Suitable Springs (and other parts) from Amazon Supply?

[shuttercat]

SC-Maik, you magnificent creature! Your work has blown me away and I'm overwhelmed by seeing this refinement engineered into a printable product.
I'm also amused by the similarity to something I sketched on a scrap of paper a week ago (and failed to share).
Link:mad late-night scribblings including pillow blocks for the bearings and hall sensor musings, not one tenth as refined as the renders already posted. http://imgur.com/UG03lEu
Is this your pillow block? https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12333

[SC-Maik]

Awesome thread. I have the details worked out for magnetic position sensors, I will post those soon as that will change your design a bit.

I can't wait for your update for magnetic sensors. I really enjoy this whole project!

SC-Maik, you magnificent creature! Your work has blown me away and I'm overwhelmed by seeing this refinement engineered into a printable product.
I'm also amused by the similarity to something I sketched on a scrap of paper a week ago (and failed to share).
Link:mad late-night scribblings including pillow blocks for the bearings and hall sensor musings, not one tenth as refined as the renders already posted. http://imgur.com/UG03lEu
Is this your pillow block? https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12333

You make me blush
Your feedback is really helpful. Even rough sketches give me ideas to improve the designs.
The pillow block I used is the 3/8" one.
You can see full list of what I will be using here.

[shuttercat]

I also eagerly await zdayton's magnetic sensor design. In the mean time, here's a couple of ideas:
One based around the A1302 ratiometric angle sensor, a skate bearing, and a bic pen. http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3225983/Re:_DIY_hall_sensor_...#Post3225983
The MMJOY thread on SimHQ is a 30+page nightmare. http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3899105/1 In the upper left, click the gray button "Topic Options" and "print topic" to get an unpaginated view. There are some nice pictures most of the way down for boards using the TLE5010/5011 and similar chips.

[Sotnax]

Still going to update one more part but here is what my design looks like so far:

Base



-Added lower base to hide electronics.
SC-Maik, I laughed when I saw your design as i had recently finished mine and the similarity was close! In my design, the head of the USB cable is fully within the base
The upper base screws into the lower base. The lower base has the option to attach to the desk.

-A hole in the middle of the upper base for wires to go through.

-Redesign of Uprights to accommodate ball bearings. These will change as I am redesigning for cheaper Skateboard bearings.

-Redesign of spring retention to remove need for screws. (SC-Maik has furthered this design with the ability to accommodate many spring diameters)


Arms



-The spring is moved to the other side of the arm. This allows a more compact design overall.

-The angle of the spring to the arm is changed.
The original design, when built, required the user to press the handle down while plugging in to get a decent center on the Z axis.
This change in angle sets the handle in the middle of the Z axis with the springs at rest.

-On the spring side, adjusted shaft diameter to fit in bearing (again, will be adjusted for new bearings)

-On the Pot side, the shaft of the pot is still used but a bearing slides over the shaft. The forces of use are transferred to the bearing via the Pot shaft.
Instead of a shaft sticking out of the arm, the Pot shaft extends into the arm itself as seen below:



To Do:

-Redesign for Skateboard bearings (much cheaper)

-One thing I am wanting to do but haven't figured out how: The spring angle is not always exact (manufacturing tolerances and whatnot)
I am trying to think of a way to minutely adjust the springs angle relative to the base as a way to calibrate the Delta Throttle to your specific springs.
In example, my current build shown in this post has a center that gives me slight forward thrust when I am not touching the throttle.

[SC-Maik]

I've just ordered springs from Amazon Supply to test them out (28$ including shipping).
I am waiting for magnetic sensor update to order Actobotic parts.

@Sotnax, I will get back to you later tonight, especially for spring calibration.

[shuttercat]

Great work, Sotnax! Do you choose two-piece bearing pedestal/pillow block because it's problematic to print a horizontal bore that large?
I have a suggestion for your skate bearing redesign. The ID of the skate bearing is 8mm, while the shaft of most potentiometers is 1/4" or 6.35mm. Could the arm extend through both bearings, while still having a bore to accept the pot shaft/magnetic angle sensor mount?

[Sotnax]

@ SC-Maik
I chose a 2-piece bearing pedestal for assembly reasons.
The way the spring attaches to the base, it needs to slide in from the side which would not be possible with the bearing pedestal as one piece.
Just got the skateboard bearings in. Initial thought was to print a sleeve that would slide between the Pot shaft and bearing.
It could also be attached to the arm as you suggest.
My concern now is that the thickness of this sleeve might be too small to print. I'll have to see how it turns out.

Regarding spring adjustments:
I had an idea that isn't very ideal, but gets the job done.



Going off SC-Maik's design above, If a second screw is added from under the base (which sits on a lower plate to hide electronics anyway (are you doing this with your aluminum build?))
To adjust, tweak both screws up or down to pinch the spring in place.

VERY rough "photoshop" of your image to give example:



Pros: It gets the job done
Cons: Adjusting will be annoying as you will have to lift the base with every tweak. (But theoretically only once right?)

I am busy with school lately so I may have to step away from this project until I graduate in May. At the very lease I will continue to monitor/comment on the forums until I can re-engage.

[SC-Maik]

I gave a lot of thinking regarding spring adjustment. A similar idea like yours crossed my mind, but I couldn't find a not bulky way to secure screws from loosing due to vibrations etc.
Also every micro adjustment meant that you have to lift the base (which I will keep on my aluminum built).

On a final note I don't believe it is even worth doing it. What you wanted to accomplish at the first place (forward thrust on rest position) can be done with software.

And most importantly, real life first. May is not far away, I will have time to fine tune details, test new stuff and I will wait for your comments

[SC-Maik]

Springs from Amazonsupply arrived at my house 10 mins ago.
They were shipped 2 days ago from USA to Greece with UPS saver for 28$ including shipment.

Details later tonight when I get home.