Starting build soon

[zdayton]

I uploaded some more drawings. Also make sure you don't forget to put in somewhere to screw down the legs of the springs.

[jeruw]

Thanks, I'll check them out!

Yes, I think I'm going to mill some small blocks sort of like the printed parts to screw the springs down. I need to sort that out yet. I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to handle spring retention when I was drawing the parts up. I couldn't do a one-piece L shape like the printed upright.

Cut the uprights for the base last night and got them fitted. still some fine tuning to do and I still need to drill and tap to screw them down, but it's taking shape.

[jeremygaul]

Are you planning on upgrading the springs due to the higher weight of the armature and upper plate?

How do you think the weight will affect the control?

[jeruw]

The upper plate isn't really very heavy. I suppose with the arms I should make sure to add some pockets if I do end up machining those. I haven't decided yet. I may give it a try just because the printer isn't up and running yet. I hadn't planned on upgrading the springs, but we'll see how it works out. I could always re-machine the top plate to remove some more material too. If you happen to have a scale I'd be interested to know the weight of your printed handle-bottom and pivot arms . Thanks for pointing that out though, good question! I hope to find out soon.

I don't think weight will effect control all that much unless it does overcome the strength of the springs.

[jeremygaul]

I can't find my kitchen scale but according to Wikipedia the tglass weight total for my print volume is around 32.766 grams for the top plate and the linkages not counting glue are 12.384 grams each so all 3 linkages is a total of 37.152 grams.

Both are 100% fill.

[jeruw]

My top plate weighs in at 35g. I'll have to see what the linkages weigh in at once I get them cut

[jeruw]

I just programmed the Pro Micro 16Mhz/5v board I bought from ebay (Foxytronics_llc in the US) for around $6. I used the hardware files from Sparkfun and the program went on without a hitch. I downloaded a joystick tester on my Macbook Pro and it's showing up correctly as Delta Throttle. Shorting the buttons reads correctly in the tester. Now I just need to finish my hardware and wiring and get this thing working!

[jeruw]

Went in again Saturday night. I was able to get the pivot arms cut and figure out a stop-gap solution for the pivot shafts using a set screw made from one of the 4-40 screws with the cap and extra shaft clipped and sanded off.

Heading back in tonight. Current plan is to cut the spring retainer blocks out of 3/8" aluminum. While that program is running I'll finish drilling and tapping the pivot arm parts. Then I'll swap in some scrap wood and try cutting a handle out of wood (the 3d printers aren't ready, there's a ton of scrap for free, I wanted to mess with 3d carving on the Shapeoko anyway, and hell - wood will look cool with the aluminum). While that's cutting I'll drill and tap for the spring retainers and complete the mechanical assembly. Then head into the electronics lab and start wiring things up.

I hope to finish this week. Maybe tonight, maybe one more night. Once I'm done I'll start a few upgrades probably. In particular if the wood handle works out I'll probably carve another and start hollowing that out for button placements (the first handle I won't bother). I may cut a second handle base as well, this time with some pockets to remove some weight and add some character. We'll see. I have a lot of aluminum and this has been a fun project!

[zdayton]

Awesome work man, this is really really cool. You are putting my plastic one to shame

[jeruw]

Mechanical assembly complete! I'll wire up the pots this afternoon and try it out. The range of motion side-to-side is less than expected. The ball joins are hitting my cross supports. I might have to pull them and round them off now to see if I can get a bit more range. I'll decide that after I have the electronics hooked up and actually get to try flying with this thing. It looks great though!

Thanks a ton for building this project zdayton. It's been fun adapting your incredible work.