Honey, I developed FFB joystick (DIY)

[propeler]

Finally, it is time to introduce my FFB joystick prototype! I spent a lot of time and learned a lot of new stuff when work on it. So here what is already implemented:

- Works as standard USB FFB device, understands standard FFB protocol. No drivers. No plugins.
- Supports spring, constant, ramp an periodic effects.
- Custom firmware for STM32 microcontroller family.
- Currently ODrive controller is used as the hardware, but custom made, much more affordable controller is on its way from manufacturer.
- Uses affordable hobby grade brushless motors.
- Nearly 8Nm of torque planned with 20A of current per motor.
- Smooth operation almost without noticeable cogging.

In plans:
- Support for Thrustmaster grips.
- PC software for interactive effect gains tuning.
- Improvements 

And a little bit of media :)

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by propeler

[SYN_Mugue]

NICE! Very interesting!

[messsucher]

Awesome work.

[BP_Lizard]

Take my money!

[[DBS]Browning]

Very interesting. Do you plan to release the firmware?

Edit: Also, I can't see how your gimbal deals with the induced twist when both axis are at their extremes.

 

Also, you may be interested in (or able to help) this project: https://discord.gg/5xEs4Db

Edited October 3, 2020 by [DBS]Browning

[propeler]

Цитата

Very interesting. Do you plan to release the firmware?

Yes. Precompiled firmware will be available for stm32F4 series. It also will be open source at some point, but when I implement all that I want to implement in it.

 

Цитата

Also, I can't see how your gimbal deals with the induced twist when both axis are at their extremes.

It is there... I tried to mix G940 and MS mechanics and made the mistake. Did not notice induced twist on CAD phase.  That's why new version of gimbal similar to yours is already ordered in 3d printing service. MS like one.

 

Цитата

Also, you may be interested in (or able to help) this project: https://discord.gg/5xEs4Db

Single axis FFB controller is for anothe topic 55Amp BLDC controller based on BTN8982. If interested in details write to PM.

Edited October 3, 2020 by propeler

[[DBS]Browning]

8 minutes ago, propeler said:

Single axis FFB controller is for anothe topic 

This is a single and dual axis project. 

[propeler]

1 минуту назад, [DBS]Browning сказал:

and dual

Possibly missed it.  

[E69_Qpassa_VR]

Looks amazing, may it sellable we need a good ffb base with good precision and if its compatible with virpil and thurstmaster...

[propeler]

 

Update for the gimbal set. Inspired by MS FFB one. Improved stiffness. All moving joins are on massive ball bearings. 

Edited October 9, 2020 by propeler

[[DBS]Browning]

This is very well designed. It puts my efforts to shame.

 

Will your firmware be able to output a PWM+Direction signal for use with DC Motor H-Bridges?

Edited October 9, 2020 by [DBS]Browning

[propeler]

14 минут назад, [DBS]Browning сказал:

Will your firmware be able to output a PWM+Direction signal for use with DC Motor H-Bridges?

 

Yes.  I can build  such variant. It requires slight change of pin and timer configurations and several lines of code. But STM32 only. I can build pretty much for any series, but  F4 is prefferable because of its speed. 

20 минут назад, [DBS]Browning сказал:

This is very well designed. It puts my efforts to shame

 

Do not stop. It is the step in proggression. I made A LOT of much more primitive stuff in my life, with many of trial and errors But you need to come through all this steps to develop the skill. 

[[DBS]Browning]

26 minutes ago, propeler said:

Do not stop. It is the step in proggression. I made A LOT of much more primitive stuff in my life, with many of trial and errors But you need to come through all this steps to develop the skill. 

 

Thankyou, I absolutely won't stop.

Good to hear PWM will be easy to add. I'm excited to try it out.

[[DBS]Browning]

I forgot to ask, does the current programming support encoders or just pots/hall? 

[propeler]

24 минуты назад, [DBS]Browning сказал:

I forgot to ask, does the current programming support encoders or just pots/hall? 

 

Currently it works with absolute encoder over SPI. I consider AS5048A, AS5047U as  good value for money. They are simple to wire and simple to read. And It is possible to request 5pc of each at ams.com for free as the sample.

[propeler]

New metal parts arrived so updated version  of mechanic is ready:

 

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by propeler

[[DBS]Browning]

May I ask about the price for the metal parts? 

 

Edit: that is the price you paid. I don't want to buy anything from you.

Edited November 6, 2020 by [DBS]Browning

[propeler]

Measured static force which joystick can produce. At the point marked with arrow measured 1.25 kg with cheap china power supply 12V / 15A. After 5 minutes of static load motors and controller are barely warm. I think 30A power source can be used safely and it will give us nearly 2.5kg load at 45cm lever.

 

 

Цитата

May I ask about the price for the metal parts? 

it cost me around 140$ including shipping here in Poland.

Edited November 13, 2020 by propeler

[[DBS]Browning]

1 hour ago, propeler said:

2.5kg load at 45cm lever

 

That's close to my goal of 2kg at 75cm (1.5nm) maximum force.

[Dirt_Merchant]

Checking in here - how are we all coming along? really looking forward to progress!

[Soilworker]

G'day Dirt, fancy seeing you here. ?

[II./JG77_Manu*]

Awesome..a high quality FFB joystick is top on the list of my wanted peripherals after finally ordering the Reverb G2.

Are you planning to sell these to simple folks like us?

[Dirt_Merchant]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:16 AM, Soilworker said:

G'day Dirt, fancy seeing you here. ?

 

Aye buddy! Good to see you here too!

[propeler]

https://github.com/o-devices/bldc-ffb-joystick-base

[TX-Zigrat]

Very cool! what about the controller and the belt to connect the gears?

[propeler]

9 часов назад, TX-Zigrat сказал:

Very cool! what about the controller and the belt to connect the gears?

Updated readme with belt info. Information about controller will be added soon. I'm in process of wrighting doc for it :)

[[DBS]Browning]

Still using ODrive?

[propeler]

2 часа назад, [DBS]Browning сказал:

Still using ODrive?

No. Much cheaper custom developed board

[[DBS]Browning]

54 minutes ago, propeler said:

No. Much cheaper custom developed board

 

This, I'm interested in!

Thankyou for making the hardware available also.

Edited March 25, 2021 by [DBS]Browning

[loulou_la_loutre]

On 3/24/2021 at 7:10 PM, propeler said:

https://github.com/o-devices/bldc-ffb-joystick-base

Hello Propeler, congrats for your amazing work, and thanks for the sharing.

 

One question, do you think it's possible to use your device for helicopter trim management ? 

 

Thanks, and good job again

Edited April 4, 2021 by loulou_la_loutre
typo

[loulou_la_loutre]

I'm a newbie in electronics... About the PCB, do we need a gerber file to create it (i saw this file format on EasyEDA) ? or did you already give us all necessary information ?

Sorry if my question is silly

[loulou_la_loutre]

I found my response for trim subject on ED forum ?

[propeler]

06.04.2021 в 14:49, loulou_la_loutre сказал:

About the PCB, do we need a gerber file to create it (i saw this file format on EasyEDA) ? or did you already give us all necessary information ?

Project on EasyEDA contains all needed information either for ordering PCB at JLCPCB or exporting it for another fabrication ways. 

 

 

[Dirt_Merchant]

so happy to see this progress!!

[gorland86]

Stumbled onto this thread while looking for a DIY FFB joystick project. This looks very cool and pretty advanced!

 

I didn't find a link to the electronics project though - is it the discord link early in the thread?

 

I'm aiming to build a proper sim chair with VR for Xplane, but I don't have the time to design it all from scratch, unfortunately.

 

Looking forward to see the progress on this, and adding my help where I can (~7 years of design for filament 3D printing experience).

[propeler]

25.04.2021 в 12:01, gorland86 сказал:

I didn't find a link to the electronics project though - is it the discord link early in the thread?

There is a link on github page which leads to EasyEDA electronics project. Or you can use ODrive. Firmware will be available soon.

[gorland86]

On 4/28/2021 at 1:46 PM, propeler said:

There is a link on github page which leads to EasyEDA electronics project. Or you can use ODrive. Firmware will be available soon.

Ah sorry - I didn't see the link before for some reason. Thanks. I'll see if there's anything I can help with firmware-wise, though I doubt it. I'm not that good with embedded programming.

[marez21181]

is it possible to use stepper motors instead of dc motors?

[scottgze]

any further movement on this project?
Can it use steppers?

 

I'm not far off starting into this, but if it's a dead end, there's probably not much point.

[propeler]

20.06.2021 в 12:37, scottgze сказал:

any further movement on this project?

Yep. Firmware with UI for settings is already on github as well. Instructions how to upload and calibrate on the go. And I now working on more powerful motors integration. But this part only on early stages.

 

20.06.2021 в 12:37, scottgze сказал:

Can it use steppers?

No. At least my board with my firmware :)