Community Event / Creation The Svadilfare: Building a sci-fi simrig

[Eewec]

Hmm. Your project has had me motivated to go looking at various things to work out what I'd need to do something of my own. One of the things that cropped up during that research was the..... negatives of using MDF. You might (as in very much so) want to look into sealing that MDF with something if you like not having long term breathing issues.

I'll be using MDF when I make mine, but yeah.... definitely looking into what to seal it with before I bring it into the living space.

EDIT: Also, face mask when Routing that stuff is a must... costs a pretty penny to get one rated for MDF work, but again, you like breathing properly it's something to look into.

 

[Enride]

Hmm. Your project has had me motivated to go looking at various things to work out what I'd need to do something of my own. One of the things that cropped up during that research was the..... negatives of using MDF. You might (as in very much so) want to look into sealing that MDF with something if you like not having long term breathing issues.

I'll be using MDF when I make mine, but yeah.... definitely looking into what to seal it with before I bring it into the living space.

EDIT: Also, face mask when Routing that stuff is a must... costs a pretty penny to get one rated for MDF work, but again, you like breathing properly it's something to look into.

MDF sure is a hate/love kind of material!
Its easy to work with and fairly easy to get a good finish without too much work.
The downside is the dust….Everywhere…
When doing big cuts or routing im using a breathing mask and ventilation. Drilling small holes or cutting small parts works without it but anything bigger, a mask is more or less essential!

I will seal it properly but that will be as part of the prep for painting. The edges needs to be completely sealed with either a PVA-water solution or a dedicated spray on sealer to get a smooth finish or else the paint will run into the MDF and youll run the risk of it expanding.



On that note, it turn out my tools doesnt work well for cutting acrylic so my idea to make acrylic panels is a no-go.
Gonna revert back to my original idea of using two sheets of thin MDF to join into a solid panel.

 

[Eewec]

Hmm..... have you tried using your router for that.... I'm fairly certain when I was looking at bits yesterday in the catalogue there were ones specifically for trimming acrylic laminate to the correct shape/size using the underlying wood it's being attached to as the required guide. All sorts of angles to the join as well so corners could be worked nicely. Need to secure it well while cutting of course so it doesn't slide around but that's nothing unusual.

Of course, I've just bought a router so every job is looking like it needs it but....

 

[Cataclysm72]

For full cuts on acryl nothing beats the laser (at least not much will be better)

However when you need to make fillets or extractions (dont know the right eords sorry) you will still need a router or cnc miller.

 

[Enride]

Yes, decent routers and saws will cut this with little problem but my tools are...cheapish
At the very least I would need an addition to the router that makes it fixed and lets me move the piece im working on towards it and even then I would gess the router and bits I have for it wont suffice.

Its not much of an issue though, the reason I wanted to try acrylic is because I can easily buy small sheets of it from a local store.
To get the 4mm MDF I need will require cutting it down to size for transportation and what not. All in all it becomes more of a hassle.
Oh well

 

[Enride]

Just a quick post to mention that I replaced the broken pinky switch on the throttle today and it works like a charm!
Still working out the panels and trying to get an overview of what switches/controls I want and how to place everything.

Bigger update coming this weekend (or earlier if I get the time)!

 

[Cataclysm72]

LOL, i'm just finished doing 3 switches on the console (both sides). Looks like we synchronised watches!

 

[Battlegrade]

Nice ride, literally!

 

[Enride]

Nice ride, literally!

Tnx mate, and I see your at it also! Which is great, the more people engaging in this, the less insane it makes me feel


So the past weeks or so I mostely been trying things out, among which is the placement and implementation of the audio system. Mockups like this has been moved around the pit and tested for a few flights to see that the audio and buttkicker works good together and that the audio picture is good enough to be worth the effort to place it within the pit.

So with everything working great it was just a matter of cutting the MDF pieces for the "panels" that will hold the speakers. I had plans on creating realistic panels similar to those found in real fighter jets but I just couldnt get them good enough. So I ended up with a simpler design but still with at least SOME detail to break off from the plain smooth look of everything. A quick routing to the edges where the screws goes and a 70mm hole in the center and were good!

(I feel a sidenote is needed here. If I get access to somewhere where I can easily work metal, I will definitely make all my panelling in metal and have it powder coated. I might also find some other better looking solution to the panels in which case I will remake those ive already done. So while I consider these the design Im going to use, for all intents and purposes they can and should be considered a temporary solution. The panels is such an integral part of any simpit that its important to not only make them look good but also FEEL good.)

The speakers themselves has a generic but (IMO) good looking matte black finish and my intentions is to paint the panels with a satin or metallic black color to make a contrast. This might change depending on how I choose to paint the pit itself later but for now this is the intention.

With the speakers mounted in the panels, and the panels mounted on the pit! Also showing is the panel that will somehow hold the controllers for the buttkicker and the audio system.

Things are starting to look something similar to my vision now and so far Im really happy with the results. But Im not overly excited about the amount of filling and sanding/grinding that will be required before this project is finished…

Thats it for now, dunno if Ill get anymore done this weekend. The paneling for the auxilary monitor and also the glare shield needs to be finished but I have some other obligations this weekend so they might have to wait for next week.

 

[Cataclysm72]

Strange, All of a sudden I'm thinking about buying a router today...

 

[Jypson]

*Edit: Deleted Post, question was answered in the thread, just passed over it by accident!

New question - It looks amazing! Is it fairly comfortable? When I was looking into what I wanted to do, comfort was my primary concern. I tend to play for 6-8 hours at a time when I get into it, and want to be very comfortable

 

[Enride]

*Edit: Deleted Post, question was answered in the thread, just passed over it by accident!

New question - It looks amazing! Is it fairly comfortable? When I was looking into what I wanted to do, comfort was my primary concern. I tend to play for 6-8 hours at a time when I get into it, and want to be very comfortable

Tnx!

About comfort, ive spent alot of time getting measurements to make sure its comfortable for sessions of many hours. I dont often get them now adays but when I do, I want it to feel good.
I mentioned it around here somewhere that when I had my first few hours in the seat I found that I got a bit ache in an elbow and in my back/butt.
I tried adding spacers to the front to increase the recline of it a bit and it instantly became much more comfortable and I can now sit for a few hours without having any issues at all.
Reclining it more have shifted some weight from the butt to the back giving much more stability to the lower and upper back and shoulders as well as removing the pressure on the thin bottom pads.

But everyones different and by no means is it a quick and simple process to get a seating position that works for your own needs.
Ill highly recommend spending as much time as needed to make absolutely sure that your seat will be comfortable. It might require a little adjustment in the end but make sure nothing "big" is completely off target from the start as it might be difficult to fix.



About the build.
Ive been hauled up at work lately and a few other engagements so its not moving along much right now. Were finishing up a project right now and when done, it will free up more time and not have me so tired all the time so ill be back at it soon enough!

 

[Winterwalker]

This panel .. is really where it's at --->

Spoiler

Great stuff.

 

[Jypson]

Hope you get some more time to work on, can't wait to see some more progress! (°∀°)b

 

[Enride]

Managed to get a little work done today so I guess a post is in order!


I started by cutting and routing the MDF that will become switch and control panels. These are solid pieces cut at length that will later be cut into fitting size for each panel I decide to do. The best part now is that as I decide which panels to do and how to design them, I can write with a pencil on the MDF to get a good overall impression of the controls!
The big piece at the front will have a cutout for the screen in its entirely as it can be used differently for various games (instead of only cutting out the area inside the MDF button frames which would look better but make its use much more restricted)

Then I had to trim the front edge of the buttkicker amplifier housing to have it fit inside its MDF frame for mounting.

This is the underside of the control panel for the logitech surround system. Its mostely air with only a small circuitboard at the front so to get this joined with the buttkicker amplifier (as they will be stacked in the pit) I predrilled holes through the buttkicker housing and the logitech control panel.

Logitech control panel goes onto the housing (screwed from the inside)...

…And then the housing goes onto the buttkicker amplifier!
Then this hunk of abomination…

...Goes into its frame and into the pit! (not final placement)

Hopefully I can continue tomorrow and get the monitor cutout done and maybe even begin work on the integrated wiring that will power the pit when finished.

 

[Cataclysm72]

I was devastated when the forum didn't allow me to give you any rep any more...

Great work!

 

[Enride]

A question to those reading here, does anyone have any good ideas on how to apply a graphical overlay to the MDF switch panels?

Im thinking of printing graphics on clear overhead paper then apply this with spray-on glue prior to clearcoating the entire piece. But im unsure how the glue and clearcoat might interfere with the printed clear plastic?

 

[Jypson]

Looking awesome! As far as the graphics, you could try talking to custom car shop and see if they can print you out some clear adhesive vinyls?

 

[Cataclysm72]

perhaps lasercut some spray paint mask.

 

[Enride]

I might eventually have to rethink using acrylic with perinted inlays for graphics, seem to be the simplest way to get a decent result :/


Anyway, work is now carried out by the minute instead of days since i often end up with some free time at short notice so not much progress but I did do some small shopping for a few bits and pieces and did some cut and mounting of a few things.


The seat contains two pieces of hardware, the buttkicker transducer and the joystick. These needs to be easily connected/disconnected to allow moving the seat when the need rises so I will pull the cables out the back of the seat, into a cable protector sleeve, and allow them to be attached to connectors at the back of the rightside console. Here is the speaker terminal block that will be fitted together with a USB input that ive not yet picked up.

The mounting frame for the auxilary monitor will be glued to the monitor frame so it needs some trim to allow removal of the MFD buttonframes. So a hole cut big enough for the usb connector to slip through.

Heres the frame and aux monitor fitted. Its a bit crude (as the rest of the pit) but i put alot of trust in the filling/sanding to come

Ive also managed to properly mount the audio controlpanels, a keypad (as im changing to a smaller wireless keyboard without keypad) and most importantly a cupholder!
Most of this was straighforward, the audio controlpanels needed some though to be mounted securely, and ive begun sketching up the buttons in the front right that will control the power supply of the simpit.

Little by little things move along but not much drastic progress im afraid. But I hope to get working on the power supply next weekend.