Potentiometer shaft

[Trollbug]

Hello , first of all , english is not my native langage , so don't blame me if sometimes I'm not easy to read ...
Your project is very impressive , and I have one or two questions :
First one : the shaft of the potentiometers are used to support the spring and the pivot arms . I wonder if it can handle these efforts a long time ... It would be safer to put the spring and the pivot arm on a shaft , and at one end of this shaft , a gear . This gear would drive another gear on the potentiometer shaft . I think you have enough place on the base to do this.

Second one : with a larger handle , you should put more buttons , rockers and even a micro-joystick , or a coolie hat : if I understand the way the delta throttle works , you must have the hand always on it , so it would be interesting to have more functions under the fingers ...

[zdayton]

Yeah the potentiometer shaft being used to support the handle will not survive to the final design, but it is a good way to get a good rotating joint without a bunch of slop when we are dealing with only 3D printed parts.
It makes building one way easier, even if you have to replace the pots after 100 hours, so I think it is worth it.

On the second suggestion, a new handle will be the next focus of the design process, and i will have some fancy looking renders when that comes out.

[Garrison]

Along these lines have you considered adding "twist" to the top grip for purposes of yaw control? I would most like to use the Delta Stick combined with a mouse for maximum aiming ability. For that to work ALL flight characteristics aside from pointing the nose of the craft at the desired target need to be handled by the Delta Stick. Yes Rudder pedals could take care of it, but why have to add a third device to the mix for such an easy change?

Along with the request for more buttons and controls. If you get serious about that and add the twist for yaw control You are no longer replacing just the Off Hand side of a HOTAS setup you are potentially doing away with the need for a main hand joystick altogether. So people who are looking at the price of this and thinking they have to buy an expensive high end joystick AND a Delta stick may only need to buy one thing. Combine it with the mouse they already own and wham, they are space flight sim GODS. It may open you up to a whole new batch of customers. I am quite willing to pay $200+ for a stick that had 5doF (letting mouse do the 6th) and lots of buttons, a coolie hat and maybe even a finger controlled throttle slide or knob.

[tildeq]

I agree with Garrison. While the 3DOF solution of the delta throttle is awesome, I am going to need twist and far more buttons than the 3/2+hat included in the current basic version. (a quick and dirty estimation says 5 buttons, a hat with centre button, and roll axis or 2 more buttons is the absolute minimum for my SC) Modding them in won't be much of an issue if the finished product/kits don't include them but I'm willing to pay a reasonable premium for not having to do the work.

[Ralith]

Awesome work btw! I think I would love to use one of these for Star Citizen.

I also like the idea of adding a yaw control to it so it can do 4DOF, so you only need a 2DOF mouse or joystick to have a complete 6DOF.

Keep up the good work and I hope to see this on a kickstarter or something so we can get the project working!

[InvalidName]

Hi,

I was wondering if there was any development on a version which won't stress the pot/shaft? I do want to build a delta throttle soon but if there is a new design on the way that will need testing I will hold out.

[zdayton]

There probably won't be another 3d printed design. I am in the process of doing an injection molding design, but that is not DIY friendly. For the 3d printed version, the pot actually has a much better bearing surface than you could get 3d printing, so it is kind of necessary. I know it is a bad design in the traditional sense, but it makes sense to rely on the nice machined bearing surface of the pot over a bumpy 3d printed bearing. I have used mine quite extensively and not seen any issues. Hopefully that answers your question.

[InvalidName]

Okay, thanks. I will price up the parts in the UK and may go ahead and build one.

[Trollbug]

I'm working on a new design of the delta throttle . I've mounted the shafts of the pivot arms on ball bearings , and the pots are separated from these shafts . This design is bigger than the original , but will be, I hope, more sturdy.
I use 10mm MDF as main material. It is easy to cut , sand and glue , and is cheap .

[jeruw]

I'd love to see your design changes. This thread had me pondering similar ideas seeing as how I was going to be doing some design work for my build. Ultimately I decided not to muck around with it just yet. My only thought for having dual bearings or removing the pot shaft as a bearing surface was to add a third upright with a space to allow inserting and tightening a nut. That sounded workable but not ideal, and would require expanding the base and making sure all 3 were in perfect alignment.

At this point, one thought I have is to try to find some affordable hall effect or optical rotary encoders that would remove the need for a pot entirely. A shaft could be mounted between two bearings with a magnet on one end for the sensor to read.