JCook Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Okay so if I go for the 8.4" vitrolight screens I can get a good format on the TM MFDs and when I'm ready to go to the custom made MFDs - I'll be all set with the 8.4" screens - sound right?
JCook Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 What do you guys know about 3D printing? - I found an inexpensive printer at one of the links that was listed a few posts back: http://store.makerbot.com/thing-o-matic-kit-mk7.html Anyone have any experience with this. Wondering if this would be suitable for some of the flight sim components. Analog gauge frames, Instrument shells, knobs, buttons, joystick grip, etc.
Deadman Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Ya know J if there were 15 or 20 guys with you enthusiasm for building a pit. I think some one would start building parts .:thumbup: https://forum.dcs.world/topic/133818-deadmans-cockpit-base-plans/#comment-133824 CNCs and Laser engravers are great but they can't do squat with out a precise set of plans.
rocketeer Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 I've seen one in action at TechShop. Anything you can design in CAD it can churn out. Works even faster if you have a 3D scanner. Then borrow a knob or whatever small parts from the cockpit and scan, then print. You get identical replica without the mess of moldings and casting. You'd then have realistic looking parts. But who has that kind of dough? My A10C cockpit thread
JCook Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) Right D - More people should be building pits. Doing my part, the A10C is just the first one. I figure my basement can hold three pits - maybe four :-) Rocketeer - I think it was around a grand, I'm sure there are some hidden costs as well. But it would be cool. I'd have to get a close look at the quality of the build - whatever it is. If the quality was there I'd consider getting one. Haven't seen any Youtube videos where they're producing anything real useful yet. Printing a 3D Yoda head or whistle is not something very helpful with a cockpit build :-) But if you could build quality grips, buttons, china hats, triggers, etc you could have HOTAS setups for F15's, F18's, F16's, BlackShark etc. Edited January 6, 2012 by JCook
Timmay Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Quality of 3D printed objects Hello everybody, to show you an example of the quality of modern 3D printers, I would like to give you the link to the website of a good friend of mine. He sells a good replica of the ANVIS-9 NVG. The main part was printed on a 3D-Printer. You can find it under the following link: http://pixel-moments.de/10.html By the way, take a look at his amazing aviation photos!! He even took pictures from within a KC-135 during air-air-refuelling in Nellis!! Greetings Tim [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] If it got tits or wings, it makes you trouble!!
rocketeer Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Jcook, if you are near one of the Techshop locations, then you can attend a 3D printing class. Then pay the shop access time by the hour or day pass or month pass etc and use whatever equipment they have for which you have attended its class. Then you don't have to buy the equipment. Rather you'd renting it by the hour. If you buy one, I suppose you make render in CAD or scan (if you have that access too) and sell some highly sorted after parts to recoup your investment. There are parts in the popular A-10 and F-16 cockpits that you can make for a start. My A10C cockpit thread
JCook Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 y2kiah - I've finally located a local CNC shop that will work with wood cutting. I want to make sure I have your latest .dxf plans and production notes for cutting. Please keep in mind I know next to nothing about CNC work at this point. So I want to try to get any questions the CNC shop might have answered ahead of time. On the day we do the cutting I need to go in with as much information as possible, because if they start asking me technical questions about a certain cut or tolerance, I'm going to have to ask the audience or phone a friend which will pretty much postpone the cutting job for the day. I plan on having them cut the left and right consoles first - and I will tackle the front panel farther down the road. I also plan on implementing your front extension and windscreen frame to my pit - but that is way down the line. I've noted in Gadroc's post #386 and your reply post in #388 that there might be a .dxf update needed. Do you have the most up-to-date dxf files available yet? I plan on using the .75" birch as I think you are. And I've noted your instructions in post #385 that the throttle mount pockets are to be cut .5" deep. You mention in the same post to look at your screen shots for reference. I've reviewed every page of your posts this morning and I'm not sure which picture is the one you want me to reference - can you point it out please? Are there any additional production notes you can think of for me to cover with the CNC shop? I believe I've read that drilling should be with the 1/8" bit and the cutting bit is 1/4". Thanks for all the help.
y2kiah Posted January 8, 2012 Author Posted January 8, 2012 The latest files are not posted yet, the 3/4 birch plywood is actually .703, so I have to make some changes for that reason. A sheet of the stuff is $45. But, some pieces in the pit are actually fine to be made from MDF, which is .75" thick and only $30 per sheet. It's a toss up, create one set of plans with a mix and match set of parts? Create two sets of plans, one for each material type? Anyway, I've also been slow to post the rest of the pit because I had to tweak the rib shapes in the front sides and extensions modules due to this: It's a dimensionally accurate model of the C-model hood, measurements taken from a real A model hood and modifications made to the shape based on some very good photos of the new one that I got my hands on. I intend to cut out a positive in layered foam, sand down the corners to get the proper rounded edges, and make a plug to mold it out of fiberglass. You can see where they had to add bulges to accommodate the MFD cases extending forward. The DCS model does not include those details. How does it fit into my pit design? Like a glove... Notice the gap between the panel and the hood is present in the real jet. There is a strip of material attached to the hood with velcro strips to cover up the gap, but I've also seen plenty of photos of real jets where the gap is just left open. A cutaway shot of the supporting structure of the whole pit. I've left plenty of room for building a HUD system in later on, probably based on one of those mini short-throw projectors that are now getting pretty cheap to buy. Speaking of HUD, does anyone have a good source for actual dimensions and shape of the HUD? Otherwise, I'll have to eyeball it from pictures. The A-10 has quite a steep downward view angle, I think up to 20 degrees. Mine is based on more of an in-flight attitude rather than sitting on the ground, so it's approx. 15 to 17 degrees downward, can't remember which.
JCook Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 Awesome Wow this pit is going to be awesome. I can go with all birch construction - no problem. Whatever final drawings you come up with as long as I understand the cutting / materials details should be fine. Are you using dzus rails or fabricating your own rail system?
rocketeer Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Y2kiah, that is one awesome looking pit. Just curious, how does your pit differ from dimebug's in terms of dimension and features? I noticed that yours have swing out side panels, and of course the hood. My A10C cockpit thread
y2kiah Posted January 9, 2012 Author Posted January 9, 2012 I'm not sure how it compares to Dimebug's in terms of dimensions, not familiar with his dimensions exactly. Mine is 53" wide, 64" long or 88" with the front extension. The aft rib is 37.5" high. I general I've tried to be as accurate as possible with a wood structure, so my plans would be very difficult to build without CNC cutting. I think Dimebug's are doable with hand cutting, so you may want to choose based on how you plan to make the cuts.
rocketeer Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Y2kiah, your design is awesome, and the panels you built are awesome too. how much of the cockpit frame have you build? Just thinking as you build the actual you might find the need to make some adjustments. I know the plans are finalized yet. My A10C cockpit thread
linden Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 I have a question regarding the front panel. Do you know what the maximum dimension on the front panel will be the "height, width" I have optimized the panel so it should fit a 27 "and 2 7" monitor. As you can see in the picture, I've got to broaden the panel a little bit from 939.800mm to 999.800mm. Do you think it can still fit? Thank you
y2kiah Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 Hi Linden, you are in luck, your increased size will fit in the pit with no problems. You will have about .5" of clearance on each side, but you may need to make the curvature on the lower, outer edge a bit sharper to clear the inner skin of the canopy sill. Or, you can choose not to skin that area. You will also have a problem if you decide to build the canopy frame AND swinging doors, because you will have no room for the pipe that supports the frame. Here's a screenshot of what I'm talking about. The dotted lines are where your two outer edges will be. Also check screenshot #2, behind the panel your supporting brackets that extend to the next rib will be farther out, so you will have some minor redesigning to do, but you can probably just do that by hand. The only thing to worry about there is that the bracket doesn't intersect with the hood. In general though, you will have no problems using a monitor/tv behind the panel, you can rest it directly on the center console along with the panel.
linden Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for the reply! Yes I see that there will be a little big, but I managed to push the dimensions a little more :).... This might fit better??
y2kiah Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 I don't think you'll have any problems fitting that Thanks for the reply! Yes I see that there will be a little big, but I managed to push the dimensions a little more :).... This might fit better??
JCook Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 y2kiah - I was wondering about TrackIR and how that would be implemented in a full sized sim pit like yours. A full panel and side consoles reduces (or removes) the need for looking inside the cockpit but the Tracking ability would still be useful for looking outside the aircraft. Where would the best place be to mount the TrackIR sensor?
JCook Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Do you have any CAD drawings with the ACES seat and joystick for your pit? I'd like to get an accurate height from the top of the stick to the cockpit floor.
Zenga Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Do you have any CAD drawings with the ACES seat and joystick for your pit? I'd like to get an accurate height from the top of the stick to the cockpit floor. :thumbup: That's exactly what I'm looking for, too! Also, if someone has data at hand for the height of the seat bottom (where you put yor butt on), relative to the pit floor and/or stick mounting floor, that would be awesome. I'm starting to make something that, in respect of the efforts all the pit builders here, doesn't really earn the name "pit". It's more an "assembly" of the hardware I have bought until now which compromises the TM Warthog (soon to be nicely extended thx to metalnwood :thumbup: and lovely covered thx to Deadman :thumbup: ), TM MFDs and the Saitek Pro Rudder Pedals.
Lumper Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Zenga, what you want is not eazy to get. The seat moves up and down several inches. You might be able to find how low can the seat fit in the tub, or how high it fits, but will still not be what you would use if you sat in the seat. Does that make sense to you. Lumper ------------------------------------------- When the going gets tough, the smart cutout. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
Zenga Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Hi Lumper, yes, it does. Thanks. Indeed, I completely forgot about the adjustability... So in that case minimum and maximum values would be helpful. I will not replicate a seat 100% like the original ACESII seaot though. But I want to have similar, if not the same dimensions as IRL to have similar ergonomics.
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