted in 5 places and 4 bolts along the top and 4 bolts against the vertical mount of the 40x40 piece that it will be a solid mount.

I'm really liking my new metal working belt sander. Once I got the two pieces rough fit and bolted together it helped give me a nice mated edge. I haven't put polish on it yet, but I'm going to get it to a mirror finish next

 

[RCHeliguy]

That's pretty

 

[RCHeliguy]

While I was in my shop, I cut a few pieces of laminated wood to make a mold for the solid clutch pedal face I want to add.

This will be an experiment. I'll pour the silicone mold tonight and tomorrow I'll pour the epoxy. By Monday I should be able to release it while it is still pliable and press it to the front of the pedal for the final day of curing. Epoxy does shrink, but I'm playing with what I happen to have on hand just to see how it work. I think it should work fine.

On Tuesday after it is fully cured, I'll drill a through hole for the center bolt that attaches the pedal face to the pedal arm. The epoxy will be secured using the large holes from the back of the pedal. I'll also shape it to the contour I want.

So hopefully I'll have my clutch pedal face ready and my NX4-6000 on Tuesday and be able to try this out.
I may get my fan mounted this weekend as well, but that's not a deal breaker. Still I'm trying to have everything ready for Tuesday.

I ran out of silicone for the mold so the side walls are built up a bit with pieces cut out while cutting the pedal face out. it doesn't need to be perfect since all that matters is that there is a rough block to hone into shape that fits the pedal face.

This part will come out like a block with a curved bottom that fits the arc of the pedal. However it is the inner arc of the pedal and not the outer arc, so there will be a slight difference in curvature. Pulling it out before it is fully cured will allow a press fit to the pedal face while it cures for another day. Once it is fully cured my belt sander will refine the curves.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The fan works well. The volume knob works well. The fan is positioned well and being able to set the angle was definitely worth it. My upper body and head get good air flow.

It's not in final form finished form, but as a working prototype it is fully functional. However I had a "Doh!" just as I was finishing up and putting it all back together. Notice the cup holder is not seated all the way. I wasn't thinking when I drilled a hole in the front of the button box for the fan volume knob. But I decided to call it a day. I'll come up with something to cover that hole and move the volume knob somewhere else.

 

[RCHeliguy]

In the she knows me too well department, my wife immediately asked me what the fan was going to look like when it is done?

I am starting to get an itch to redesign my button box into something following an arc and that includes the fan in a very clean integrated way. That may take a little while to design. I'll need to refer to some of the beautiful work by @HoiHman for inspiration

 

[DrRob]

Good job there! Clean install.
and that BMW logo surely adds a few rpms too! ;-)

 

[RCHeliguy]

Good job there! Clean install.
and that BMW logo surely adds a few rpms too! ;-)

Thanks!
The Noctua label is upside down so the cable would come out the bottom. I debated blacking out the center, but the adhesive backed Roundels were the perfect size so I went with that.

I will at the very least black out the wood before Income up with a final look.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm leaning towards a 3D printed solution to replace the wood holding the fan. Time to finish building my 3D printer. I'm thinking I a bit of a shroud might look good.

The epoxy for the clutch pedal pad is mushy after 24 hours curing. Tomorrow it should be firm but malleable.

I'd work on the printer today, but first I get to tear apart my 10 yr old Samsung washing machine. A year ago it was the dryer that needed a new sensor. Now it looks like the washer's drainage pump is either blocked or worn out.

For some reason I hate to call a service tech on these things and have trouble not fixing them myself. I should probably get over that.