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Middlefart’s A-10 build


Middlefart

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Hi

I just recently bought a K40 laser with the intent to use it to start building an A-10 cockpit.

This is my first attempt on a backlit panel following @romeokilo’s guide.

I’m really surprised how good it looks and how easy it was (once I had the tools).

I’m not 100% happy with the backlighting (it doesn’t diffuse as much as I would like) but for a first try I’m pleased.

After I made this I found some better acrylic for the diffusing layer and I hope that it will fix he problem.

 

My cockpit build will be a slow process and I expected it to never be finished. :-)

 

79c587ea72e6b7cb06a6591f7cf7d160.jpg

f7efbe523736f3ba1a2e67b97be0a4fd.jpgb72ed6fffb2a6ef38d590882a1ab4e29.jpg

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Meanwhile I've started to draw Dimebug's plans in Fusion 360.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna use it, but the plans seems really good.

Capture.thumb.PNG.6dd0dfe9fa05427fcc0c70635d5faada.PNG

 

I'm also contemplating how I'm gonna make the instruments.

I would like to make most of them myself using steppers and Arduinos not using Ikarus or Helios on a single screen for the front panel.

 

My plan so far is to use two Pc's:

#1 for DCS (dual display. Will probably start with one), 2x MFCD and RWR (total of 4 or 5 screens. I might be able to use one screen for left MFCD and the RWR)

#2 for Ikarus for HSI, ADI, ADI standby (2 or 3 screens I. might skip the ADI Standby)

 

I'm gonna try to make a test VVI to see how much work it is and if it's worth it.

 

It feels like I'm biting of a lot :-)

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Meanwhile I've started to draw Dimebug's plans in Fusion 360.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna use it, but the plans seems really good.

[ATTACH]214652[/ATTACH]

 

I'm also contemplating how I'm gonna make the instruments.

I would like to make most of them myself using steppers and Arduinos not using Ikarus or Helios on a single screen for the front panel.

 

My plan so far is to use two Pc's:

#1 for DCS (dual display. Will probably start with one), 2x MFCD and RWR (total of 4 or 5 screens. I might be able to use one screen for left MFCD and the RWR)

#2 for Ikarus for HSI, ADI, ADI standby (2 or 3 screens I. might skip the ADI Standby)

 

I'm gonna try to make a test VVI to see how much work it is and if it's worth it.

 

It feels like I'm biting of a lot :-)

 

Don't ever feel you have bitten off more than you can chew. I'm just back from, middle east/africa after a 2 year hiatus. Don't ask. Came back to the forums and things have moved along a huge amount. Joe, (Ian) has made huge leaps with dcs bios, John and Hans and another couple of guys, will rake, find and credit you, been away too long. Take a panel even if it is only say the electrical panel, interface it, make it work. Do that before you start actually building cockpit. It grows on you, I no longer have a spare bedroom bro atm pit is like 16ft.

Windows 7 64 Home Premium, i5 3570K (3.4 @ 4.4GHz), Asus P8Z77-V LX, 16GB dual channel 1600 ram, EVGA Nvidia GTX980ti, 240 GB OCZ SSD, 3 TB Raptor, Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas and Throttle, Saitek Pro Combat Rudder pedals.

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The first version of the VVI is finished

 

Can be backlit, but i haven't soldered in the LED's yet.

The dial is temporary (cardboard) and the glass is missing.

It's based on a x27.168 stepper driven by an Arduino mega (going to be a Nano over rs485) with DCS Bios.

It's built from 4 layers of acrylic and a 3D-printed part.

 

Really pleased with it.

IMG_0575.thumb.JPEG.713501c4dfb2ddba3229eead2dda31f4.JPEG

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Thanks!

It calibrates by first mowing fully left where the motor has a stop.

IF the motor doesn’t have a stop, it can do full turns, you need to ad a sensor that can get the position of the dial, for example an IR-diode or a hall effect sensor and a magnet.

 

 

Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

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The VVI gauge you built is excellent. Well done. Maybe you could post some pics of the rear of the unit to show how you built and wired it. Are you using a driver board or just 4 wires to an Arduino?

Regards

John W

aka WarHog.

 

My Cockpit Build Pictures...



John Wall

 

My Arduino Sketches ... https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Dc0Wd9C5l3uY-cPj1iQD3iAEHY6EuHg?usp=sharing

 

 

WIN 10 Pro, i8-8700k @ 5.0ghz, ASUS Maximus x Code, 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum Ram,



AIO Water Cooler, M.2 512GB NVMe,

500gb SSD, EVGA GTX 1080 ti (11gb), Sony 65” 4K Display

VPC MongoosT-50, TM Warthog Throttle, TRK IR 5.0, Slaw Viper Pedals

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Thanks!

Here are some more pictures.

The motor is driven by a AX1201728SG driver chip which can run 4 steppers.

It only uses 2 GPIO pins per motor and has microstepping with 12 steps per degree.

I use the SwitecX12 library and rewrote the code for dcs bios to work with this library instead of accelstepper which seems to be what everyone else use.

The reason i went this way is because I already had the chip

 

https://guy.carpenter.id.au/gaugette/2017/04/29/switecx25-quad-driver-tests/

 

Currently its all connected to a Mega but that will be changed to a Nano later on.

The photos of the back was taken before i added the back lighting diodes.

The grey-purple-black-white wire goes from the driver chip to the motor and the yellow-brown-red is a reset pin and the two pins to run the motor.

 

IMG_0577.thumb.JPEG.47237e9c24507971d3dc1b2e11306e0e.JPEG

 

IMG_0578.thumb.JPEG.2898cd7268a3d32eccfb4f4eee21e2d8.JPEG

 

IMG_0579.thumb.JPEG.3aaca3d8f46cd437d97e6ce0aee40987.JPEG

 

IMG_0580.thumb.JPEG.c0bc6767c73c50f34e650b00918165bc.JPEG

 

IMG_0581.thumb.JPEG.f352577af003d5c5a1bb3171fb67973b.JPEG

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Nice work!

 

You say you are using a laser to engrave the text, can I ask if the laser burns into the acrylic or whether it just removes the paint?

 

Cheers

 

Thanks,

 

I try to only remove the paint but it is possible to burn into the acrylic if you want to.

The laser is also used to cut the acrylic.

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I'm using a 40w laser from eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/113647723513

Needed a bit of tinkering but now it works like a charm :-)

I don't recommend bying one of theese "upgraded ones".

I replaced the upgraded parts (the buttons and display) with a potentiometer and a mA meter (which is exactly what the non upgraded ones have) since they give a better understanding of how much you push the laser.

You don't want to over drive them

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Looking into a laser for acrylic myself, is there one you would recommend to grab and any particular upgrades you would get?

 

Thanks

59th | Casper



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Middlefart’s A-10 build

 

That's really neat - can I ask you to post pictures of the cut acrylic edge? I would like to see how clean the cut is

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Les

 

Sorry, have been busy for the last couple of days and haven't checked this forum.

 

 

 

It's hard to get a good picture of the edge but I would say that it is a very clean cut.

 

IMG_0590.thumb.JPEG.126c3fd135deba8157900b3f0f6e08aa.JPEG

 

This is a scrap piece I cut.


Edited by Middlefart
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Looking into a laser for acrylic myself, is there one you would recommend to grab and any particular upgrades you would get?

 

Thanks

 

All the 40w lasers on Ebay or AliExpress are more or less the same.

There are basically two versions of them.

An analog one where you regulate the current with a potentiometer like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40W-USB-DIY-Laser-Engraver-Cutter-Engraving-Cutting-Machine-Laser-Printer-CO2/233296256862?hash=item36518a5f5e:g:reUAAOSwPdNdOZ4H

 

and an "upgraded" digital one where you regulate the current with buttons.

Don't bother with this one. I thought it would be better, but in reality it is worse.

I converted mine back to analog and it is much better.

This site explains it https://lasergods.com/k40-control-panels-analog-vs-digital/

 

What you want to make sure is that the Controller board is compatible with K40 Whisperer https://www.scorchworks.com/K40whisperer/k40whisperer.html.

Most 40w lasers are but make sure that it is. The manufacturer is LIHUIYU for theese boards, ask the seller if the one you are looking at has a board from them.

 

The included software is crap. Don't use it. Use K40 Whisperer instead. This is free and uses Inkscape (also free) to cut.

You create the sketches in Inkscape and then open the file in K40 whisperer to cut it. Really easy.

 

The upgrades that you must do:

Better exhaust. The included one sucks (in a bad way, not the way we want it to :))

Add air assist. This blows air at the cutting point making sure that the fumes are blown away and doesn't clog up the lens.

 

I've also added a flow sensor so that the laser cannot light up if the water isn't flowing. https://k40laser.se/k40-parts/k40-spare-upgrade-parts/cooling/water-flow-sensor/

and some laser pointers so that i know exactly where its going to cut. https://k40laser.se/k40-parts/k40-spare-upgrade-parts/electronics/red-dot-laser/

 

I've also replaced the original bed to get a bigger cutting surface.

 

These sites has some good tips.

https://lasergods.com/beginners-guide-to-the-k40-laser-engraver/

https://k40laser.se/faq-how-to/

 

I can take some photos and make a video about my laser if you want me to.

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Today I've been playing with more motors to test if the Nano can drive 4 of them, which is what the AX1201728SG chip is supporting.

This was no problem at all so I think that i will try to use one nano per 4 dials, at least for the engine cluster.

 

I've also tested to run it on a RS485 network which also proved to be easy so that is what I will use.

 

On my test bench I have one Mega acting as the master, one nano acting as a slave, driving 4 motors using the AX1201728SG chip.

Works like a charm.

 

IMG_0591.thumb.JPEG.a4fed4109eca4e42c40984325f3390ac.JPEG

590914298_IMG_0591BW.thumb.jpg.568dbf1f271988de7a14b8bd700170d0.jpg

 

I might need to clean my table :music_whistling:

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I was just wondering, when you tested four stepper motors running, was it in a mission where these motors could all be moving simultaneously? My concern here is about lag. The pro mini and the Nano are relatively slow processors and may not be able to drive all 4 motors at the same time without loosing steps or having substantial lag.

 

Otherwise, it looks like you are on the path to creating a great cockpit. Keep posting those pics. It can really help others who are not yet at your level.:thumbup:

Regards

John W

aka WarHog.

 

My Cockpit Build Pictures...



John Wall

 

My Arduino Sketches ... https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Dc0Wd9C5l3uY-cPj1iQD3iAEHY6EuHg?usp=sharing

 

 

WIN 10 Pro, i8-8700k @ 5.0ghz, ASUS Maximus x Code, 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum Ram,



AIO Water Cooler, M.2 512GB NVMe,

500gb SSD, EVGA GTX 1080 ti (11gb), Sony 65” 4K Display

VPC MongoosT-50, TM Warthog Throttle, TRK IR 5.0, Slaw Viper Pedals

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