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 · Mar 21, 2019

Sounds like NTL have reverted back to shoddy QA after earlier complaints and subsequent improvements.
I'm pretty sure the correct-spec ball screws and fixed bearings can be bought on eBay from a UK supplier. I nearly went this route myself but decided just to fold the order into the other stuff from NTL to avoid faffing around and to be safe.

Worth looking into for new buyers, anyway (or if NTL don't play ball). These are standard components, there's nothing unique about them.

minderacer · Mar 21, 2019

Yeah, looks like they had a run of poor machining on some of the units. Hold them accountable, they should correct the issue. Plus it will possibly make them improve on there quality control for future orders. Everything went smooth for my order, and even sent email on a issue that I resolved myself, and they were very responsive. So hopefully they can correct this problem for you guys quickly.

Furnace Inferno · Mar 21, 2019

C64 said:
One other option is to print a slider that has the holes in the correct place for that ballnut, would require some modelling skills.

An alternative to that is print a slider with the top section solid so you could drill and tap threads... or just drill and allow the bolts to cut their own threads ( have to be careful )

... or drill and put some threaded inserts in that are designed for 3D prints.

You could print a short section of solid slider to practice with.

Note : your slicer should allow you to print a solid outline ( simplify3d does )

Well I’ve got the broken slider, already printed a replacement so I could practice on the broken one. I’m tempted to try and press drill some more appropriate holes/slots but ideally I’d like someone to make the adjustments for me on the model. It took me a good 6hrs just to make a pretty simple block to mount my Ascher shifters to the Accuforce button box mostly working out how to work in 3D builder.

I could probably do it myself now with the correct 3D thread cutter actually but I’ve screwed myself even more not fully checking the holes and mounting the fixed bearing on with the locking nut liberally coated in loctite and I haven’t got a way to heat it up to 300C to pop it off, which also means the bump stop also has the wrong hole shape too!

I’ll try when I get home but I think I’m stuffed on that front unless they can send me a new screw nut and binning the current one. It looks like they just screw on/off easily if you have a tube the same size, I could probably even print one to take it off and work out wtf to do.

Checking the german site they won’t have new stock until next Thursday either so it will be at least 2 weeks before I’ve got the pieces now!

EDIT: I have emailed with pictures but not got a reply yet. I think they are something like 8hrs ahead though so hopefully I’ll get a reply by tomorrow.

I’m going to check everything properly tonight screw hole wise and make sure they’re correct. The fact they aren’t even symmetrical I can’t believe they have any with that design, must be a manufacturing fault.

I’m hoping they’ll send me a new ball screw/nut and fixed bearing since it’s only €25 of parts.

saxxon66 · Mar 21, 2019

acekrusty23 said:
Hi, how do I configure this setting in controller.
P109 = 1 - smoothing, 1=fixed smoothing, 2=s-Shaped smoothing.
I have configured the rest of the parameters with just the controller turned on without the motors connected, or do I have to connect the motors to the controllers and then set parameters?
Hopes this makes sense.
Thanks.

P109 = 1

jimbraj · Mar 21, 2019

I was still able to remove my fk bearing with lock tight. If it’s tight heat up the bolt with a solder iron

ScottSonder · Mar 21, 2019

Checked out my NTL ball nuts... They are symmetrical, but the tolerances are liberal here, it's easy to see the marginal differences in the hole sizes. Not even sure if mine will work yet. Add this to the list of things to check once you get your NTL hardware. I only measured the lengths when I first got them.

@Furnace Inferno NTL will surely have to replace it, hopefully with faster processing/shipping.

C64 · Mar 21, 2019

Furnace Inferno said:
Well I’ve got the broken slider, already printed a replacement so I could practice on the broken one. I’m tempted to try and press drill some more appropriate holes/slots but ideally I’d like someone to make the adjustments for me on the model. It took me a good 6hrs just to make a pretty simple block to mount my Ascher shifters to the Accuforce button box mostly working out how to work in 3D builder.

I could probably do it myself now with the correct 3D thread cutter actually but I’ve screwed myself even more not fully checking the holes and mounting the fixed bearing on with the locking nut liberally coated in loctite and I haven’t got a way to heat it up to 300C to pop it off, which also means the bump stop also has the wrong hole shape too!

I’ll try when I get home but I think I’m stuffed on that front unless they can send me a new screw nut and binning the current one. It looks like they just screw on/off easily if you have a tube the same size, I could probably even print one to take it off and work out wtf to do.

Checking the german site they won’t have new stock until next Thursday either so it will be at least 2 weeks before I’ve got the pieces now!

EDIT: I have emailed with pictures but not got a reply yet. I think they are something like 8hrs ahead though so hopefully I’ll get a reply by tomorrow.

I’m going to check everything properly tonight screw hole wise and make sure they’re correct. The fact they aren’t even symmetrical I can’t believe they have any with that design, must be a manufacturing fault.

I’m hoping they’ll send me a new ball screw/nut and fixed bearing since it’s only €25 of parts.

Attached is a solid slider.stl file ... i had to add a ".txt" to the end to allow it to be uploaded... so remove that before importing into your slicer (note: I assume that it does not get corrupted by the upload process). All I did was fill in the screwholes. I suggest you print with however many solid bottom layers you need to drill into.

ScottSonder · Mar 21, 2019

Kinetik shipment popped after shipping back in February and disappearing. Package was brutalized, opened, and beat to hell, but somehow, it's all here and the profile looks servicable? One corner is scuffed up. But hey, they included a pen for their efforts...

It's cool to finally know my sliders have a tight fit, and that I received 45 of the 'correct' inserts. Let's see how many my dumbass strips out, but PM me if you need an insert or two.

I'm finally enabled to complete my build though, couldn't be more excited. Thanks for everyone's help so far, I've learned much.

acekrusty23 · Mar 21, 2019

saxxon66 said:
P109 = 1

Thanks for that saxxon.

Furnace Inferno · Mar 21, 2019

C64 said:
Attached is a solid slider.stl file ... i had to add a ".txt" to the end to allow it to be uploaded... so remove that before importing into your slicer (note: I assume that it does not get corrupted by the upload process). All I did was fill in the screwholes. I suggest you print with however many solid bottom layers you need to drill into.

One issue though is the bump stop hole placement, it’s mostly the measuring up that will be a pain in the arse to get right and the fact the screw nut grease nipple is also off in the wrong place.

It would be possible just about but I think some of the screw holes would be pretty close to the edge of the slider so I’d be concerned about longevity. I’ll have more of a play once I get back and see what options there are.

One other thing when I was pumping grease in it all came out of the side closest to the nozzle is that what is supposed to happen? Kind of made me think it was dodgy straight away and now this!

anton_Chez · Mar 21, 2019

Others have made a bit of a mess while greasing with the gun. Not sure if it was coming back out of the hole it went into or the other ones, but I'd say you're probably pretty OK.

It's got to go somewhere, right?

Furnace Inferno · Mar 21, 2019

anton_Chez said:
Others have made a bit of a mess while greasing with the gun. Not sure if it was coming back out of the hole it went into or the other ones, but I'd say you're probably pretty OK.

It's got to go somewhere, right?

As in I pumped it a few times and it all came straight out of the middle closest to the grease nipple like it wasn’t filling the rest?

sn4il · Mar 22, 2019

and to top it off the bloody grease nipple is in the wrong place so when it’s straight it can’t slide in!

My ball nut has a grease nipple

at same spot and it clears profile by ~2mm.
I got them from banggood.com
http://serwer1340157.home.pl/max911/SFX/IMG_5776.mp4

Furnace Inferno · Mar 22, 2019

sn4il said:
My ball nut has a grease nipple at same spot and it clears profile by ~2mm.
I got them from banggood.com
http://serwer1340157.home.pl/max911/SFX/IMG_5776.mp4

That’s because your screw nut is the correct shape with the holes in the right place!

I attempted to remove the fixed bearing but it really wasn’t happening, pretty sure I got loctite in the worm screw too because that isn’t turning at all either. I’ve found the ball nuts on eBay though for ~£8 so I may just go that route as drilling it was not an option, it would take an eternity to cut through it and get the shape right.

Anyway the fruits of my labour on a decent one:

It is seriously heavy and the motors not even attached yet! Probably should have printed the motor mount last since I don’t have those but oh well doesn’t make a difference now since I can’t assemble one of them anyway.

jimbraj · Mar 22, 2019

Furnace Inferno said:
That’s because your screw nut is the correct shape with the holes in the right place!

I attempted to remove the fixed bearing but it really wasn’t happening, pretty sure I got loctite in the worm screw too because that isn’t turning at all either. I’ve found the ball nuts on eBay though for ~£8 so I may just go that route as drilling it was not an option, it would take an eternity to cut through it and get the shape right.

Anyway the fruits of my labour on a decent one:

It is seriously heavy and the motors not even attached yet! Probably should have printed the motor mount last since I don’t have those but oh well doesn’t make a difference now since I can’t assemble one of them anyway.

Heat the screw up

sberns · Mar 22, 2019

I got my order from Amy last week (building 2 sets ie 8 ball screws, etc). Just had a quick look now and I think they all look ok as far as I can tell. Hopefully it was just a bad batch and she will send you replacements quickly.

3d printing question: when I initially did the extruder multiplier calibration (“flow” % in Cura) with a single wall cube, I got 1.06/106%. But when testing to get my slider to fit the profile, I’ve had to reduce it down to a multiplier of 0.8/80%. Should I print everything at the 0.8 setting or just use that setting for the slider and print the rest at multiplier of 1.06?

Mascot · Mar 22, 2019

Furnace Inferno said:
I attempted to remove the fixed bearing but it really wasn’t happening, pretty sure I got loctite in the worm screw too because that isn’t turning at all either. I’ve found the ball nuts on eBay though for ~£8 so I may just go that route as drilling it was not an option, it would take an eternity to cut through it and get the shape right.

NTL should replace any defective parts at their expense mate, but if you do source the ball screws from eBay then be 100% sure they are exactly the right spec. These are standard components but do come in a range of specifications. Early on in the process a few people received ones from NTL where the nut was the wrong depth, and I think the thread pitch can vary between different types too.

Ref your earlier question about greasing the internals, I kept pumping grease in until it was spilling out of the seals on both sides of the nut to ensure that it was well packed. Make sure the grease gun 'locks' onto the grease nipple and isn't just pushed up against it. This might take some force before it pops on. You might need to lever it off afterwards.

o Tiger Feet o · Mar 22, 2019

Steve Bernstein said:
3d printing question: when I initially did the extruder multiplier calibration (“flow” % in Cura) with a single wall cube, I got 1.06/106%. But when testing to get my slider to fit the profile, I’ve had to reduce it down to a multiplier of 0.8/80%. Should I print everything at the 0.8 setting or just use that setting for the slider and print the rest at multiplier of 1.06?

I had trouble with the sliders... no mater how many times I calibrated and tested. The thing that worked for me was to print the Sliders at 99.5% scale on the X & Y axis. As an added bonus (I think) the hollow shafts are nice and snug on the inside of the slider.

If your printer is calibrated and you try to make the sliders fit with the multiplier I found the print quality and strength really took a hit.

PandaNL · Mar 22, 2019

So I had connected all my wiring, and when testing, one motor would not get a signal from the arduino, it wasn’t the motor or servo because when testing on a other db25 breakoutboard it would work fine.

So I checked the cables about 20 times, and it would still not work. So used a multimeter to check every connection to the Arduino and the breadboard, all cables seemed good.

Turns out the connector on pin 3 does not have a metal pin in it. This problem drove me insane, but I’m glad I found the problem.

See the missing pin?

Furnace Inferno · Mar 22, 2019

Mascot said:
NTL should replace any defective parts at their expense mate, but if you do source the ball screws from eBay then be 100% sure they are exactly the right spec. These are standard components but do come in a range of specifications. Early on in the process a few people received ones from NTL where the nut was the wrong depth, and I think the thread pitch can vary between different types too.

Ref your earlier question about greasing the internals, I kept pumping grease in until it was spilling out of the seals on both sides of the nut to ensure that it was well packed. Make sure the grease gun 'locks' onto the grease nipple and isn't just pushed up against it. This might take some force before it pops on. You might need to lever it off afterwards.

It’s definitely locked on fully but literally on the first pump the grease comes out of the middle of the ball screw from the white bit and just cakes the top of it? I pumped about 5 times and then just lubed the screw because there was so much but then when I screw it fully up and down most of it comes back off onto the top again!

Amy is going to send replacements though so should be fine, not sure what parts yet though, could be the ball nut or the hole thing with another fixed bearing. I’ll leave it attached for now rather than trying to heat it up since I can’t do anything with it at the moment anyway.