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

sn4il · Jul 10, 2019

I chose 100% infill on my prints. Overkill... yes, maybe.

The difference in strength between 50% and 100% is around 5-10%.

Dennis Karlsson · Jul 10, 2019

sn4il said:
The difference in strength between 50% and 100% is around 5-10%.

So it's overkill?

sn4il · Jul 10, 2019

I'm not electrician but I think you have a big problem with your home wiring.
This might be caused by this:
Fixed appliances on three-wire circuits
In the United States, the cases of some kitchen stoves (ranges, ovens), cook tops, clothes dryers and other specifically listed appliances were grounded through their neutral wires as a measure to conserve copper from copper cables during World War II. This practice was removed from the NEC in the 1996 edition, but existing installations (called "old work") may still allow the cases of such listed appliances to be connected to the neutral conductor for grounding. (Canada did not adopt this system and instead during this time and into the present uses separate neutral and ground wires.)

This practice arose from the three-wire system used to supply both 120 volt and 240 volt loads. Because these listed appliances often have components that use either 120, or both 120 and 240 volts, there is often some current on the neutral wire. This differs from the protective grounding wire, which only carries current under fault conditions. Using the neutral conductor for grounding the equipment enclosure was considered safe since the devices were permanently wired to the supply and so the neutral was unlikely to be broken without also breaking both supply conductors. Also, the unbalanced current due to lamps and small motors in the appliances was small compared to the rating of the conductors and therefore unlikely to cause a large voltage drop in the neutral conductor.

Scoops · Jul 10, 2019

So just started the 3D printing and I’m using Cura. Are their any shared settings for Cura for the parts?

sn4il · Jul 10, 2019

The difference in strength between 50% and 100% is around 5-10%.
So it's overkill?

You will probably have strongest parts but it's time/monies consuming.

Dennis Karlsson · Jul 10, 2019

sn4il said:
You will probably have strongest parts but it's time/monies consuming.

Yes, I know. That's why I said it was overkill.

Insert Coin · Jul 10, 2019

Scoops said:
So just started the 3D printing and I’m using Cura. Are their any shared settings for Cura for the parts?

See here for PLA (I'd recommend bed temperature at 60 degrees C or a bit lower). Maybe this helps too.

HugoB · Jul 10, 2019

@Mascot sad to hear your case.

A few questions:
1- when it’s working, do you like it? (I cannot live without motion anymore

)
2- are you using headphones or speakers? If you’re using speakers, would you consider using headphones so as not to hear the whine anymore? Maybe noise canceling ones? I couldn’t hear it at all with my Rift CV1 headphones and now with my Index’s over ear speakers I too cannot hear it at all.
3- EMI: have you installed ferrite cores? My connection problems went away after installing ferrite cores on all my USB cables (on both sides of all cables). And routing all SFX100 motor cables away from any USB cables.

If all this doesn’t work, you could maybe consider PT-Actuators 4-in-1 MDbox and @Tronicgr_6DOF ’s controller? Not sure on the status there, but maybe it has less problems than the AASD-15A controllers.

sn4il · Jul 10, 2019

How do you like your Index HugoB? Is that new refresh rate a game changer?
Thank you

Mascot · Jul 11, 2019

HugoB said:
@Mascot sad to hear your case.

A few questions:
1- when it’s working, do you like it? (I cannot live without motion anymore)
2- are you using headphones or speakers? If you’re using speakers, would you consider using headphones so as not to hear the whine anymore? Maybe noise canceling ones? I couldn’t hear it at all with my Rift CV1 headphones and now with my Index’s over ear speakers I too cannot hear it at all.
3- EMI: have you installed ferrite cores? My connection problems went away after installing ferrite cores on all my USB cables (on both sides of all cables). And routing all SFX100 motor cables away from any USB cables.

If all this doesn’t work, you could maybe consider PT-Actuators 4-in-1 MDbox and @Tronicgr_6DOF ’s controller? Not sure on the status there, but maybe it has less problems than the AASD-15A controllers.

Thanks mate.
1. Yep, although I find it needs a lot of tweaking between different car/track combos to get good results whereas my old NLMv3 was more 'universal'. When you hit that sweet spot though it feels great (especially with VR) but I do miss the compressive surge under braking that the NLMv3 did so well. A semi-passive harness with the SFX definitely helps though.
2. Speakers (5.1 through a Yamaha amp) but with Crew Chief piped separately through the Rift headphones (which gives an awesome in-helmet pit comms effect that I'd recommend to anyone). I have noise cancelling headphones but can't use them for practical purposes - I need to use the external 5.1 speakers.
3. Yep, ferrite cores on all cables and I even individually re-routed as many cables as I could through the centre of the P1 profiles for ultra shielding. EMI disconnections used to happen often but I thought I'd resolved it. Apparently not.

I'm sure the EMI disconnections can be resolved but the 10kHz coil whine cuts through me like a knife. I'm one of the unlucky few who is badly affected by it, unfortunately. There doesn't appear to be a solution. I can't just throw money at it and try different controllers or actuators, unfortunately. Maybe if my numbers come up in the Euromillions, lol.

HugoB · Jul 11, 2019

sn4il said:
How do you like your Index HugoB? Is that new refresh rate a game changer?
Thank you

Not a game changer for me. But Yes, it’s noticeable, gives a more 'solid' feel to the world. Looking to the sides of the track, things fly past very smoothly. But I wouldn’t call it the main advantage of the Index. Also I can’t realistically use the 120Hz let alone 144Hz modes right now, because my Titan XP (1080Ti equivalent) and 6850K @4.2 OC can’t keep such high frame rates stable. Only if I lower my graphics settings to the point that I don’t like the visual fidelity anymore. So I keep it at 90Hz for now, waiting on PC upgrades.

But for me the Index is still worth every penny though, because the rest is so awesome. FOV is big enough for me, it doesn’t even leave me wanting.. Resolution is fantastic and will get better with SS, SDE is almost completely gone, colors great, blacks a non issue with racing sims. Audio blows all other HMDs out the water. Ergonomics are really good, you hardly feel it on your head. During extreme sessions with SFX100 motion the HMD stays nicely in place and I never loose the sweet-spot. Tracking is 100% perfect, I never need to ‘reset VR position' during races like I had to with the CV1. Build quality feels like a german executive class car.

Though, because of the long lead times if you order now (sold out until November?), I’d wait and see what else comes up on the market this year, you’ve got time anyway

anton_Chez · Jul 11, 2019

What's funny to me about that coil whine is that even just sitting in the seat, in between all 4 actuators, if I turn my head different ways I can almost eliminate the sound. It's so weird. I think it's certainly directional. If only there was a way to just bounce the signal back into the driver box and keep it there. I've almost gotten it down to zero with enough moving back and forth. You'd think with such a signal being unable to be contained with acoustic isolation attempts, that it wouldn't be that easy to cut the audible path to it.

jabtronic · Jul 11, 2019

I've just completed my build but am having problems with my usb devices disconnecting and my HE pedals lagging really bad as soon as I "Start" the motors even when not in game.
I'm assuming it's the EMI problem that's being mentioned (I don't have time to read through the whole 259 pages of this thread unless there's a way to display >20 posts per page?).

The first thing I tried was adding a ground cable from the motors to the PC PSU mounting bolts and then to my rig but it made no difference. Then I tried connecting the usb devices to a hub to see if it was the motherboard but no difference either. I'm in Australia so the motors are wired for 240V. Are ferrite beads the only solution discussed so far?

EDIT: Another thing I should mention is I'm also using the Pyronious SFX shield

RowanH · Jul 11, 2019

1- Add the ground wire from he pedals control board to the pedals themselves (should have come with the pedals)
2- Move the HE Pedals USB plug onto a different "segment" than your SFX USB controller, ie if you've got your SFX in the external USB hub, then put the HE pedals into the rear mobo panel.

Both of those should do the trick. There's a step 3, but we'll see if you need to go that far.

shenasand · Jul 11, 2019

How about opening the motor and fixing the coil with epoxy resin.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=varnish+motor

Specialist68 · Jul 11, 2019

sn4il said:
It looks like the infill percentage is off as well.
I printed my parts with these settings on Flashforge Creator Pro.
http://serwer1340157.home.pl/max911/SFX/PrinterSettings.jpg
If I remember correctly these were recommended settings.
Here is a short video of parts printing with these settings. I did use a skirt/brim for these.
http://serwer1340157.home.pl/max911/SFX/IMG_5556.MP4

only 20 % infill?

Tronicgr_6DOF · Jul 11, 2019

RowanH said:
1- Add the ground wire from he pedals control board to the pedals themselves (should have come with the pedals)
2- Move the HE Pedals USB plug onto a different "segment" than your SFX USB controller, ie if you've got your SFX in the external USB hub, then put the HE pedals into the rear mobo panel.

Both of those should do the trick. There's a step 3, but we'll see if you need to go that far.

Dennis Karlsson · Jul 11, 2019

jabtronic said:
I've just completed my build but am having problems with my usb devices disconnecting and my HE pedals lagging really bad as soon as I "Start" the motors even when not in game.
I'm assuming it's the EMI problem that's being mentioned (I don't have time to read through the whole 259 pages of this thread unless there's a way to display >20 posts per page?).

The first thing I tried was adding a ground cable from the motors to the PC PSU mounting bolts and then to my rig but it made no difference. Then I tried connecting the usb devices to a hub to see if it was the motherboard but no difference either. I'm in Australia so the motors are wired for 240V. Are ferrite beads the only solution discussed so far?

EDIT: Another thing I should mention is I'm also using the Pyronious SFX shield

https://heusinkveld.com/sim-pedals-service-bulletin-3/?v=f003c44deab6

diablo2112 · Jul 11, 2019

Specialist68 said:
only 20 % infill?

It's worth taking a close look at what loads the 3D printed parts experience in the SFX-100 application. The motor mount is basically a spacer, with a compressive load through the mount. There may be a slight amount of torsion (rotational) load on this, but the big component is compressive stress. PLA parts excel at providing compressive strength. 20% infill on this part is more than enough, basically a way to ensure the spacers retain their geometry. The important part of the motor mount are the through-bolt holes (again, basically spacers) as well as the perimeter, which takes some of the compressive load as well.

The bearing mounts have a more complex load path, with both compressive and bending components. Again, most of this load is compressional, though you need some bending strength to transmit the load from the bearings to the extrusion. Here, again PLA is an excellent choice. In these types of load paths - especially bending loads - a solid element is not necessarily the strongest.* Lattice-structures can be stronger in some circumstances than solid-fill, which is a win/win for engineers as they can fabricate structures which are both stronger and lighter which use less material.

The slider is the one component that would probably benefit from a solid infill. This part sees mainly rotational (torsional) loads from interaction between the ball screw and extrusion. Torsion is complex, with both compressional and tensile components (and requires tensor math to fully calculate). With the recommended perimeters for the slider, you have about a 5-10mm space between the outer surface and the inner bore. This is filled with infill in the build, and that infill is going to see substantial loads during operation.

The only reports of failure I've seen on the slider involve systems slamming into the ends at high rpm, breaking the slider. I haven't seen any reports of failure when operated in the normal range. Given all this, I personally think the recommended settings to print the slider are fine, but this is one component that would benefit from a 100% infill. For the others, you may actually reduce the strength of the part with 100% infill, given the nature of the load paths. I know that sounds weird, but it's an interesting fact in solid mechanics, and a standard problem that engineers are taught in structural design.*

*for a real-life example of this, look at the deflection specifications for 8020 beams. The "light" and "extra" light beams have a higher deflection strength than the normal, heavier stuff. This is because the load path in these beams is forced into zones with compression, for which aluminum has higher strength than in tension. Solid beams allow much more tension in the load paths, lowering deflection strength. It's also the reason that structures built with interconnecting triangles are the strongest, as it forces loads into compression along the triangle legs.

Vantskruv · Jul 11, 2019

A question here.
I had an accident about two months ago, where an electric shortcut occurred in one of my outlets, destroying both the motherboard with CPU and my Simucube (I currently not sure if my SFX-100 was taken out also).
Also, I am living in an apartment with outlets which do not have ground/earth.

I have planned to replace all my outlets to better ones. I can do it myself, but they will still not be grounded.
I can also call for an electrician to add ground to all my outlets, though that will cost some money, and I am not sure if it is worth it or not. I am mainly thinking to do this when using the SFX-100.

Anyone using the SFX100 with outlets which do not have ground/earth and it works fine? Should I take on the cost to hire an electrician to install ground on every outlet in my apartment?