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

scoobyzilla · Sep 28, 2019

papasqueeze said:
Has anyone ordered the item profile?

I've just tried to pay for it over phone via card and I've been sent a proform or something to pay bank?

I thought it would be a straight forward payment

If its MBS they are only set up for B2B and not B2C they don't want the grief of card companies etc - so want clear funds upfront - I sent them a bank payment Wednesday, acknowledged Thursday and now waiting for shipment when stock arrives next week all being well. I could hear in the woman's voice - another one of those bloody sim racers... but she was really helpful, but they did want a fortune to tap them, so I am going to do it myself. I suspect they are used to selling stuff by the 100m.

RCR_Finn · Sep 28, 2019

Prototype_ said:
Im gonna share the multi-config design once its done, so if youre interested ... just saying

It would be great if you could start a separate topic of your rig design. If it's going to be an "open source rig design" I would really like to see all of your previous posts and the discussion in a separate topic, and eventually as a part of the opensfx website, as I think this would be an excellent bonus to that.

Anyway, in the meanwhile, I have one question regardingly; have you considered having the seating position "inside" the main frame? I mean instead of bolting the stuff on top of the rig frame, you would bolt a 2020 or 4020 part on the bottom part of a 8020 in an L form shape, and bolt the seat on there? Butt being lower than the top of the 8020 profile?

Erik van Uijtert · Sep 28, 2019

Erik van Uijtert said:
I need some help here. A few weeks ago everything was running perfectly on my old laptop. I've bought a new laptop.

Now Simfeedback does not seem to get the Telemetry. When I start the rig goes up as usual. I then start a game, but nothing happens.

I have done:
- Run remove_blocking.bat
- Changed USB ports
- Removed all other USB devices, except oculus rift S
- Disabled Webroot & windows Firewall
- Tried 2 different games AC & PJ2 (configured)
- Tried SimHub, that does seem to get connected.

Well for some reason Assetto Corsa is working again after downloading SimFeedback and doing everything again. Hurray!!!

But Project Cars 2 and RF2 are still not working. SimFeedback does not get telemetry. I get 2 green lights and 1 red light when im in a race.

Everything seems to be configured the way it should be. Simhub is able to connect to PJ2.

Does anyone have any suggestions what I can try?

wrxawd123 · Sep 28, 2019

Just got my Kinetik extrusions in, they were packaged pretty well and took about 2 or so weeks after payment to get here (In the US). Only have access to one ruler but they are measuring 249mm. Not sure if it's a dumb question, but will the extrusion being off 1 or so mm affect anything?

EDIT: Did a thread search and it looks like it's ok as long its not too many mm's off

Prototype_ · Sep 29, 2019

RCR_Finn said:
It would be great if you could start a separate topic of your rig design. If it's going to be an "open source rig design" I would really like to see all of your previous posts and the discussion in a separate topic, and eventually as a part of the opensfx website, as I think this would be an excellent bonus to that.

Anyway, in the meanwhile, I have one question regardingly; have you considered having the seating position "inside" the main frame? I mean instead of bolting the stuff on top of the rig frame, you would bolt a 2020 or 4020 part on the bottom part of a 8020 in an L form shape, and bolt the seat on there? Butt being lower than the top of the 8020 profile?

Maybe posting the rig development stuff on this channel is cluttering it up.... This channel is focused on the actuators ... maybe you're right ....

Ive been making good progress the multi-config design, which I'll share soon.
I just dont want to spam this channel too much showing small incremental design iterations.

You do sit "inside", for the most part, because part of your body is primarily between the actuators.
However, your bodys' CM is not, and its not possible to get it low enough for that currently, unless you had a hole in the ground or the actuators were beefed up and were made higher, to allow lower relative body position etc. Getting the driver as low as possible is always an objective, so there is a possibility of going bit lower, but will require more design challenges.

In the meantime - heres a (quick and dirty) thought experiment

The bodywork would form part of the structure so the profiles wouldn't extrude in the front like this...
Not sure about the practicality - getting in and out will be a challenge. These cars are really tight.

saxxon66 · Sep 29, 2019

@Prototype_
When I read your posts, I had to smile

I was going about the same way.
Also with stress simulations, but at the end of the day it's all like Lego.
I chose 120x40 mm profiles, but mainly for optical reasons.

I would like to make a few recommendations that are not quite obvious.

1. The motors move antagonistically at pitch and roll, that means one motor goes down then the other one goes the same way up.
It follows that the axis of rotation is always exactly between the two motors.
The ideal system would align the center of gravity of the whole platform including the rider exactly to this point.
Since the engines are very strong this is not necessary, but it helps against the shifting of the rig on the ground.
My approach is a different one, for example I looked at a GT3 car and measured where the driver sits relative to the wheelbase. The motor axles are the wheel axles. Then I aligned the engines and the seat.
So the center of gravity is slightly off to the optimal one.
With the exact position you can experiment later.
The only important thing is that the rig is not too short, otherwise you run out of space.
For reference mine is 1500x500 cm and I am 183 cm.

2. The rolling motion should be adjusted in relation to the width and length of the motor position.
You can do this quick and easy in SimFeedback.
An example:
Motors are 1000 cm apart front/rear and 500 cm right/left (all from the driver's point of view), then you can set pitch to 50% and roll to 25% to compensate this.

3. uses T-Matik, these have a much stronger frictional connection than angle brackets.

4. I fixed the steering wheel profiles on the side with plates. Also here I made load simulations and a thickness of 5 mm is enough. The suitable plates can be ordered and drilled and lowered with a pillar drill.

The same way I mounted the actuators.

5. a supported profile on one side of the steering profile can bring additional stability and it increases the comfort enormously

You can rely on it when getting in and out.

I also think it's a good idea to start a new thread for the rig building topic, because I think many will contribute their ideas that are not SimFeedback/SFX related.

Pucis666 · Sep 29, 2019

@saxxon66 what material 5mm plates did you use for wheel extrusions? Stainless steel, mild steel oe aluminium? I want to make it dead solid with zero flex, what would you recommend?

diablo2112 · Sep 29, 2019

One alternative way to get a dead-solid, absolutely no-movement wheel platform is to triangulate with additional extrusion. This modification geometrically locks everything down very solid. Here's a few examples. The wheel deck on this rig has absolutely no movement at all.

saxxon66 · Sep 29, 2019

Pucis666 said:
@saxxon66 what material 5mm plates did you use for wheel extrusions? Stainless steel, mild steel oe aluminium? I want to make it dead solid with zero flex, what would you recommend?

Plates are alu, no perceivable flex at all.

papasqueeze · Sep 29, 2019

scoobyzilla said:
If its MBS they are only set up for B2B and not B2C they don't want the grief of card companies etc - so want clear funds upfront - I sent them a bank payment Wednesday, acknowledged Thursday and now waiting for shipment when stock arrives next week all being well. I could hear in the woman's voice - another one of those bloody sim racers... but she was really helpful, but they did want a fortune to tap them, so I am going to do it myself. I suspect they are used to selling stuff by the 100m.

Hmm weird I payed by bank transfer I've had no confirmation and was told that it wouldn't be with me until mid October as there getting stock early October, I payed and spoke to them on Tuesday

Insert Coin · Sep 30, 2019

For those of you who use compact rigs like a Sim-Labs GT1 Evo: if you use 80x80 brackets you can mount the rear servos further back. You need to tap into the profile's holes for the M8 bolts. Thanks @Mascot for the idea.
Sim-Labs can deliver 80x80 brackets, just send them an e-mail. I also swapped all 40x40 brackets on the horizontal frame by 80x80 ones and added an extra front cross profile for extra rigidity (again with 80x80 brackets).
Rear view:

Side view:

Insert Coin · Sep 30, 2019

Finished the mounting of the servos yesterday evening with my son (who has been a great help: he's an electrician and you need an extra pair of hands for this). I did a short motion test with AC and I was... underwhelmed. Did not expect that at all. It felt soft and 'dull'. I only drove a 'tiny' car to start with: a Lotus 211 on Highlands. I missed the tactile 'brutality' and crispness (I switched tactile off before testing) and I hardly felt tilting (which the rig does do). I had the default AC 'all cars' profile active with the default 0.37 overall intensity active. I bumped it up to 0.50: better, but still not a 'blown away' feeling. Maybe I was too hyped... Then I let my son try it, it made him grin. Before you ask: I did program the controllers with the required settings. Servo RPM is still at 1200, I will turn it up to 3000.
At what intensity level are you guys running SimFeedback with AC?

After 15 minutes of testing disaster struck: my trusty old Fanatec CSR Elite pedals stopped working. The Fanatec pedal control panel is available in Windows, but the pedals aren't registered when you press them. Even with the servos switched off they do nothing anymore. Fanatec USB PCB fried by EMI? (Cables are still all over the place...) I have tried other USB ports, but that doesn't help. Any suggestions...?

ThugUK · Sep 30, 2019

Are you in the Discord channel?
I uploaded a profile for Formula Cars an AC which (I feel) works really well (my Discord name is SGTsimo).
You may need to tweak it of course, but worth a try.

Definitely set it to 3000rpm.

Not sure what the issues with your pedals could be, but I would have thought EMI (I sometimes have it with my keyboard) but other USB sockets should sort that out (unless they are all on the same USB hub of course).

Hees · Sep 30, 2019

guys anyone could help for TL actuator, what parts should be bought for it

BluePotato00 · Sep 30, 2019

Insert Coin said:
After 15 minutes of testing disaster struck: my trusty old Fanatec CSR Elite pedals stopped working. The Fanatec pedal control panel is available in Windows, but the pedals aren't registered when you press them. Even with the servos switched off they do nothing anymore. Fanatec USB PCB fried by EMI? (Cables are still all over the place...) I have tried other USB ports, but that doesn't help. Any suggestions...?

My Heusinkveld Pro Pedals don't work when plugged into the USB hub on my rig that everything else is plugged into (wheel base, two button boxes, ForceFeel Pad, mouse trackpad, wireless keyboard receiver). Must be EMI related. So I run a separate USB cable directly to my PC for the pedals. That fixed it for me.

Edit: I see you tried other USB ports. I assume that's directly on your PC? Maybe ensure the cable for the pedals is away from other cables. Also, try plugging the pedals into another computer, like a spare laptop to see if they work.

Insert Coin · Sep 30, 2019

My pedals are directly connected to the PC. I will try them on a laptop this evening. If it is EMI they should work again if I switch the servos off I presume...? (Already tried that, still dead.)

RCR_Finn · Sep 30, 2019

diablo2112 said:
How to print SFX parts in under 100 hours

0.6mm nozzle profile (be sure to change to the whole profile, not just the nozzle diameter)
0.4 mm layer height
0.2 mm minimum layer height (for variable layers, see below)
0.2 mm first layer height
5 perimeters
8 top/bottom layers
25% infill, grid pattern
solid infill every 20 layers
perimeter start point: random
0.5mm brim, single layer high
variable layer height for the top 3mm of the print down to 0.2mm

I tried these settings with less than ideal results in Cura. I couldn't find a separate profile for 0.6mm nozzle, so it's pretty much trial and error... What I have learned with a dozen printed CHEP cubes sliced in Cura and Slic3r, and one more or less failed printed motor mount sliced in Cura, is the following additions to the above settings:
* Print speed needs to be reduced with a 0.6 nozzle. I went from 60m/s to 45m/s
* Temp needs to be raised with 0.6 nozzle. I went from 200 to 220C, and 230C for initial layer
* For some reason the printer axis calibration produces different results for items sliced in Slic3r and for items sliced in Cura, even though all of the settings that can be changed by the user are seemingly the same
* Slic3r standard edition (for those of us without a Prusa printer and therefore PE) does not have the setting for a different layer height for top layer

Due to the above reasons, I decided to quit fighting with the Slic3r and 0.4mm layer height. I am now about to start another try with a Cura-sliced motor mount with 0.3mm layer height. I want to keep the 0.6 nozzle now that I have it dialed in, gotta check the accuracy of the prints with my digital caliper and perhaps even try printing the sliders with the 0.6.

My printer is an Ender 5 with glass bed and 32bit board, in a sealed HEPA-filtered cabinet. Printing with PLA though.

GeniFx · Sep 30, 2019

Insert Coin said:
Finished the mounting of the servos yesterday evening with my son (who has been a great help: he's an electrician and you need an extra pair of hands for this). I did a short motion test with AC and I was... underwhelmed. Did not expect that at all. It felt soft and 'dull'. I only drove a 'tiny' car to start with: a Lotus 211 on Highlands. I missed the tactile 'brutality' and crispness (I switched tactile off before testing) and I hardly felt tilting (which the rig does do). I had the default AC 'all cars' profile active with the default 0.37 overall intensity active. I bumped it up to 0.50: better, but still not a 'blown away' feeling. Maybe I was too hyped... Then I let my son try it, it made him grin. Before you ask: I did program the controllers with the required settings. Servo RPM is still at 1200, I will turn it up to 3000.
At what intensity level are you guys running SimFeedback with AC?

After 15 minutes of testing disaster struck: my trusty old Fanatec CSR Elite pedals stopped working. The Fanatec pedal control panel is available in Windows, but the pedals aren't registered when you press them. Even with the servos switched off they do nothing anymore. Fanatec USB PCB fried by EMI? (Cables are still all over the place...) I have tried other USB ports, but that doesn't help. Any suggestions...?

Do you have ferrite cores on youre usb cabels? And where do youre servo drivers stand relative to youre rig? My pedals whent berserk after 10 min of driving. And i moved my servo drivers away (did stand in front of the rig) and ofter that i dident have on singel problem. But i have A net filter, my rig is grounded and ferrite cores on both sides of my usb cabels.

Turn the drivers up to 3000rpm and try changing intensety and smoothning and you can turn this thing on to A undrivable beast.
But if you havent donated for expert mode you shuld do that, some profilen on the discord server that you can try out and you can adjust how mutch pitsh you have on the rig so you feel you go up more.

diablo2112 · Sep 30, 2019

RCR_Finn said:
I tried these settings with less than ideal results in Cura. I couldn't find a separate profile for 0.6mm nozzle, so it's pretty much trial and error...
(snip)
My printer is an Ender 5 with glass bed and 32bit board, in a sealed HEPA-filtered cabinet. Printing with PLA though.

Without a 0.6mm nozzle profile, you'll have to figure out many, many settings on your own. No doubt, your first efforts will be less than ideal. I'm sure someone has a 0.6mm profile for the Ender 5 somewhere? There's so many parameters that change with nozzle size, I can't imagine trying to optimize them again from scratch. Good luck.

I got very acceptable results printing with a 0.6mm nozzle and 0.4mm layer height, but I had a base 0.6mm nozzle profile in PrusaSlicer to start from.

Examples of a 0.6nozzle/0.4 layer height print: