Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

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Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby marzman » Tue 3. Sep 2013, 23:34

Hi guys,

Cool forum, i only just stumbled across this awesome world last week. My name is Chris and im from the UK (Cheshire)

I built a basic arcade cab a couple of years ago from scratch, and have been planning on an arcade driving cab for some time. I've only just discovered the world of 2DOF, and it's something i definitely want to build over the next 6-9 months.

Currently i have no parts at all, but from reading on here i gather i need the following:

PC (possibly 2)
Arduino
2x Pololu JRK's
2x Wiper motors (is a gearbox of some kind required?)
2x POTs
1x Power supply.

I used to be a programmer (coding in RPG on the IBM iSeries - ever heard of it... lol?) but nowadays i am a Project Manager/Consultant. I have no experience in electronic hardware interfaces, but im a quick learner. :geek:

I'm budgeting around £750 for the first phase of the project (working prototype).

I'm sure i'll have lots of questions as i go, but my first question is - what should i buy first?! I dont have the cashflow to go out and buy everything immediately, so where should i start? Do i need the Pololu JRK's and Motor's first to get them moving? Or do i start with the X-Sim > Arduino comms?

One final question - although i've read on here that the Pololu is the way to go for ease of use - £200 for 2 of these does seem excessive! I've heard that the MonsterMoto can drive 2x motors from 1 board, putting it as only 1/3rd the price at £65. I guess i'll need some additional hardware to accompany this, but it seems like a better option financially, no?

Thanks for any input guys, and i look forward to getting involved in your community.

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Re: Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby DEADBEEF » Wed 4. Sep 2013, 00:21

I'm currently pretty much in the same boat.
Found out about this place a week or so ago and have been gathering resources / evaluating different design & part options since then.

A couple of things I've surmised...

  • X-Sim has an overly convoluted UI which takes some getting used to.
  • If you use JRKs then you won't need an arduino, as the JRK(s) plug directly into the PC running X-Sim converter via USB.
  • JRKs are more user-friendly for non-programmers.
  • If you use an arduino rather than JRKs it can double as a button box & dashboard display driver.
  • If you're running an arduino to control your motors and your main PC has multiple cores, a second PC probably won't be necessary (This is based on my tests outputting X-Sim data over UDP and sending it to Sketchup running on a different PC).
  • Dealextreme sell a £15 knockoff of the MonstorMoto board and have stated it's max voltage as 41V. Which is incorrect; That's the max voltage of the chip, the board's overvoltage protection kicks in at ~16v.
  • If you're going the arduino route then these motor control boards may be more suitable. The specs are pretty much the same as the MonstorMoto board, but they can handle 24v.
  • This is important as 24v is probably better for a number of reasons...
    • More power.
    • 24v power supplies & motors are easier to obtain than 16v, and a 24v motor will draw less amps than an equivalent 12v one.
    • Lorries are 24v (and so are their wipers). Most electric forklifts, electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, etc. are also 24V.

Personally, I started by buying a few of the electrical parts first, as I'd like to get my head fully around that end before I actually start looking at what materials I'll need for the rig itself.

I had an Arduino and a few bits arrive last week so I've been playing with that and a few RC servos over the weekend. Not ordered any full sized motors yet and hopefully won't have to....
My next door neighbour is a scrap merchant and has a pretty large scrapyard, I've asked them to let me know if they get any electric wheelchairs or electric forklifts being weighed in (which I'll be able to buy the motors off for the price of the copper in them). Failing that, they have a stack of 24v lorry wiper motors I can have for nothing.
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Re: Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby RacingMat » Wed 4. Sep 2013, 09:19

marzman wrote:Do i need the Pololu JRK's and Motor's first to get them moving?

I've heard that the MonsterMoto can drive 2x motors from 1 board, putting it as only 1/3rd the price at £65.

Hi Marzman !
Your budget looks okay for a 2DOF wiper finished simulator ! Mine is around 700/800€ in this topic
If you follow the recipe, the budget will be respected.
If you want to test other motors/Hbridge boards/etc... it will certainly be more expensive because of trial and errors :evil:

As it's fun to make the motors moving ! it could be your start
The cheapest Motomonster is here http://dx.com/p/monster-moto-shield-for ... red-161274
18€
With Arduino you'll have control on your simulator behaviour if you want to code again ;-) or by simply changing some parameters !!

BTW add to your list a Power Supply Unit : a good choice is a server PSU !

DEADBEEF wrote:[*] Dealextreme sell a £15 knockoff of the MonstorMoto board and have stated it's max voltage as 41V. Which is incorrect; That's the max voltage of the chip, the board's overvoltage protection kicks in at ~16v.
[*] If you're going the arduino route then these motor control boards may be more suitable. The specs are pretty much the same as the MonstorMoto board, but they can handle 24v.

I actually start looking at what materials I'll need for the rig itself.

Hi Deadbeef !

you're right : motomonster is limited to 16V... but some 12V gearmotors work fine : have a look on my vid !
These motors (SWF VALEO NIDEC ITT 404.458) have high torque and are irreversible !
I even have to reduce the max pwm, it was too hard motion for my skeleton !

The pololu you linked to, looks good ! It's a 2 pins Direction driver board, it should work fine with the arduino motomonster's code. Tell me if you're interested, I could check the code and the specs !

Do you intend to build an aluminium rig or to weld a steel rig ?

good luck to both of you !
Mat
2 DOF playseat : arduino, motomonster, 12V truck wiper motors
http://www.x-sim.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=943
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Re: Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby DEADBEEF » Wed 4. Sep 2013, 12:33

Mine will most likely be welded steel. I have a few industrial units I let out, one is currently let to a steel fabricator, one to a blacksmith.
I'm sure they'll give me a hand if I ask nicely.
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Re: Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby marzman » Wed 4. Sep 2013, 23:13

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Deadbeef - i didnt realise you dont need an Arduino to run the JRK's... awesome! This has made the project seem a whole lot more accessible to me (despite the high startup costs for the JRK's!)

I've not looked into the PC side of things yet. I've only got an i5 laptop so im expecting to have to buy 1 new PC to run the games... hopefully i wont have to buy 2!!

I need to do a lot more research before i make a move though.

Also, I assume people on here have taken a look at the sim experience kits? I think this kind of chassis is what i would like to build (probably out of wood though as i dont weld!)

http://sim xperience.com/en-us/products/motionsimulatorkits/stage1motionsimulatorkit.aspx
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Re: Newbie - parts list - what to buy first?

Postby DEADBEEF » Thu 5. Sep 2013, 03:13

If you need any inspiration, here's a couple of dead simple wooden rigs I've made....

Image
Image


Both were made out of scrap wood for zero cost. They took about an hour each to knock together.
I didn't have any plans, just made them up as I went.

The top one is my current rig. I keep promising myself that one day I'll get around to sanding & painting it.
Chances are that I'll have a new rig by then :)
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