My F16 Simpit project progress

[Zorg.]

I'm taking a moment to post some photos of the progress of my project: 1 year of progress on my F16 Sim project.

I made the decision to equip myself for the manufacture of panels and possible cuts. This seems like a great adventure to me.

That’s a lot of hours of research. Fortunately, many posts sharing their tips.

First  my material setup :

1. My home cnc :

2. My tropical K40 chip arrived crushed but fortunately the tube remained intact. (The seller did not want to take it back)

 

Progress of the panels :

The entire architecture is based on arduino mainly the Nano, pro micro and mega for the MasterUART. (Thanks to the entire Dcsbios community)

After cutting the K40 work:

 

Ready to paint:

Câblage IFF :

RS485 communication test based on MAX487 -

 

Made yesterday, assembly of two large 16/9 screens with 210° view - Looking forward to testing it.

Still a lot of work on the horizon - to be continued....

2023/10/19 - Assembly and painting.

...

01/04/2024 Some progress on the central console :

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2024 by Zorg.

[agrasyuk]

really cool. do you already know which paint you will be using for the screen ?

[Zorg.]

For painting, I don't have much choice where I am. I will follow the advice found on The Warthog Project channel. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his sharing, a very good source of inspiration, and many others.
So I took Dulux white for the first coats and a Dulux gray color for the finish with an aluminum airbrush mixture. I hope it goes well

[Zorg.]

 

 

[agrasyuk]

I tried airbrush metalizer, perhaps it was a skill gap but it didn't work for me. The screen paint formula I used is in the link

 

[Zorg.]

2023/11/18 Latest panel produced - ECM Panel based on a 4x8 MAX7219 matrix.

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Zorg.

[Snakedoc]

Really amazing work! Well done!

I am building also an F16 pit using a very similar technique to yours! 
 

I am still at the early stages, will do a dedicated post in a bit but for now I just wanted to admire your work!!

[Zorg.]

2023/12/21 Latest achievement: ICP
Some improvements in the quality of the keys and paint. But it is now functional.

 

[BaronVonVaderham]

Do you make your PCBs yourself? They look very impressive

 

[Zorg.]

16 hours ago, BaronVonVaderham said:

Fabriquez-vous vous-même vos PCB ? Ils ont l’air très impressionnants

 

For the PCB, the design and assembly was done by myself, and the production was subcontracted to a specialized company.

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Zorg.

[santinif4]

Very nice work! Are the panel laser files (.svg?) available somewhere for us to use/purchase? Where did you source your switches? Some look like they are the locking lever type. And lastly, are you 3d printing your knobs? - are those files (.stl) available to use/purchase as well? Thanks!

[Zorg.]

sorry for the late response

All the parts are the subject of a specific design with CAD software - The switches that I chose are essentially T80 type non-locking toggles. For the buttons, for the moment I print them with a 3D printer

[Zorg.]

Hello guys
Still little free time to move forward on this exciting project. this short video on the first calibration of the central console screens. It works pretty well, it's very cool .

 

 

[BaronVonVaderham]

On 11/19/2023 at 7:38 AM, Zorg. said:

2023/11/18 Latest panel produced - ECM Panel based on a 4x8 MAX7219 matrix.

 

 

Or of curiosity, concerning the ecm panel, isn’t the Center character of the ecm buttons supposed to be backlit as well? I can see how it is significantly easier to not backlight the Center character on the ecm buttons. I heard of Center holed push switches but never been able to find them. 

[Zorg.]

This is true ! It is rather complicated to implement the backlighting of the central characters - With the state of my research, I also went to the simplest of modeling. We can hope to improve this in the near future. Using 2x3x4mm square diodes. Have fun!!

null

[Hammer3246]

-

Edited May 15, 2024 by Hammer3246
Figured it out

[Zorg.]

Progress of this weekend: - Printing and assembly of ICP tubes - Printing and mounting of screen controllers. - Mod printing center console.

With Master arm panel and motor gauges 

Edited May 21, 2024 by Zorg.

[Zorg.]

My latest work - implementation engine panel from x27 motors, and an SG90 servo motor with nano boards. It works, but not as smooth as I thought it would - to see in use if not too much step loss.

 

[BaronVonVaderham]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:45 AM, Zorg. said:

My latest work - implementation engine panel from x27 motors, and an SG90 servo motor with nano boards. It works, but not as smooth as I thought it would - to see in use if not too much step loss.

 

Would you mind sharing the design for that one? I’ve been trying to figure out how to create the engine gauges. 

[Zorg.]

null

[No1sonuk]

Might be worth trying helical gears on the servo unit if you can.

I also add a ring to go into the faces behind the glass to retain it.

null

Edited June 12, 2024 by No1sonuk
Image added

[Hammer3246]

On 6/12/2024 at 11:07 AM, Zorg. said:

null

Any interest in selling the files and a how to?  I'd love to get my gauges working, but I'm pretty clueless.

[Hammer3246]

I guess not.

[Zorg.]

Last update, working with PVC:

Cnc cutting.

Bending

Up

Edited September 4, 2024 by Zorg.

[pesbra]

Awesome job!