Any Interest In A RIG Like This ???

[miahallen]

Ok, guys,

Can't say I'm not trying! I've been spending a lot of time designing a non-center post version. I thought I'd share some preliminary photos. I've narrowed in on this approach for the best styling and functionality. Feel free to tell me how you like it and what you think.

I love it!

 

[left888]

Ok, guys,

Can't say I'm not trying! I've been spending a lot of time designing a non-center post version. I thought I'd share some preliminary photos. I've narrowed in on this approach for the best styling and functionality. Feel free to tell me how you like it and what you think.

Looks better, are you strictly going for a F1 cockpit? At least that's what your new design looks to be. Just think about long races, say 2 hours. Would you be comfortable in it for that long?

I have to say your design looks very good, can't wait to see the outcome. You will be so happy you did away with that center post, well at least your body will be happy. Good luck.

 

[natchamp]

Thanks guys for all the feedback. To answer some questions:

To accommodate the different needs for shorter/taller people and their individual preferences for pedal placement, the rig's pedal base is adjustable both linearly and rotationally. You can see this in the pic below.

The seat base angle is also adjustable. Of course, most seats also have recline adjustment which helps this issue but I also wanted to have the overall seat's angle to be adjustable. For my rig that I've been using I have my seat adjusted a little tilted forward so for the design I might revise the initial/neutral position a little more tilted forward. Also, the seat and "dummy" I'm using in CAD are just a basic guide and for reference. I realize the dummy is looking rather high but that's not necessarily representing reality. You can see the adjustment in the pic below:

Steering wheel provisions. I will probably have the steering wheel base pre-drilled for the different wheels. However, I'm not completely sure if I will include the wheel base, seat base, and pedal base with the unit. The reason I'm not sure is because I'm trying to keep the costs down and that is something most people can handle doing themselves, not to mention is offers more options and individual aspects for the end users. Some people might be ok with mdf, some people might want veneered wood, melamine, or whatever.

The rig's steering wheel mount's angle is also adjustable for individual preferences. You can see this in the pic below:

As for the "F1" style cockpit, yes I am slanted towards an open wheel cockpit feeling. If my pedal mount was raised higher I would call it F1 but as you can see in the pics the seating position isn't that extreme. I can tell you buy using the rig I have now, the seating comfort is outstanding. I could easily race for hours in this unit. It's just a personal preference but a lot of the rigs I see are basically like sitting in a kitchen table chair with some pedals out front and that's just not a true racing position for me. The units that have a better suited position are on the higher end of price so that's one of the things that got me started on this whole project. Thanks again!

 

[natchamp]

I made a change that I kinda like, wanted to get your opinions. I moved the "tower's" side plates to the inside of the side plates versus the outside. It looks better to me but I'm open to what you guys think.

 

[Mayaman]

Looks fantastic, much better. I guarantee you would see a boat load of those as F1 cockpits at the right price. The Playseat has a center post and is 1200 and the Rseat is 1500, it also doesn't seem to be Dbox compatible, where as yours is a one unit, compact, great looking. Me thinks you have a winner there.

 

[left888]

Personally I like the towers on the outside but it's your call. I still like your design which ever way you go. You have lot's of adjustments which is very important. I be watching your thread for further development.

 

[natchamp]

Been playing around with the design of an integrated keyboard stand. The position is adjustable in all directions as well as height. It folds out of the way for storage as well.

 

[Mayaman]

Very cool. The only thing I'll say is that I believe in form is just as important as function, at least to me it is. I would rather have a static arm that kept with the design of the rig, with a swiveling top. Not made for every keyboard, but enough to be functional. That way you don't kill the look of the rig with crazy add ons.

I've seen decent looking rigs with all this $hit attached and it just kills it for me, you mileage may vary.

I think its worth the extra effort to make the flow of the chassis and its accessories as seamless as possible. Its how I do all my projects.

 

[Garagefather]

I own a center post setup (not a cockpit, my own build) but I think if you build a cockpit design you are going to have to change to a crossover design due to perception, at the very least. In reality the center post doesn't inhibit anything while driving (unless it is huge) but getting in and out would be a pain. Yours also looks fairly non-adjustable. People also think their legs will hit it or that they can't left foot brake which is baloney, but in this world, perception is reality whether it is true or not. Regardless, the getting in and out part is important and customer perception is important.

Since cockpit owners really don't care about storing the unit, using a center post system is not necessary. The extra bulk and large storage footprint doesn't matter. For the vast majority of racers who don't have dedicated gaming rooms that they can place these monsters in, center post designs are superior due to their range of adjustment and small storage footprint combination that no crossover design I have seen can touch.

It is really all about your lifestyle, gaming area, budget, and your significant other as to what type of system is best for you but if you plan on selling a cockpit, the crossover design is the way to go. Just make sure you incorporate wheel tilt angle, wheel telescope, wheel height (all three independently adjustable), pedal rest angle and footprint big enough in size to accommodate high end pedal sets (saw thread where guy was hacking up his thrustmaster pedals to fit the Human racing Cockpit), seat slider and seat tilt angle adjustment, and ambidextrous shifter mount.

None of the current cockpit systems available I have seen have this total package w/o looking like monstrosities; like that thing someone else posted a link to earlier in the thread (wow is that thing ugly). If you have all these features while maintaining the sweet looks, you will have the best cockpit available and it will probably cost about $2K to build and ship unless you like working for less than minimum wage or have a serious manufacturing facility. The cost to build becomes the rub because there is no economy of scale. Very few people buy these things and there is a lot of competition. Plus, they weight a ton and are costly to ship.

On thing is for sure, the machined aluminum is sweet looking. I would take those looks over the plastic looking Human Racing GT chassis and any of the ugly square tube cockpit setups any day.

 

[Mayaman]

^^^Human GT chassis does everything you just mentioned and then some, its tiny, adjustable, and beautiful.

 

[paskowitz]

@garagefather

I have big legs so it is an issue. I also like my feet to be close together which exacerbates the problem.

 

[alex2000261]

Looks incredible, I have no doubt that would look pretty sleek with some V1 Clubsports, I recommend you remove the centre (I'm Scottish so I spell it centre) post and add an upside down U like previously said, and maybe a more racy seat, and then you've got a stunner!

 

[smokey777]

^^^Human GT chassis does everything you just mentioned and then some, its tiny, adjustable, and beautiful.

tbh OPs new design looks a pain in the arse to get in & out of & cramped as you have to have your knees virtually together I can just see issues that's all. and the HGT has totally different side post design tbh mate the original looked the best & most usable & comfy all it needed was a lot thinner center post.

 

[paskowitz]

You may want to consider doing the upright design similar to the Vesaro Rig. It is by far one of the nicest factory rigs out there. The back forward design makes ingress and egress really easy. I would not go as far back (towards the pedals) as they do. I would go on a similar initial angle then go back towards the seat on an angle and then go horizontal. So kind like what you have but the first section (first angle) of the upright would go towards the pedals and then the second section (second angle) would go back towards the driver (it would also be longer than it is to compensate for the fact that the first section is going away from the driver). Then go flat, where the wheel floor would be attached. This would add a little more material, but solve the ingress and egress problem.

 

[Garagefather]

^^^Human GT chassis does everything you just mentioned and then some, its tiny, adjustable, and beautiful.

Sorry, but the pedal rest looks fixed and I can't see any angle adjustment so it does not have that important adjustment I listed. Plus, the pedal rest is too small for some pedal sets w/o modification or compromise. Its not a bad looking rig, I just think the machined aluminum done so sleekly is better looking. Personal preference I guess.

I am not saying the HR GT is a bad rig, it just has some details that need refined to be as good as what I described. Of course, the already high price of the HR GT Chassis goes up even more with these improvements.

@garagefather

I have big legs so it is an issue. I also like my feet to be close together which exacerbates the problem.

I could tape my ankles together with my center post rig as long as I can flex my knees and I have larger than average thighs and calves. Any decent center post design would allow this by the placement and girth of the post. If you have to have your knees together, then there would be an issue. My family jewels need a little room so my knees aren't that close together. I use a DFGT wheel and I can hit the brake with my right foot and the gas with my left foot. There is no restriction with any range of motion a driver would ever need to perform. Also, I don't have a cockpit so I don't have to worry about getting in and out of it. I just slide my rig out of the way and get up.

We'll just have to agree to disagree about properly designed center post rigs. None of the center post designs I have seen including my own, create an issue for the legs, ankles, or feet.

 

[Garagefather]

This cockpit looks nice but doesn't look like there are any adjustments for the wheel like height, tilt, or telescope.

If you had this setup, you would have to live with the designers settings. The wheel tilt would be the hardest to live w/o, especially without the other adjustments.

The HR GT chassis has an excellent design for the wheel mount so using a similar system with tilt, height, and telescope would work well. It is the pedal rest that seems to suffer on the HR GT. It's hard to tell if this rig has that adjustment. It looks like nearly everything is fixed on it.

 

[natchamp]

You may want to consider doing the upright design similar to the Vesaro Rig. It is by far one of the nicest factory rigs out there. The back forward design makes ingress and egress really easy. I would not go as far back (towards the pedals) as they do. I would go on a similar initial angle then go back towards the seat on an angle and then go horizontal. So kind like what you have but the first section (first angle) of the upright would go towards the pedals and then the second section (second angle) would go back towards the driver (it would also be longer than it is to compensate for the fact that the first section is going away from the driver). Then go flat, where the wheel floor would be attached. This would add a little more material, but solve the ingress and egress problem.

That's a nice looking rig and I like how you think. Of course, I hope everyone realizes that the basic Vesaro unit is $1,500 plus a very high cost for shipping! Also, the size and footprint of a rig like that is way larger than a portable design like I was shooting for. Would you guys prefer a larger rig like that?

 

[SGETI]

No intent to knock your design, just informing you what your competition may be.

Non center-post rigidity done right, $700 with no seat:

Joe can you please provide a link to this yellow rig. I would like to include in my master list. Also the Nixim Mark 2 is no longer in production. The mark 2 has been replaced by the Mark 3.

Your F1 style rig is eye candy. Hope to see a final product.

 

[JogoAsobi]

Joe can you please provide a link to this yellow rig. I would like to include in my master list.

You already have it in your master list, its the HumanRacing GT Chassis.
They are available in quite a few different colors.
You have it spelled in your thread as HunanRacing GT Chassis though...

 

[JogoAsobi]

That's a nice looking rig and I like how you think. Of course, I hope everyone realizes that the basic Vesaro unit is $1,500 plus a very high cost for shipping! Also, the size and footprint of a rig like that is way larger than a portable design like I was shooting for. Would you guys prefer a larger rig like that?

Personally I think the principal attractions to your rig are the F1 style, the small footprint with portable design, and the price point gap in the market you seem to be aiming for.

Not to mention the stellar "industrial" design. If you go larger and costlier I think you will be targeting a completely different market segment than your prototype and subsequent designs do, and lose your current design's "core".

Retail rigs always come with some sort of compromise. I believe people who want a small compact F1-style rig without center-post priced below the current market offerings will knock on your door. The rig seems like it has the potential to be actuator friendly too. That would definitely add value for the fatter walleted sim folks.

Remember not everyone who responds to this ad-hock focus group has had the experience of actually trying to design a rig. What some perceive to be a relatively simple thing to do is often quite complicated.
Please excuse the epistle.

 

[Cedric19]

Hello Everyone.

I'm pretty new here and what i found in that topic is really nice.
I don't know how it goes concerning your project natchamp but it is the best design i've ever seen.
I'm currently working on a new F1 style rig after selling my last which was a "GT-style" design.

In fact i'm struggling a lot because i don't know how to use softwares like proengineer or catia or solidworks... I 've just told a friend which is helping me for the materials and the achievement but he isn't able to design the rig.
So my last option is to build a model with some carton and to make the drillings by myself as soon as i'll received my clubsport kit...

So my question is: Is there any possibility to give me plans ? my friend told me about a .DXF. i don't need to sell it. It's for personal use only.

Regards,
Cedric

 

[Mayaman]

You can contact him at the HDDP pedal sight. He makes those as well. I'd like an update on this as well.

 

[Cedric19]

Hello Mayaman,

Thank your for this precious information!
I've just sent it a mail in order to have some informations.

I'll let you know about his answer and also about my work on my future gaming station!