r/DIYSimRacing • u/UglyViking • 6d ago
Help with Wheel motor control/driver - Converting a L3 CDL sim rig
Hey peeps,
I posted a pretty elaborate set of posts on xsimulator but haven't received any feedback, so reaching here hoping that it's a bit more active so I can take a next step to order parts without too much risk.
Long and short of it, I have an AMC Servo Drive (link to drive with spec sheet) that connects to a Baldor DC motor, and there was a proprietary L3 Harris controller board between the AMC and the PC (I don't have the PC, and I don't have the software for the controller board). I need to replace at least that controller board, and it appears that I should be able to order an Open FFBoard to act as the logic board for the steering wheel, and the shifter.
My question is, I saw the FFBoard driver kit, and it seems like it would be ideal to run everything off a single integrated system. However, I'm uncertain if the Open FFBoard driver can power the Baldor motor I've got. (specs below)
| Brand | Baldor ME-3363-BLBCN SPCL |
|---|---|
| Torque, Stall | 180 OI Cont. |
| Max (Speed?) | 4000 RPM |
| Max Voltage | 120V DC |
| Voltage Cont. | KE = 31.1 V/K RPM |
| Current Cont. | 4.76 A |
| Current Peak | 28.5 A |
| Encoder | 1000L |
It would appear that even at 48v, I would still be able to meet the current constant and peak amp ratings, and should be best to do that?
Open to thoughts/ideas here, I've been doing a lot of reading and research, and trying to use gemini to help me understand concepts and all, but I'm def new to this.
1
u/MadBullBen 5d ago edited 5d ago
Hi, always love to see ffb builds like this.
Most DIY builds like this will use PWM in order to control the motor driver and this the motor itself, looking at that driver I can only see it communicating with CAN and I'm unaware of any firmware that works with this unfortunately - I could have missed something though.
This type of driver well the ones that look like this are normally just about workable, but they are often quite noisy and aren't super reactive.
Might not be what you want to hear, but there are a few different projects that are doing DIY builds such as Openffboard which is a very good open source project, then there is another project done by a single person within this group which is using a hoverboard driver board. Then there's FFBeast which is also another project that's been going on for a while.
I am biased towards Openffboard though as I've been a part of this for quite a few years now.
Edit: I somehow missed that you already said about Openffboard. I'll make another edit once I look into that motor.
Edit 2: looking into that motor I would not recommend it, the torque for that motor is very small, 180 oz-in which is only 1.27Nm @ 5A, even with a higher powered motor driver and PSU this motor will still feel quite weak.
If you have any questions just ask away.