Building a 3D printed HOTAS based on the in-game cockpit
- Thread starter MathCampbell
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Thats excellent and best post of the day - wow - imagine a custom Hotas !!
I was hoping to do that but placement of the switch to do that is tricky..if it's at the top of the latch, it'll be visible when you flip it up...if it's above the latch on top of the stick, it's visible when it's not flipped up...
If it's internal, and pressed by something on the other side of the latch's pin, I have the issue of making sure it clicks on and off...
I'd also wanted to spring load it, but tbh trying to work out how to make sure it stays down till you flip it up a bit is beyond my mechanical design skills...this is the first time I've ever designed and 3d printed anything...
Put a magnet on the cover and a reed contact (or hall sensor) inside the case.
OMG why did I not think of that?!
I’m using a Hall effect sensor for the z-axis, I just bought a ton of small magnets..I’m a moron. Thank you!
I would probably be better using a Hall effect switch not one of my linear sensors but I could code around that if the switches cost more…(I have like 20 of the sensors lol!)
I used to sell Makerbot 3D printers. This is not a cheap hobby. The cost of the filaments is where you will burn dollars and burn them very, very quickly. I've found that using a 3rd party service is the way to go. The local libraries in my area have Makerbot printers for public use. You have to make an appointment and bring the 3D files with you. They charge by the ounce of filament used. I've used them for many plastic parts including a prescription lens holder for my Oculus.
However, COVID closed most of the libraries in my area and I had to go out on the open market and find a 3rd party service. I did a bake-off between three different online services and the one that was the best was this one.
This site is actually a Web Portal for many companies large and small that offer 3D printing services so do your research before ordering parts. One place I ordered was clearly some guy operating out of his house who did not know how to use his printer. Another was a company that had 100,000 Sq Ft of production space making nothing but 3D printed prototypes for engineers.
By best I rated the 3 websites by the following:
- Ease of upload of files and the ability to manipulate the file online and verify that it would print.(not all 3d objects are printable)
- Choice of filament.
- Delivery and lead time.
- Feedback and advise throughout the product of my order.
I'd actually looked at getting this done by a 3rd party...this may vary based on where you are in the world; here it was gonna cost me about £80 for just the stick and parts...and as I've seen I've had 3+ revisions so far...printer I got on sale from Creality at £166, and I've spent about £40 on filament so far...this will maybe use about 200g of filament in total per joystick, so yeah I may end up needing another roll or two...but that's STILL cheaper than the remote-printing services...plus I also now own a 3d printer, which tbh I'd already wanted...
You're right it's not cheap though. I could likely have bought an X52 and a T16000M throttle for the same money...but then I wouldn't have the in-game replica HOTAS I wanted..or the palm panels..
You're right it's not cheap though. I could likely have bought an X52 and a T16000M throttle for the same money...but then I wouldn't have the in-game replica HOTAS I wanted..or the palm panels..
Yes, Absolutely Volume and Weight greatly matters in 3D printing and I would not be surprised that it would exceed the expense of the end product itself.
I've some experience in engineering using SLA modeling for prototypes going back to the 80's. The price has really dropped since then and 3D printing is responsible for that revolution. However, for the foreseeable future using filament depositing technology, it looks like we've hit a cost plateau. In fact, the printers have for some low cost printer manufacturers become the razor holders and the filaments the blades and the money made on filament. We all have experienced this with inkjet printers.
Based on the volume of a typical joystick, your prices that you mentioned above are in line. I downloaded what might be a representative joystick model from Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:776116 That should approximate the volume of your design. I then I uploaded it to Craftcloud and used GBP for the currency and got a cost with shipping from Lithuania of £13.76 - £64.24 using PETG.
Now note a couple of things here:
- The basis of this cost was 100% infill using PETG. This likely not what one would use on first prototypes but rather the final article but rather you would start using 20% infill to test your design for fit. Then switch to 100% for the final durable product.
- If one can find a source that will offer PLA(good cheap non-durable prototyping but not generally found in the Eurozone) then one could cut that cost to £7.20.
Quote Material Prices in GBP £ from https://craftcloud3d.com/ Your mileage will vary.
Small update, testing my plan to use clear PLA and paint to create illuminated sections:
This is the target button safety cover. It’s clear pla painted red. The lettering is raised above the main surface so after painting I sanded that layer off.
The print warped slightly on the left side hence the “s” in safe is a bit naff but it’s still proven the concept; the button underneath this will have an LED in it, when the cover is closed that led should still be visible enough thru the button to light up this as well..
This is the target button safety cover. It’s clear pla painted red. The lettering is raised above the main surface so after painting I sanded that layer off.
The print warped slightly on the left side hence the “s” in safe is a bit naff but it’s still proven the concept; the button underneath this will have an LED in it, when the cover is closed that led should still be visible enough thru the button to light up this as well..
Not much progress in last week cos got a bit sick; starting to recover now.
Had to redesign the top lid a few times to get this switch cover to work properly.
It's finally working, doesn't pop off, isn't impossible to get on and off for assembly but hard enough it won't happen by accident.
Only minor issue is sometimes it doesn't stay down; my solution for this is I'll add a small magnet on the inside of the case and inside the cover.
Don't think I can put videos directly on here, so here's an imgur link:
Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/AQVRBrV
Had to redesign the top lid a few times to get this switch cover to work properly.
It's finally working, doesn't pop off, isn't impossible to get on and off for assembly but hard enough it won't happen by accident.
Only minor issue is sometimes it doesn't stay down; my solution for this is I'll add a small magnet on the inside of the case and inside the cover.
Don't think I can put videos directly on here, so here's an imgur link:
Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/AQVRBrV
Another small but important update; this is the design I’ve created for the HAT switches.
Normally a fairly single thing; design the hat switch head and then a thing to attach to the absolutely tiny 5-way tactile switches you can get.
Complication here is that the HAT switches on the in-game stick and throttle all have a blue glowing light inside them.
Not enough space to put an LED inside the hat button and have the wires go inside; instead I’ve created this mount which sits on top of the 5-way switch and has a space for the 5mm neopixel LED.
The HAT itself will be painted black but it’s printed in transparent PLA so the entire thing will act as a light guide for the led beneath. The whole thing also acts as a pivot for the tiny stick that sits in a pocket on the bottom (and the switch itself will be hot glued to the mount inside)
hard to explain but this took many many revisions to get working, large enough to be tough not to break but small enough to fit inside.
Really wish the 5-way switches were available illuminated but they’re not so…
Normally a fairly single thing; design the hat switch head and then a thing to attach to the absolutely tiny 5-way tactile switches you can get.
Complication here is that the HAT switches on the in-game stick and throttle all have a blue glowing light inside them.
Not enough space to put an LED inside the hat button and have the wires go inside; instead I’ve created this mount which sits on top of the 5-way switch and has a space for the 5mm neopixel LED.
The HAT itself will be painted black but it’s printed in transparent PLA so the entire thing will act as a light guide for the led beneath. The whole thing also acts as a pivot for the tiny stick that sits in a pocket on the bottom (and the switch itself will be hot glued to the mount inside)
hard to explain but this took many many revisions to get working, large enough to be tough not to break but small enough to fit inside.
Really wish the 5-way switches were available illuminated but they’re not so…
Attachments
Another small update; been busy designing the gimbal mounts and the "armrest" that surrounds the joystick and holds the rear screen, which I'm going to use a 2.23 inch OLED display for; I'm not sure if this will simply display input statistics, or if I will use it for adjusting the input curve of the joystick...depends on memory and how i implement the code.
What I am stuck on however is whether to mount the gimbal box flush with the top of the surrounding arm-rest, or flush with the bottom.
If it's with the bottom, it means the entire thing can sit flat on a desk for instance. If I mount it flush with the top however, it means it'll look more like the game version and likely have the joystick at the better position for ergonomics.....but it'll then not sit flat on a surface, so will need mounted or clamped in some way, which I'm not sure about..
Have attached two versions to see what I mean..
What I am stuck on however is whether to mount the gimbal box flush with the top of the surrounding arm-rest, or flush with the bottom.
If it's with the bottom, it means the entire thing can sit flat on a desk for instance. If I mount it flush with the top however, it means it'll look more like the game version and likely have the joystick at the better position for ergonomics.....but it'll then not sit flat on a surface, so will need mounted or clamped in some way, which I'm not sure about..
Have attached two versions to see what I mean..
Anyone any thoughts?
Your choice - but I mounted my Virpils low down next to my chair armrests. So for me, it would definitely be the second option, not even a question. I've heard from other prople though that they have no problem with the sticks (Warthog, Virpil) sitting on top of their desk, so this seems to be a personal choice, aslo depending a lot on the rest of your simpit layout.
Thanks! Yeah I’m more worried about the stick being above the panel/armrest or level with it. Still haven’t decided to mount on desk or chair.
Another seemingly small update but a lot of progress made here;
This is my new attempt at finer details on backlit illuminated parts. I got a laser engraver that fits on the 3D printer.
A few attempts later with different power and speed settings and I think this is acceptable. Not perfect cos I had to scrape some of the burnt paint off with a scalpel and it was just a test so I didn’t take enough time but it’s much more exact and clean than printing the text in raised plastic and painting/sanding to reveal it.
I’ve circled the successful one; you can see other test burns and the original printed 3D plastic text. This is all for the missile switch style cover for the arming/targeting button, but I’ll be needing to do the same on other things like the buttons on the right panel and throttle...
This is my new attempt at finer details on backlit illuminated parts. I got a laser engraver that fits on the 3D printer.
A few attempts later with different power and speed settings and I think this is acceptable. Not perfect cos I had to scrape some of the burnt paint off with a scalpel and it was just a test so I didn’t take enough time but it’s much more exact and clean than printing the text in raised plastic and painting/sanding to reveal it.
I’ve circled the successful one; you can see other test burns and the original printed 3D plastic text. This is all for the missile switch style cover for the arming/targeting button, but I’ll be needing to do the same on other things like the buttons on the right panel and throttle...
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Started working on the code that will actually work the joystick now, and testing the LED's for fit...
A real pain to solder this thing inside the HAT switch mount as the plastic just melts and gets everywhere and interferes with the solder...I may have to rethink the way I do it...(thinking possible a breakout board but that will take more space)..
However it may have been bad soldering..but it looks pretty...obviously once it's all assembled the hat itself will be black, leaving only a small light-channel in the middle for the glow, as per the cockpit one...but it's still pretty...
A real pain to solder this thing inside the HAT switch mount as the plastic just melts and gets everywhere and interferes with the solder...I may have to rethink the way I do it...(thinking possible a breakout board but that will take more space)..
However it may have been bad soldering..but it looks pretty...obviously once it's all assembled the hat itself will be black, leaving only a small light-channel in the middle for the glow, as per the cockpit one...but it's still pretty...
For the numerous (ok, both of you) people watching this thread, don't worry, I've not gone anywhere. Had to invest in a few new things to progress things. Right now I'm busy making custom PCB';s cos designing then ordering from chinese fab suppliers is cheaper but takes 2 weeks a go, and if you get it wrong first time that's a month down..
The joystick base box (the one which will sit in the armrest thing pictured above with the screens) is printed and mostly complete. Wired it up here, as you can see, and it WORKS!
Had it in-game for a few mins to check the accuracy of the x and y positions, and they're really sensitive and accurate. I plan to allow response-curve adjustment on the screens to the rear of the stick so it won't be too sensitive; the accuracy is amazing tho...tiny little movements (of the base, the actual stick is still in progress so small movment at the base will be bigger at the top obviously, but I'm talking <1mm here) results in 20-30 units of movement in the raw data the sensor reports so this will be a much more accurate stick than using traditional pots that wear out etc.
The joystick base box (the one which will sit in the armrest thing pictured above with the screens) is printed and mostly complete. Wired it up here, as you can see, and it WORKS!
Had it in-game for a few mins to check the accuracy of the x and y positions, and they're really sensitive and accurate. I plan to allow response-curve adjustment on the screens to the rear of the stick so it won't be too sensitive; the accuracy is amazing tho...tiny little movements (of the base, the actual stick is still in progress so small movment at the base will be bigger at the top obviously, but I'm talking <1mm here) results in 20-30 units of movement in the raw data the sensor reports so this will be a much more accurate stick than using traditional pots that wear out etc.