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

[RCHeliguy]

Ordered a new hydraulic kit for my flight pedals

The only thing I find a bit distracting about my flight pedals is the spring noise. This would eliminate that

At least in helicopter mode I would remove the spring completely.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Simplicity I like this much better.

If I can get the cuts tight and the alignment right. I should be able to simply drop the pedals in and be done, and then lift them out and be done.

Rather than having fore/aft adjustment on sliders, I can simply slide the side brackets fore/aft with the pedals in place and then secure the brackets in place.

The slots are symmetrical, so the brackets can be flipped, so with a couple sets of holes in the brackets and being able to reverse them, I should be able to get a wide assortment of heights. I just need to measure to the offsets to make sure that I do get additional options and no repetition.

 

[RedBull48]

@RCHeliguy I don't do any flight sim but it's interesting to see the projects your working on, nice job. As I mentioned earlier I got my new vocore display up and running. I also got the first part of my "integrated dash" printed and mounted. Printing off the other side now. Figured I would share my progress with you as you have led me to this wonderful filament . Once the other box is finished and mounted I am going to determine button layouts and figure out what I want to use for the circuits. I may end up going with a DSD 32 input board or an arduino pro micro not sure yet. Can you recommend any good 4 way joysticks? I am considering using one to replace the need of my keyboard in VR. Don't mind the usb hanging from the vocore, I am going to cable manage that with the electronics for the button boxes once completed. I also used some small 3d printed cable clips to keep it tight on the DD base.

On a side I should probably create a thingaverse account so I can share stl's in the event anyone wants to use the vocore housing. From what I understand I can't share them directly on RD.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Once the other box is finished and mounted I am going to determine button layouts and figure out what I want to use for the circuits. I may end up going with a DSD 32 input board or an arduino pro micro not sure yet. Can you recommend any good 4 way joysticks? I am considering using one to replace the need of my keyboard in VR. Don't mind the usb hanging from the vocore, I am going to cable manage that with the electronics for the button boxes once completed. I also used some small 3d printed cable clips to keep it tight on the DD base.

On a side I should probably create a thingaverse account so I can share stl's in the event anyone wants to use the vocore housing. From what I understand I can't share them directly on RD.

Glad that filament is working well for you. Your prints look good.

I got a Bodnar 64 input board. It is supported by every software package I've tried and it supports rotaries well. It runs out of the box as 64 switches. You just need to run a simple app to configure which pins you want to use for rotaries. I ended up using almost all of the inputs. It isn't much more than a 32 input board and then there is always room to grow.

I can recommend a few 4 way joysticks.
I'm using a couple of these on my button box now and I'm very happy with them.

9.59€ 55% OFF|22Mm Joystick Schakelaar Momentary 4 Positie 4NO Zelfvergrendelende Lente Wobble Stick Monolever Rocker Kruis Schakelaar HKL FW|Schakelaars| - AliExpress

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Thingaverse is a good place to put them. Just make sure that you use keywords like simrig and sim racing so people find your stuff. There are some people who are not fans of Thingaverse because of the company that owns it, but it is the biggest out there.

 

[RedBull48]

Thanks, I have been tinkering with slicing settings and think I found a happy settings profile for a more finished look. I have also been contemplating the Leo Bodnar board. What are you using to power the leds on your controls? Sorry if I am overlooking something but I don't see a power terminal on leo 64 board. Thanks for the joystick reference I will definitely check those out. In terms of Thingaverse I am not really familiar with the politics of their ownership. It would be nice if you could just share stl's directly on RD however I am not sure if they have a policy against doing so for a reason.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I used a separate 12V power supply.

Amazon.com : 12V 2A Power Supply AC Adapter, AC 100-240V to DC 12 Volt Transformers, 2.1mm X 5.5mm Wall Plug (12 Volt - 2amp - 2pack) : Electronics

Amazon.com : 12V 2A Power Supply AC Adapter, AC 100-240V to DC 12 Volt Transformers, 2.1mm X 5.5mm Wall Plug (12 Volt - 2amp - 2pack) : Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

[RedBull48]

I actually have a set of those on hand, however do you have a separate control board where all the 5v pairs terminate to?

 

[RCHeliguy]

I actually have a set of those on hand, however do you have a separate control board where all the 5v pairs terminate to?

The button board runs off of USB power entirely. I just used the 12V or LED lights and my Noctua 200mm fan.

 

[RCHeliguy]

There are two pairs of side bracket holes with a 20mm offset and the brackets are symmetrical so I can flip them. This should give me a pretty wide range of height adjustment and the brackets can slide fore/aft when loosened. The front and rear supports for the flight pedals are also symmetrical.

I'll put UHMW tape on the brackets where they slide on the inside of the frame so they don't scar the frame.

I can print the 3D center while I wait for the M6x35 bolts, additional M6 locknuts and M6 threaded inserts to arrive mid week. I'll probably fabricate the aluminum next weekend.

After this I will have used up the last of my 4x4" angle aluminum, 3x3" angle aluminum and 6" aluminum plate. All I have left is 2"x1.5" rectangular tubing.


Also found these which are interesting if you own Crosswind Pedals.

MFG Crosswinds Combat Pedals and Bar Pedals by Asherao

A project fueled by aircraft habits.... and a tiny rig. The Combat pedals support "heel-on-floor" type movement, similar to what you see in the F18, F16, B737, and others. The height, and therefore the feel of the braking action, is adjustable. The Bar pedals support helicopters, Mig, and some...

www.thingiverse.com

I'm going to print out the Bar140mm pedals and see what I think of them.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Now I'm looking at something completely different that would be all 3D printed parts.
The biggest issue is breaking this into pieces that will fit on my print bed and still feel solid without creaking.

The height adjustment on this pretty straight forward.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Had to design this in pieces so it would fit on my print bed.

20mm height adjustments and it will just drop in and lift out once I have it where I want it.

Fingers crossed it works well. This will take a WHOLE 1Kg spool of filament. 987 grams!

 

[RCHeliguy]

Sooooo......

This would be a GREAT application for using a 3D printed buck to create an aluminum sand casting.

Just started looking at aluminum furnaces and sand casting.... Not sure I'll take the deep dive yet, but it has been on my radar for a while.

Then I could just print my parts with minimal fill, epoxy them together sand and prime the surface. Obviously the design would change to be much thinner and minimalist.

Amazon.com: USA Cast Master 5 KG DELUXE KIT Propane Furnace with Crucible and Tongs Kiln Smelting Gold Silver Copper Scrap Metal Recycle 5KG KILOGRAM

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[RCHeliguy]

This is going to take a while to print.
M6 locknuts arrived yesterday. M6 threaded inserts arrive today. M6x35 bolts arrive tomorrow.

So far I could only verify the bolt hole alignment between the Crosswind pedals and this center plate.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The Crosswind flight pedal damper will be here next Monday and my new black aluminum pedal faces will ship from Australia this week.

These are some beefy M6 inserts! They feel like they are holding very well.

 

[RedBull48]

@RCHeliguy I am sure the angled knurles help give added strength. Also as a side note I have opened a thread with the site administrators and .STL is now a supported attachment file type. So Thingaverse is no longer needed

Support for STL attachments

Hello all, I apologize if this is already covered in a different thread, I did a quick search and did not find anything definitive. Is there any technical limitation or perhaps security concern in adding stl's as an attachable file extension? Perhaps this is already possible and I am just...

www.racedepartment.com

 

[RCHeliguy]

That's very cool, but I do think that a lot more people find my stuff because I put it on Thingaverse.

 

[RedBull48]

This is most likely true, I think it will be beneficial for those who would like to share the occasional one off with the racing community. As we touched on it another thread I was a bit put off by the need to create another account on an external site. Hopefully this is a feature RD users will find helpful.

 

[RCHeliguy]

It's times like this when I wish I had two or three 3D printers. But as it turns out that isn't slowing me down. My bevel head M6x35 bolts arrive today, but the Crosswind pedal base I have doesn't have bevels like the drawing I worked off of for the V3 pedals. So I had to order a set of pan head bolts which won't arrive until tomorrow. So having a single printer will only set me back about 1 day.

The part fit has been excellent. I'm printing one pair of the side brackets that bolt to the profile right now. Then it will be another day to print the other side supports and finally I'll print the end clips in red. Since they are the only moving parts that I'll move around to adjust height I thought contrast might look good.

This is what I'm aiming for.

Given how well this is fitting together, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to pull the side clips out without much effort. Move them up or down to change height and just drop the pedal deck in place.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The top left arm will be done printing in about 5 hours.
Then I'm going to print the red clips which should finish later this evening.
The pan head bolts that will secure the flight pedals to this mount are out for delivery now.
Finally the left pair of brackets will print overnight and tomorrow morning I will be able to put this in my rig

My next post will be Friday morning with this mounted to my rig.

In other news the new Sprint pedal faces from HRS in Australia are supposed to arrive next Thursday and the Crosswind damper is still scheduled for next Monday.

The 4 bolts across the center have to be flush because the pedal deck is directly or partially over them. I've modified my drawings with deeper bevels, but I used my soldering iron to push them deeper since the center section uses about 25% of a 1kg spool.

I'm using lock nuts to hold the arms together and inserts to hold the flight pedal base down.

 

[RCHeliguy]

This is really close and technically this does work.

However I printed with supports to a lip that isn't necessary and I had to chisel away material to get the clips to fit.

So I'm redesigning the clips with 3 changes.

1. I removed the overhang so it no longer needs supports.
2. There is a lip at the bottom and indentation at the top so you can easily grab the clips with your fingers to pull them out to change height.
3. I rounded the edges that insert into the bracket slots to make it easier to start.

I also decided that the brackets are too long. I need space to route cables under them and I'll never drop my pedals all the way down. At some point I'm going to print shorter brackets.

I think that will be it. I'll test fit this in a few hours with the existing clips when the other pair of brackets are finished in 4 hours and if that all goes well, I'll reprint new clips and now and at some point print new brackets.