Jordan Pelovitz
Rochester, NY
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Cutting the Main Pivot - Here we are using the pneumatic band saw to slice through inch thick steel, which was later to be used for the central pivot that supports most of the simulator's weight.
Putting Together the Base - Here is a very initial test fitting of the pivot and base. One of the great challenges in doing this was getting those aluminum extrusion bracings to be milled to exactly 45 degrees. You'll also notice that the central pivot has been lathed to a cylinder at the top, which is where the ball joint will fit onto. The object sticking out of the side is a threaded rod, and was trimmed later once we were sure the fit was proper.
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Grinding off Paint for Welding - When we first got the steel beams to make the sled, they were in rather raw shape. We had to give it a light sanding and then coat it with this red protective paint, just to keep it from rusting while we worked. This was something I later came to regret, as when I painted it for real I had to sand it all off - a process which took quite awhile. At the moment, however, I am grinding off welding areas for the cross brace that would eventually support the ball joint.
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Testing the Sled on the Base - Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the sled's construction. The shiny thing in the center is the ball joint, which has a clearance fit (later welded) with the pivot. On the front is aluminum diamond plate, which acts as a step area and cross-brace. You can also see that all four braces have been loosely attached, and the threaded rods have been cut a bit shorter. Everything you see in this picture was made by Amit (right) and I, with the exception of the ball joint.
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Testing the Sled on the Base - Another view of us test-fitting the sled. Amit is to the left (he is a mechanical engineering PHD student), I am to the right.
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Test Fitting the Seat - Here we are test fitting the seat (a $20 item we got from a local junkyard) onto the sled, which you can see I have now primed. Originally the seat was going to be flat, until the individual who ran the machine shop suggested the 15 degree angle. We then modified the design so as to accommodate this, which required some pretty precise angle milling of the seat mounting rails.
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Test Fitting the Seat and Sled - Here is the frame without the diamond plate attached, while I am test fitting the seat and sled with the base - just to give ourselves an idea of what everything would look like when it was done.
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Fitting the Actuators - The sled is now mostly completed and painted - you can just make out extra cross bracing underneath the front portion. We are also testing the actuator fittings, and brackets. The base is also still not quite complete, as the 45 degree braces are missing their rubber gaskets.
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Actuator Pivot Detail - Here is a close up of the mounting system for the actuators and central pivot. The large nut is there so that the ball joint won't accidentally slide down and wedge onto the pivot. This view is missing the dampening springs that went on the actuator rotational joints, and the joints/pegs for the gas springs (which would go opposite the actuators).
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Battery Powered Test - Here we're having the first go of movement testing. Since we still did not have a controller or electronics system, we had to take the contacts of each actuator and manually switch them around (+/-) on the battery terminals. I'm controlling the rear and Amit is controlling the side, I believe.
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The Completed Simulator - The calm before the storm; this is the simulator as it was just before the show. We actually had been working non stop the night before, and had JUST gotten it working and accepting signals from the computer the night before the show - so we were both very, very relieved.
Myself, Posing - Myself, posing with the sim.
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The Completed Simulator - The view from the control station. Unfortunately due to a combination of hardware issues that we did not have time to solve (we would have needed at least a month, probably two more - still not bad considering all this was machined by hand in only two months during the school year), and liability issues that we did not have the lawyers to go around, we were unable to allow people to ride the sim - only control it from this station.
The Electronics Box - The electric/power box. The boards were meant to go inside, but we had issues and thus left them out. Inside the box are two PC power supplies, whose power lines were led into the distro board (left). This exported the power into two lines that led into the H-Bridge, which took the signals from the Arduino (the blue board), and exported the proper amount of power to the actuators. The blue board was connected to the PC and an accelerometer on the sled, and was what told the sim what to do.
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Imagine RIT - An image showing the simulator and flight sim (Microsoft Flight Simulator X) in a hard left bank during Imagine RIT. Controlling it at the moment is an audience member, not one of us - and we kept this up for 7 straight hours. It was definitely a very useful stress test (7 straight hours of strangers being as rough as they wanted). We ended up having some parts that needed replacing afterwards, but in the end we considered it a great success.
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Imagine RIT - Amit is sitting and monitoring the simulator as a participant controls it from the computer.
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