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#3049345 - 07/10/10 07:37 PM Re: . New Simpit build ***** [Re: Reschke]  
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PropNut Offline
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New update:

I redid the control column as the old one was based off the cheap plastic guts of a Logitech wingman joystick. This new one is based on a U-Joint from a motorcycle driveline. It is based on the tutorial that I found on Mycockpits.org. Unlike that one, I have it mounted on the floor and used the calibrate utility to set the travel range. This reduces the number of "steps" that the Hall Effect sensors give to the Leo Bodnar board (4096 possible) but even reduced it is still far more than a cheap joystick will deliver with analog pots.

The guts are made with an aluminum plate and four springs connected to the four mounting bolts on the u-joint. This gives me an adjustable self centering joystick, which I can also use to adjust the strength of the resistance of movement. You can see the hall effect sensors and magnets.





Everything is covered up with a boot made of leather-like fabric gathered at the top with black wire.



The length is made of PVC connected to the u-joint via a 3" long steel water pipe that I turned down to fit into both the u-joint and the PVC pipe. (.76" and .8" respectively)



The handle is a mix of the IL-2 and Spitfire grip. It is made of cherry with a channel routed out for the wiring. My CNC made me an inlay to fill the long channel and I will make a plate with labels to cover those by the buttons. I wish I had buttons of Grey or black but the green ones will do for now.






The CNC has been a wonder so far.

Last edited by WH_PropNut; 07/10/10 07:38 PM.

F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3049379 - 07/10/10 08:32 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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JAMF Offline
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That's a beautiful work. thumbsup

#3049815 - 07/11/10 06:01 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: JAMF]  
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f15sim Offline
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Graham, WA
VERY nice! Ain't VCarve Pro grand? smile

g.


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http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3050036 - 07/11/10 09:32 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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PropNut Offline
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Not a grand, but nearly that (when combined with Photocarve and Cut 3D), lol.


F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3050151 - 07/12/10 12:29 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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f15sim Offline
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Graham, WA
Yeah, but it's such an awesome tool set. smile

g.


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http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3050254 - 07/12/10 03:35 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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PropNut Offline
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Greenville, Michigan
It sure is, V-Carve Pro makes me look like I know what I am doing. biggrin


F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3050705 - 07/12/10 08:51 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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f15sim Offline
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Graham, WA
Did you do the whole grip in VCP or did you use Cut3D for it?

g.


Proud owner of 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3050769 - 07/12/10 10:19 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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PropNut Offline
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Greenville, Michigan
It is a 2D cut, I used a router to do the round over. I do not yet have cut3D.


F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3050890 - 07/13/10 02:35 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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f15sim Offline
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Graham, WA
Ah, so the switch back was a 2nd layer?

g.


Proud owner of 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3051302 - 07/13/10 05:06 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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pakfront Offline
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Lovely. Any more pictures of using the motorcycle u-joint? Did you have to drill through it at all to place the dowels for the magnets?


. A pig that doesn't fly is just a pig. - Porco Rosso
. Windows 8, Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3ghz, 8GB RAM
. GeForce 560 640mb @ 1920x1200 32bpp 96dpi
. TrackIR 3 Vector, Logitech G940 & G25
#3051315 - 07/13/10 05:15 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: pakfront]  
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PropNut Offline
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Greenville, Michigan
Gene, yes the back was a second layer as was the front piece to connect the PVC tube.

Pakfront, sorry no other pictures of the u-joint. I did not think of taking pictures while I was building it and the ones I did take were an afterthought. Sorry. I removed the spider from the joint and put the bearing cups on my lathe. I used the lathe to bore holes in the ends of two of them. The grease channel in the center of the spider is 1/4" so I dowel fit nice and tight. The magnet is epoxied onto the end of the dowl. I drilled two holes in the assembly next to the end of the magnets and put bolts through to hold the hall effect sensor. It is pretty much exactly like the instructions found here:

http://www.jpfiles.com/hardware/uni_stick.pdf


F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3051358 - 07/13/10 05:59 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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PropNut Offline
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Here is the layout for the cut:



F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3051399 - 07/13/10 06:51 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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pakfront Offline
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Ah well - I'd like to do something similar but don't have access to a drill-press or lathe. the prospect of drilling out steel with a handheld does not appeal.I was hoping the motorcycle joints magically already had the hole for the dowel.


. A pig that doesn't fly is just a pig. - Porco Rosso
. Windows 8, Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3ghz, 8GB RAM
. GeForce 560 640mb @ 1920x1200 32bpp 96dpi
. TrackIR 3 Vector, Logitech G940 & G25
#3052277 - 07/14/10 08:27 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: pakfront]  
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f15sim Offline
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I look at that drawing and all I can think of is how cool that would look cut out of 1/2" acrylic and then flame polished. smile Left alone or painted, it would look really cool. You could fill in the spots around the switches with a little silicone filler or maybe some carefully applied bondo or microballons.

g.


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http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3052282 - 07/14/10 08:37 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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PropNut Offline
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As soon as I source some multi layered plastic (black with a lower layer of white) or just white plastic painted black, I am going to make a cover for the button area with labels. Clear acrylic is a cool idea but have you seen the prices on that stuff lately? wink You know, labels like "fire", "comms", and "OH SH**#@T!!!) lol

David


F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3052302 - 07/14/10 09:02 PM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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I buy all my acrylic as scraps from my local plastics monger. They price it by the pound. smile

I'm sure any plastic supplier local to you likely does the same thing. I use an adhesive called "Weld-On" that has the consistency of water - it's designed specifically for acrylic "welding" and does great for laminating multiple layers, so you could even use .25" if you wanted to and make a four deep stack out of it (or whatever the final thickness would be)

g.


Proud owner of 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#3052526 - 07/15/10 02:28 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: f15sim]  
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9Thumbs Offline
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pakfront,
Magical u-joints are pretty rare wink but there are other ways to attach sensors without drilling or even disassembling the u-joint.

u-joint with sensor arms

The long dog-leg arms are made to connect to Cubpilot's rotary Hall sensors, but they could be made shorter, with the magnets epoxied to the ends over the u-joint axis centerline. One arm is epoxied to the top of the spider, the other has a small hole drilled and is held in place by the grease zerk.

Some trial-and-error and bending would probably be needed to get the magnets properly positioned, but it should work, and the u-joint could still be greased if needed in the future. Just an idea to think about.

If you're considering buying a new u-joint, another alternative to motorcycle parts would be to check an agricultural/truck parts supplier. They may have small no-name brand u-joints for less. Around here they go for $25 to $30.

9T

#3052538 - 07/15/10 02:44 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: 9Thumbs]  
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PropNut Offline
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Greenville, Michigan
Where is "around here"? wink In Michigan, Tractor Supply and Family Farm and Fleet sell acricultural u-joint assemblies for 100.00+

http://www.tractorsupply.com/agriculture-farming-ranching/pto-parts/pto-drive-parts/

A used motorcycle u-joint assembly (with a nice flat flange) was 25.00 shipped from Ebay. Example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Yama...=item51909ccb28

Out of curiosity...what is holding those arms to the joint?

Gotta agree on the difficulty associated with drilling the u-joint cups though, they are tough. I removed them because it was easy to do so (many years spent under old vehicles "fix-in er up") lol.


Last edited by WH_PropNut; 07/15/10 03:12 AM.

F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
#3052553 - 07/15/10 03:22 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: PropNut]  
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Around here is on the frostier side of the 49th frosty

The new $30 u-joints I mentioned are admittedly not high quality parts - I wouldn't install one on my truck - but they should be fine for a stick. I just thought new motorcycle parts were pricier. For my sticks I just got used steering joints from the wreckers.

Princess Auto

Wow - you did great on ebay. New parts look to be about $300!

Yamaha u-joint


As mentioned, the top arm is attached with epoxy, the bottom one with the grease fitting.

9T

Last edited by 9Thumbs; 07/15/10 05:53 AM.
#3053248 - 07/16/10 03:07 AM Re: . New Simpit build [Re: 9Thumbs]  
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PropNut Offline
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Greenville, Michigan
Those are always availible on Ebay, I had been keeping an eye out for over a year before I actually bought one. The nice thing is that they have a flat flange to mount to the the base. That really is a good price you found on Princess Auto. Any OEM part is going to be expensive wink


Last edited by WH_PropNut; 07/16/10 03:08 AM.

F/A-18C Hornet cockpit build project:

http://hornetpits.org/index.php?topic=15.0
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