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3-DOF
Platform 2
See below for drawings. |
PAGE 1 is here
PAGE 2 is here
To try the platform out I rigged up a screen
support structure at the front and a temporary fabric cover to
enclose the cockpit and tried some flights.
Overall the motion seems effective, forward
accelerations and braking effects are cued as expected. Roll
motions and tilting to simulate cornering accelerations are also
effective. The platform is active in heave and flying in stormy
weather produces a lot of movement which, with the joystick on
your knee, makes the flight difficult to control!
The bungee cord support mechanism works well in
balancing the moving weight of the platform. And as I described
in a previous page there is some sideways motion although this
generally isn't very noticeable when you are in the cockpit.
The DIY actuators seem to work effectively although
they did develop some chain slack as the working loads settled
their structure/bearings/housings. I implemented simple chain
tensioners on the actuators which allow any chain slack that
develops to be removed without re-setting the bearing housings.
These are now in v2 of the DIY Actuator plans.
The main issue that remains with the actuators is
the backlash in the drive motor gearboxes - these are low cost
motors and under frequently reversing force direction duty (eg when there
is continuous heave motion due to turbulence effects) I could
feel the backlash in the gearboxes. This could be reduced by
making the load support mechanism less effective - ie by taking
it out of balance slightly so that there is a positive load on
the actuators most of the time. This calls for some
experimenting. Otherwise changing the gearing in the motors is a
further option or, if cost is not an issue, using higher spec
gearboxes.
DRAWINGS
For interested builders I've made up a set of basic
dimensioned drawings of the platform parts free of charge and
for information purposes - they might provide
some ideas for your own builds. Note the pdfs are password
protected and the password is: platform
I have done my best to make the drawings accurate,
however it is entirely possible that they may contain errors or
mistakes. If you find any please let me know so I can fix them.
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