simxperience accuforce wheel

[Tim Meuris]

Hi,

Does anyone know something about this servomotordriven wheel?
It's still under development and over at ISR they were superenthusiastic bout it.
Anything from an esitmated price or release date would be awesome
although I doubt it having searched the internet already

 

[RaceNut]

Servo motors are the way of the future honestly for the mid range and high end wheels. As development cost comes down, these will eventually make their way to the mid range market.

I generally agree but, servo motors are pretty costly so I don't think the prices will be low enough for most to consider reasonable. If they can produce them in greater volume, that should reduce the cost somewhat. I think hoping for a thousand dollar Servo-Wheel is unrealistic, even in bare-bones form.

 

[Blkout]

Like everything though, prices come down as companies figure out ways to reduce cost through better processes or cheaper raw materials. I'm not arguing that servomotors aren't more expensive, they certainly are at the moment, but its possible that companies will find a way to get the cost down to bring that technology to the market cheaper. Fanatec is likely going to be the one to bring it cheapest in the near future.

 

[Terry Rock]

Like everything though, prices come down as companies figure out ways to reduce cost through better processes or cheaper raw materials. I'm not arguing that servomotors aren't more expensive, they certainly are at the moment, but its possible that companies will find a way to get the cost down to bring that technology to the market cheaper. Fanatec is likely going to be the one to bring it cheapest in the near future.

You're kidding right?
Fanatec doesn't strike me as the kind of company who concentrates on lower prices for anything.

 

[Blkout]

You're kidding right?
Fanatec doesn't strike me as the kind of company who concentrates on lower prices for anything.

Not kidding. Have you seen the prices of current servomotor wheels? Fanatec is the only mass volume company that has talked about making a servomotor wheel.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Well look at what the ffb motors in the CSW cost and what the CSW base cost .

The ffb motor in the T500RS is more expensive then those in the CSW. Then the T500RS have cheaper plastics surrounding it of course

 

[RaceNut]

The bigger issue for Fanatec has to be the cost of labor, shipping bases and other expenses in replacing motors under warranty. Only they can say whether the choice of motor was the right one for them after factoring in all of the pros and cons (lost sales) although, that latter is hard to quantify.

 

[eKretz]

It is pretty doubtful that the cost of servomotors will change much due to FFB wheel quantities. There are many many more servomotors in use in industry than will ever be used in FFB wheels. The economies of scale have pretty well already been utilized. That said, it's possible that Fanatec could have a cheap servomotor manufactured in their Chinese factory, but I sure wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.

 

[RaceNut]

It is pretty doubtful that the cost of servomotors will change much due to FFB wheel quantities. There are many many more servomotors in use in industry than will ever be used in FFB wheels. The economies of scale have pretty well already been utilized. That said, it's possible that Fanatec could have a cheap servomotor manufactured in their Chinese factory, but I sure wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.

I was thinking the same thing regarding servo motor prices. They are also used in a specialty industrial market - i.e., expensive. Much of the industrial equipment and parts are part of proprietary systems.

 

[Blkout]

Cost of everything comes down over time, unless you're talking about precious metals.

 

[RaceNut]

Cost of everything comes down over time, unless you're talking about precious metals.

Hmmm, really? Food, energy, labor, medicine, autos? These and so much more are going up all the time. The cost of High-tech gadgets may drop over time but, they also generally have short life spans or will be outdated quickly. I don't see servo motors fitting into that category and even if you consider the wheels themselves into it, they are still a niche product with very low-volume. Even used ones will retain their value very well. It's quite different than cell phones or computers.

At the end of the day, servo motors are industrial motors designed for specific machines. Everything about those machines is expensive. The initial cost ,service, parts, software and warranty prices would shock most people. Producing such motors requires energy, metals (some precious), labor, insurance, and more - all of which are increasing in cost. Of course, having them made in China is another matter. That may lower cost but, also quality.

 

[Blkout]

Hmmm, really? Food, energy, labor, medicine, autos? These and so much more are going up all the time. The cost of High-tech gadgets may drop over time but, they also generally have short life spans or will be outdated quickly. I don't see servo motors fitting into that category and even if you consider the wheels themselves into it, they are still a niche product with very low-volume. Even used ones will retain their value very well. It's quite different than cell phones or computers.

At the end of the day, servo motors are industrial motors designed for specific machines. Everything about those machines is expensive. The initial cost ,service, parts, software and warranty prices would shock most people. Producing such motors requires energy, metals (some precious), labor, insurance, and more - all of which are increasing in cost. Of course, having them made in China is another matter. That may lower cost but, also quality.

Dean most of those things you listed as going up in cost are related to inflation and not cost to manufacture or technology. As far as medicine and autos, that's deabatable, some medicines that were hundreds if not thousands of dollars a decade ago are now less than $50. As for cars, you get far more technology and features in cars today for the equivalent same price as a decade ago if you take inflation out of the equation. Unfortuately, inflation affects a lot of things in our lives but one thing is certain, when it comes to technology and electronics, it gets cheaper and cheaper every year. Do I dare mention most consumer electronic devices as an example?

 

[eKretz]

That's mass marketed devices like TVs and cell phones. It doesn't work quite the same way for items not sold by the hundreds of millions. Look at machine tools, look at cars even. Servo motors aren't used in every household. You'll never see them drop in price like consumer electronics, IMO.

 

[Blkout]

And never will if larger companies don't get onboard with making them. It has to start somewhere and the racing sim community is thriving right now, the same reason why we have very high end wheels available to us right now, the market is there. It just takes a mass volume company like Fanatec or Thrustmaster to start producing them to drive the cost of production down.

 

[eKretz]

You are missing the point. They are already mass produced in quantities far higher than will ever be used in FFB wheels for use in industry. They just aren't ever going to be used in every household. Companies like Rockwell, G.E., Siemens and many others have been mass producing these motors for a very long time. Any one of these companies dwarf every FFB company combined.

 

[RaceNut]

Just one little tidbit regarding the Accuforce wheel motor - it uses a custom-made motor designed specifically for the SimExperience system - not an "off the shelf" part (Source: Berney Villars / iRacing forums).

There is a vigorous discussion regarding the technical differences between "motors vs. servos" on the iRacing forums. In the end, the Accuforce, like the Bodnar wheel, is "Direct-Drive" with no gears or pulleys. This must certainly make the drive more costly to produce but, also better suited for the intended purpose.

 

[Blkout]

Yep. When a mass volume company like Fantec or Thrustmaster gets onboard, I believe they will source lower priced servomotors, not the kind of motor you would find in nuclear power plant machinery.

 

[RaceNut]

Here's a "sneak-peek" at the AccuForce wheel as demonstrated at the Honda Indy/Toronto event recently. Source: Berney Villars via iRacing Forums.

 

[Joao Alves]

That's a really nice looking wheel!

 

[Leemstradamus]

Here's a "sneak-peek" at the AccuForce wheel as demonstrated at the Honda Indy/Toronto event recently. Source: Berney Villars via iRacing Forums.

Look at that quick release. Time to start saving my pennies!

 

[Galin Dimov]

Here's a "sneak-peek" at the AccuForce wheel as demonstrated at the Honda Indy/Toronto event recently. Source: Berney Villars via iRacing Forums.

Looks great! Hope I can get one of these..