The SimFeedback-AC DIY Motion Simulator thread

sjb266 · Sep 17, 2018

Hey guys. Thought I’d create a thread for those taking the plunge into this brilliant DIY project..
I will be starting mine soon and I know there are others thinking about it.. so feel free to share your knowledge and experiences so we can all enjoy this platform to its full potential. A huge thanks to the developers who have really knocked this one out of the park!

Website: https://opensfx.com/2019/02/20/welcome-to-our-new-site/

Github: https://github.com/SimFeedback/SimFeedback-AC-Servo/wiki

For all the internals for the actuator contact Amy - skye@ntl-bearing.com
She can supply everything you need. Just remind her you want the ends of the shafts chamfered and make sure she sends the right sized ball screw - we have had a couple of issues reported. She is very helpful though and the cost is pretty good.

Huge thanks to @RowanH for writing a comprehensive user guide which can be accessed here - https://www.rowanhick.com/sfx-100-build-and-running-guide

In addition, @anton_Chez has contributed a list of post numbers for some of the important settings etc..
Post #320 SFX-100 thread
Post #327 SFX-100 thread for Discord correlation
Post #339 SFX-100 thread
Post #418 SFX-100 thread
Post #424 SFX-100 thread
Post #439 SFX-100 thread
Post #449 SFX-100 thread
Post #517 SFX-100 thread
Post #554 SFX-100 thread
Post #580 SFX-100 thread
Post #826 SFX-100 thread
Post #837 SFX-100 thread
Post #864,866,867,868,870,887,889,897 SFX-100 thread
Post #911,914 SFX-100 thread
Post #988,992,998 SFX-100 thread
Post #1147 SFX-100 thread
Post #1492 SFX-100 thread
Post #1511,1517 SFX-100 thread

I will try to keep this page updated with links to source the parts in other parts of the world. Just post whatever links you have and i'll add them here.

Please note: Not all the parts listed below are essential for the project. For the essential parts refer to the original shopping list.

Australia:

Thanks to @AussieSim for the following links:

10A power lead(s) * 4
https://www.jaycar.com.au/2m-black-mains-extension-lead/p/PS4152

Top quality wire stripper
https://sydneytools.com.au/product/boxo-cutws205-multifunction-wire-stripper

RCD/safety switch power block
https://www.bunnings.com.au/arlec-4-outlet-heavy-duty-portable-safety-switch_p4420028

WD-40 lithium grease for the ball screws
https://www.bunnings.com.au/wd-40-specialist-300g-high-performance-white-lithium-grease_p6100408

Vibration pads
https://www.bunnings.com.au/whites-on-site-100-x-12-5mm-rubber-anti-vibration-mat-4-pack_p3961547

WD-40 Dry PTFE spray for the slider (free shipping)
https://au.rs-online.com/mobile/p/lubricants/7577134/

Arduino Leonardo (free shipping + frequent 10-15% off discount)
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/a000057/arduino-corporation

DB25 cables * 4 (free shipping)
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/ak401-2/assmann-wsw-components-inc

PETG * 3 (free shipping)
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/petg17bk1/mg-chemicals

WAGO-like connectors to avoid a breadboard (perhaps use genuine ones if you are doing 240V AC)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32906719488.html

D-Sub breakout boards * 4
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32297675967.html

3D printer Creality Ender-3 Pro
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32918302452.html

Wires from Arduino to D-Sub breakout (remove black plastic from the WAGO end)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32887680826.html

Crimp connectors for AC wire leads
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32813550981.html

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

anton_Chez said:
I used the Simlab ones. Seem fine to me, had heaps left over.

Aren't they too small?

HoiHman · Feb 18, 2019

Mascot said:
Does anyone know a good UK source for T-nuts suitable for the Kinetik profile? Every one I've found seems to be from China.

How many do you need? I got a whole bag, can send them to you from the Netherlands. If interested send me a PM.

EsxPaul · Feb 18, 2019

Man, you guys are killing me!
I'd spent a couple of days reading every post in the 60+ page V3 thread and was sold on having to get one.

Now I've just lost the whole weekend doing 129 pages here and I'm convinced I need a SFX100 married to my rig.

Financial ruin and divorce loom large but this will make up for that!

A big thank you to all that have contributed here. It's been quite the education.
Pictures downloaded, build tips remembered (I think

) and wiki bookmarked.

I'll be back regularly to ask questions after I've inevitably busted something so apologies in advance for annoying you all

One thing I'll be ok with is the 3d printing part. I just happen to have an unused Ultimaker 2 sitting in the spare room that was a gift from a previous workplace where I operated various printers all day long. I can still hear them ringing in my ears to this day.

Steve D · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
Man, you guys are killing me!
I'd spent a couple of days reading every post in the 60+ page V3 thread and was sold on having to get one.

Now I've just lost the whole weekend doing 129 pages here and I'm convinced I need a SFX100 married to my rig.

Financial ruin and divorce loom large but this will make up for that!

Just get both and be done with it.

If not an SFX-100 + V3 combo then I'm sure someone will be along to convince you of the merits of re-mortgaging or selling a kidney to fund a GS-5 to add to chassis motion.

Only joking of course but this is how this hobby grabs you.....

And it don't let go!

You think you're done and are absolutely happy with your lot then some enthusiastic sod from somewhere on the planet mentions direct drive wheels, HE pedals, seat belt tensioners and windsims and you find yourself under a strange spell and too weak to resist.

Welcome to the best community there has ever been to help you empty your wallet!

But it gives a helluva lot more besides as you've already noted!

EsxPaul · Feb 18, 2019

I've considered putting @Mascot on ignore. Everyone I read his posts, my credit cards leap out of the wallet and hide under the wardrobes

On a serious note, am I right in thinking I could get this done for somewhere around the £2k mark? It would be great if the UK guys who have completed their builds could give a ballpark total figure.

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

HoiHman said:
How many do you need? I got a whole bag, can send them to you from the Netherlands. If interested send me a PM.

PM sent!

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
I've considered putting @Mascot on ignore. Everyone I read his posts, my credit cards leap out of the wallet and hide under the wardrobes

On a serious note, am I right in thinking I could get this done for somewhere around the £2k mark? It would be great if the UK guys who have completed their builds could give a ballpark total figure.

A lot less than that I think. A lot of German-sourced parts on the list can be had from China or even through eBay UK. It was daft buying the helicoils from Germany for example, my local fasteners place (like, 200 ft from where I work) sells them a lot cheaper.

Even using the German shopping list, the SFX-100 will definitely work out cheaper than the NLMv3. It's a totally different beast though.

Steve D · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
I've considered putting @Mascot on ignore. Everyone I read his posts, my credit cards leap out of the wallet and hide under the wardrobes

On a serious note, am I right in thinking I could get this done for somewhere around the £2k mark? It would be great if the UK guys who have completed their builds could give a ballpark total figure.

Well under £2k Paul. (£1,400 - £1,600?) albeit extras can push things up, e.g if you need certain handy tools or want a particular solution to house the electronics. Sourcing some of the parts from China instead of Germany and / or Ebay UK can also save a good few quid. I didn't bother in the main as I was impatient

and the cost of the project, (and to quote @HugoB), represents "the steal of the century" compared to commercially available alternatives but I know that other UK buyers have, including @Mascot.

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

Steve D said:
You think you're done and are absolutely happy with your lot then some enthusiastic sod from somewhere on the planet mentions direct drive wheels, HE pedals, seat belt tensioners and windsims and you find yourself under a strange spell and too weak to resist.

Welcome to the best community there has ever been to help you empty your wallet!

To quote myself from earlier in this very thread:

Sim racing is like diving wallet-first into a guilt-lined rabbit hole with the suction power of an imploding star... and we wouldn't want it any other way..!

C64 · Feb 18, 2019

Mascot said:
Does anyone know a good UK source for T-nuts suitable for the Kinetik profile? Every one I've found seems to be from China.

Try these guys in Leicester

http://www.aluminium-profile.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss001001.cgi?page=search&SS=T+nut&ACTION=Go!&PR=-1&TB=A

Have not bought anything from them but they look legit and good value

EsxPaul · Feb 18, 2019

Thanks to you both.

You say that some parts could have been sourced from China rather than the recommended Germany. My fear is that I would have to trawl Alibaba etc trying to get an exact match for the specification, especially if we are talking bearings and ball screws etc. I'd hate to be in situation where I'm here posting photos of my slightly different parts and asking how I should go about modifying them to fit.

C64 · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
I've considered putting @Mascot on ignore. Everyone I read his posts, my credit cards leap out of the wallet and hide under the wardrobes

On a serious note, am I right in thinking I could get this done for somewhere around the £2k mark? It would be great if the UK guys who have completed their builds could give a ballpark total figure.

I built mine complete for £1450 ... delivered, duty and VAT paid. My servo controller housing is a bit "low rent" ( red plastic recycling box ). I think if you get the actuator internals from china then you will knock some more off that, I also bought a "leonardo" clone from amazon for £10 - worked flawlessly so far. Used geeetech PLA filament - £16 / kg from Amazon. My system has not missed a beat since I first fired it up at the end of october and use it amost daily. you can read thsi forum for entertainment... what really matters is following the build instructions in the Wiki ( both the official and Rowan Hicks ) carefully. You really should get a DD wheel and HE pedals as well

NeedforSim · Feb 18, 2019

saxxon66 said:
Noise level

As expected, the volume increases with the rotation speed.
This is due to the principle (ball) of this drive.

The biggest sound pressure is around 80hz.

View attachment 291618

The sound level is pretty low on slower speeds and rises up quickly

View attachment 291619

I found an interesting paper on this topic
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiW9qDB8L3gAhWCLlAKHaolCngQFjAAegQIBxAC&url=http://download.atlantis-press.com/php/download_paper.php?id=25837940&usg=AOvVaw3Ies7wP79D6e9NEQZpwiQT

What can we do with this info?

What do our Tactile/Sound specialists have to say?

Can we dampen/absorb this frequency range?

I did some test with sliding bearings (Igus) for the linear ball bearing (direct replacement part). It did not helped much with the faster speeds but changed the sound tone (pitch) and the slower speeds are nearly dead silent now.

Hi everybody

I think I have something that could help with the noise issue described, but first I will like to thank you for sharing this project. You, and the cofounders of SFX-100/Simfeedback project, have done true a lot of ambitious wishes from the sim racing community.

I think we could use a 1610 screwball to help with the noise issue. With a 1610 screwball and setting these driver parameters: P98=10 and P51=1500, we will have an equivalent configuration to the original setup (1605 screwball, P98=20 and P51=3000). The down side would be the actuator’s thrust capacity. It would be half of the actual thrust at same RPM’s. Doing some research with actuators with similar specs, I can assume that SFX-100 thrust is close to 200 Kgf at 250 mm/s (3000 RPM). The SFX-100 with a 1610 screwball would have a thrust close to 100 Kgf at 500 mm/s (3000 RPM) which I think is adequate. If we turn down the RPM’s to 1500 we will have similar thrust to the original SFX-100 and the noise reduction effect.

I have been watching this thread for a long time. My project is to build a sim motion cockpit for everything (25% racing sims on track, 25% rally sims, 50% flight/space sims). The SFX-100 actuator is perfect to race on tracks but for rally/flight sims more stroke would be beneficial. So, I am planning to build an actuator based on the SFX-100 design, and Simfeedback software, but with a longer (100 mm +) 1610 screwball, aluminum profile and shaft.

I will really appreciate your observations about my project.

Best Regards.

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
Thanks to you both.

You say that some parts could have been sourced from China rather than the recommended Germany. My fear is that I would have to trawl Alibaba etc trying to get an exact match for the specification, especially if we are talking bearings and ball screws etc. I'd hate to be in situation where I'm here posting photos of my slightly different parts and asking how I should go about modifying them to fit.

After a couple of early hiccups the Chinese supplier seems to deliver good quality and value now, all to an established spec. Our contact there used to be 'Emily' but she's moved on and a new lady has taken over, so hopefully saying 'give me a Simon Special' will still result in a happy ending.

C64 · Feb 18, 2019

EsxPaul said:
Thanks to you both.

You say that some parts could have been sourced from China rather than the recommended Germany. My fear is that I would have to trawl Alibaba etc trying to get an exact match for the specification, especially if we are talking bearings and ball screws etc. I'd hate to be in situation where I'm here posting photos of my slightly different parts and asking how I should go about modifying them to fit.

Sent you a PM with a UK based shopping ( amazon / ebay + china + kinetik ) list with links

EsxPaul · Feb 18, 2019

C64 said:
You really should get a DD wheel and HE pedals as well

Hoping to catch the next batch of Sprints. I also had the Augury V on my list as I liked the idea of the control box bolted to the aluminium steering upright but I'm going to have to rethink that idea for fear of shaking it into pieces.

Steve D · Feb 18, 2019

Mascot said:
........a new lady has taken over, so hopefully saying 'give me a Simon Special' will still result in a happy ending.

There's something a little worrying about that statement mate.

C64 · Feb 18, 2019

Formula 3 driver has a go on an SFX100 - you will have to turn auto-translate on if your german is as good as mine.

Mascot · Feb 18, 2019

Steve D said:
There's something a little worrying about that statement mate.

Well spotted!

saxxon66 · Feb 18, 2019

C64 said:
Formula 3 driver has a go on an SFX100 - you will have to turn auto-translate on if your german is as good as mine.

This is Sophia Flörsch, a 17 year old F3 driver testing Florentins SFX100 rig.

http://sophiafloersch.info/

Sophia became famous through her accident in Macau in the F3 race.

She was asked how she felt about the simulator.
She says that she thinks it's super cool and that she has driven some simulators in her life before.

"The simulator moves very close to reality, especially with curbs.
The track is very well modeled and for her as a racer it is especially important how the bumps and curbs are represented. That's very close to the reality especially with the higher curbs.
It's also a lot of fun!
The team simulator is also good but static, you only get feedback from the steering wheel.
In contrast here, the complete rig moves and you notice setup changes directly and can understand them well."

Here is the link to Florentins post:
https://forum.virtualracing.org/showthread.php/113183-Sophia-Flörsch-testet-den-vsp-Motion-Simulator-QMS-mit-den-FSX100

The SimFeedback-AC DIY Motion Simulator thread

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