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#4207005 - 12/17/15 08:11 AM Spogooter's Sim Stuff *****  
Joined: Aug 2015
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spogooter Offline
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I've been lurking around here for quite while, just looking at the amazing projects for ideas and inspiration. I'm starting to make some progress on my projects, so I thought I would start a thread as a sort of journal of my progress.

I'll tidy it up and make the images more forum friendly soon.

For now here's an assortment of project images:
http://imgur.com/a/Wgr4z

Here's more specific images of my sidewinder extension project:
http://imgur.com/a/VrXg1

P-51 Engine control panel (my very first print on my own $220 printer!):
http://imgur.com/a/0wB5X

P-51 Rudder pedal (not complete, just testing to see if my printer could run for 18 hours without screwing up):
http://imgur.com/a/4FRAp

More and bigger things to come!

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4207075 - 12/17/15 02:06 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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A friend and I both purchase this prusa i3 kit on aliexpress . It looked sketchy, but we kept running into people online who had it and were pleased with it. I've printed down to .1mm layer height and I think he's toyed with .05mm.

#4207172 - 12/17/15 06:20 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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Paradaz Offline
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Paradaz  Offline
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UK
I'm liking the look of the Sidewinder extension....I've dabbled before with a hybrid FFB2 base and Saitek X52 Pro stick and button-box but not attempted an extension.

How is the spring coping?....if I recall the 'Precision 2' stick doesn't have a particularly strong spring so have you upgraded it in any way or is it coping with the longer stick and throw?


On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
#4207190 - 12/17/15 06:58 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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I just used a precision 2 as a template. I fly with it on a ffb2. The motors do ok, it will center itself, stiffen with speed, and move when trimming. In dcs the buffeting feel in the stick has improved my on-the-edge flying quite a bit. I love it!

#4207298 - 12/17/15 11:50 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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WileECoyote Offline
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Argentina
Nice!

But, I don't want to discourage you, but have you tested those printed parts? 3D prints look sturdy but believe me, they're more often than not, very fragile. The layers tend to separate, so better if the force is applied parallel to them.

Last edited by WileECoyote; 12/17/15 11:52 PM.

When you're feeling sad, just remember that somewhere in the world, there's someone pushing a door that says "pull".
#4207309 - 12/18/15 12:55 AM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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You have a point but it's ok, I'm not discouraged. These aren't ready to go yet and I'm modeling them as replicas. I will modify the design for strength and functionality in the ones I use in my sim pedals. They will be strong enough for a bit of abuse. I've bent and broken plenty of 3d prints at my job so I am aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I've been printing for about 6 months now, it's just that this is my first printer, so I can hog it all to myself and run 24 hour builds if I want to. The pedal forks will have threaded steel shaft running through them and be printed in ~80% solid abs. Plus they're only going to be for me to start with, so I don't have to worry about them being stomped on.

#4207356 - 12/18/15 03:32 AM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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453Raafspitty Offline
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Nice work,minimum wall thickness I would go for with sticks is 3mm and pedals 6mm.Panels are nice but aluminium is a better option in fabrication.Parts that are originally cast or made out of bakelite are the best things to focus on.

#4207401 - 12/18/15 07:11 AM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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Thanks for the tips. Do you print in pla or abs? No doubt that aluminum would be better for panels. Just using the printer for fit test prototypes. Right now I'm working modeling all the flight controls one by one. I'll figure out fabrication options down the road.

#4210614 - 12/28/15 07:10 AM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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More progress on my pedal project:


#4210688 - 12/28/15 03:06 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
Joined: Oct 2015
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Lobinjaevel Offline
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Looking good spogooter!
I ordered the same 3D printer model you got after I saw your pictures, crazy affordable!
Been sitting the entire holidays and researching so that I can get that 0.1mm print resolution goodness aswell!

Cheers!
Robin

#4210706 - 12/28/15 04:03 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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Thanks! Glad to hear that I helped get someone else into 3d printing. I got into it the same way wink

Let me know if there's anything you need help with, our printer can be a bit wonky but once it is set up correctly it prints just as well if not better than my company's makerbots of ten times the cost. My only issue currently is the included power supply is a bit weak so I'm not able to achieve the high bed temps needed for abs printing. I have printed at .1mm just to test but I usually use .2 or .25. Everything I print in pla are just prototypes, and when I print abs I'll be acetone vapor bathing to get rid of the lines anyhow. I did some small abs tests with acetone and the results were amazing! We can print high quality knobs no problem.

Here's a couple vapor smoothing test prints:



The one on the left has some random details added to see how they came out after. The one on the right was sanded with 220 before vapor smoothing. More pics here: http://imgur.com/a/cL2vQ

What sort of gear are you looking to print? I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

#4210719 - 12/28/15 04:28 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,221
f15sim Offline
More projects than sense!
f15sim  Offline
More projects than sense!
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Graham, WA
Nice parts, bad Takerbot. smile

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
#4210865 - 12/28/15 10:54 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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Lobinjaevel Offline
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Those came out great, they show what's great with 3d printing, cheap parts you can make at home without a workshop and with a little polish you can achieve nice results!

I will try to make entire panels in the end, have ordered some different filaments to see if you can print the base plate with enough strength to make it feel solid. And it's mostly an experiment to see how cheap you can make it too, since I don't have access to a CNC/Laser.

And also some bits and bobs around the cockpit. Buttons, boxes, ejection seat parts etc.
At some point when my CAD skills get up to speed again I would like to make a Gripen HOTAS, compatible with my TM warthog.


Thanks for offering help, will surely need it at some point smile

Cheers
Robin

#4210873 - 12/28/15 11:21 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: Lobinjaevel]  
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spogooter Offline
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Right on. It sounds like we are really on the same page. Working on simple stuff to improve my skills and learn enough to eventually make replica quality flight controls. I've been experimenting with panels as well, using black and white filament in the same print to do lettering. The realistic thickness of 1/16" is a bit flexy in plastic, but you don't have to go much thicker for a sturdy panel. My P-51 engine control panel is 3mm thick and does the job nicely. I think once I'm happy with my panels I'll have them cut from acrylic locally. I don't think it's too pricey and there's usually a sign shop around that can do the job.

What filaments are you experimenting with? I've run abs, pla, carbon fiber abs, and bamboo pla through mine so far with good results. I still have some stainless steel pla and flexible filament waiting for a good test application. I ordered them all from Global Filament Sample Depot

In case you haven't seen this site, I got the measurements for those test knobs from EHC Products. The pdf catalogs actually give you the dimensions, so it's pretty damn handy for modern stuff.

What CAD software do you use? I'm learning with Autodesk Fusion 360 and I love it so far. Very capable and feature rich app especially considering it is FREE for anyone making under 100k. As far as printer software, I was using Cura but recently switched to Simplify3d and I have to say that it's worth the money.

I've got so many little projects going at the moment it's hard to stay focused. Too many possibilities with 3d printing! Right now I'm working on a hall sensor gimbal for what will eventually (hopefully) be a 100% custom HOTAS.

#4211070 - 12/29/15 02:48 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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Lobinjaevel Offline
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I've ordered some nylon and some PLA filament for the simpit stuff.
http://feedtheprinter.com/nylonfilament/orbi-tech-nylon-1-75-mm-94/orbi-tech-nylon-1-75-mm

When I get better prints I will also order some carbon fiber PLA:
http://feedtheprinter.com/specialfilament/carbon-pla-filament/carbon-pla-1-75-mm


I've made my old models in Sketchup, but will probably move over to FreeCAD. Might check out Fusion 360 since I learned Autodesk Inventor in school years ago.
But I will probably need to re-learn all of my skills anyway, so I will go with the program that's cheap/good layout/capable enough for my needs.

Will definitely check out Simplifi3d, keep hearing god things about it!

Looking forward to seeing more of your progress!

#4211082 - 12/29/15 03:15 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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Definitely give f360 a look. The tools are all there, and the way you can view/organize your projects and save to your autodesk account is super handy. I do wish I could turn my toolbox vertically, but other than that the layout is very nice. It has good 3d printing/stl support, lets you easily import models from mcmaster or elsewhere. I didn't think I'd care about render options or animation, but it's got that along with stress simulation. I swear I don't work for them wink

Here's yesterdays progress. I drew up this gimbal last night in f360 and woke up to a nice little pla model. It's basically just a testbed for different sensor configurations:





Now it's time I learn at least a lttle bit about the electronic side of this stuff :/

#4211557 - 12/30/15 07:55 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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Not my normal sim stuff, but I printed my own blackshark "module" for my helimax axe ez. Turned out pretty good considering I fully expected a failure biggrin



More pics of the process here: http://imgur.com/a/se0Dk

#4217059 - 01/14/16 10:53 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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I printed a couple spitfire flap lever keychain tests based on photographs and scaled from the blueprint provided by another forum user. Still trying to coax the shine out of this pla, but it's a great start, the stuff feels great in hand, very heavy. I printed it almost completely solid. Vertical at .1mm, flat at .05mm. It comes off the printer looking like cast metal!

More pics of the print process here: http://imgur.com/a/4IunM
Info on filament here: http://www.proto-pasta.com/collections/retail/products/stainless-steel-pla






#4217218 - 01/15/16 01:18 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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BELARUS, Minsk
Gimbal. do have foto dissassembled, or work log?

#4217225 - 01/15/16 01:26 PM Re: Spogooter's Sim Stuff [Re: spogooter]  
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spogooter Offline
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spogooter  Offline
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Here's the design. I will take a few photos when I get to work today.

It's just a frame for a car/atv balljoint with a spot to embed a 3d hall sensor and a teensy. Photo will explain the hall sensor better. The rubber boot provides a nice smooth stick force, and the polished metal ball is prepacked with grease so it is smooth also.

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