Hey Everyone.

You may have seen my other post where I built my own collective and was thinking of selling a few. With my time constraints it was finally finished but I definitely don't have time in the near future to make a sell-able product of a quality I would be happy with.

Therefor, because the 229th is such a great community I thought I would share how I made it

NOTE: this is a DIY project with the idea in mind that anyone with a drill, hacksaw, soldering iron and internet connection can build. I had originally built it with a few joins using epoxy but after about 6 months use they started to slip. I then got a friend to do a quick 2 minute weld on the one join and now its as strong as ever.

It does require a few semi expensive parts though (if you want it to look pretty). The 4 critical parts are: 
- the hat switch with the coolie hat on it, ($20 AUD)
- black anodized panels that the switches are mounted to, ($60 AUD laser engraved, much cheaper if people buy together)
- 3D printed head unit that the panels are mounted to. ($50 to $100 depending on source and quality)
- Micro controller that interfaces with your computer  ($30 if you are willing to upload code (which i provide) to it yourself, $50 plus for leo bodnar alternative)








Parts:
Aluminium
For the following aluminium parts just go to your local supplier, I used these guys in OZ, Victoria Aluminium supplier
- Aluminium rod 10mm OD * 120mm (needs to be solid)
- Aluminium tube 25mm OD 3mm wall 500mm long
- Aluminium tube 32mm OD 3mm wall 130mm long
- Aluminium U channel W 100mm * H 50mm * T 6mm    160mm long  (3mm thickness will work as well, just need to be careful in construction. I was using interference fit bolts so went with 6mm to make sure they held)
- Aluminium right angle W 25mm * H 25mm * T 1.6mm    300mm long (will be cut down to numerous smaller parts for mounting brackets etc)

- KP000 10mm self aligning pillow block *2           10mm pillow block    or      2 * KP000 Pillow block


- Laser etched button panels (LINK TO FOLLOW for file to provide to printers) - 1.6mm to 2mm thick black anodized aluminium.
These are expensive in 1 off runs; for the 2 panels was $62 AUD the cheapest I found from these great guys in oz who would also do a run of 5 for roughly $30 per set.
I got quotes from about 15 places and most wanted over $120 AUD just for one set.




- 3D printed head boxes   (LINK TO FOLLOW)


Buttons:
Buttons confused me for a bit with throws and poles, momentary vs latched etc but no need to worry. For nomenclatures sake a button position in brackets means momentary (ie will spring back to the center position when released) while not in brackets means latched (ie, will stay in position and would have to be physically shifted back to center positon).
Eg (On) - Off - On                    means (momentary) - center - latched on


- (On)-Off-(On) with flat toggle * 1               (on)-off-(on) toggle
- On - On with round toggle * 1                    On-On (also known as on-none-on since it doesnt have a center position)      
- On - Off - On with round toggle * 2            On-Off-On toggle

- pushbutton (mom) * 1                                Mom pushbutton   (this simulates the throttle stop release, it wont actually physically lock the twist throttle but will engage the button in game)


4 way button with china hat
There are a few ways to do this. The switch below is a grayhill 04A which is actually used in FAA approved joysticks, I found it much better to use something of this size and quality compared to weak little ones.
1. in US, buy whole thing together here 4way china hat or from (infinity) here using his accessories order form a little bit down the page. He is a good guy with an awesome business that is good to support 
2. in EU, buy whole thing here 4way china hat EU
3. in AU buy the whole thing together from either of the above or:
 get just the switch from here grayhill 04A 4way button  and order just the china hat from infinity by putting a note in the accessory order form (he does it even though its not on the list, they are $1.05 each hat).                                      


Other Electronics:

- Teensy 3.1                                             teensy 3.1          This a micro controller that will interface with your computer via USB. Arduino's can be used as well but I like the smaller form factor of the teensy. A Leo bodnar board is probably the easiest but being a NERD I enjoyed programming the teensy from scratch. Dont worry I will include the code.

- A1324LUA-T Hall effect sensor             A1324LUA sensor  the A1325 or A1326 from the same family can also be used but they aren't as sensitive. This will be used as the primary sensor for the collective so its good not to skimp.

- 10k LINEAR potentiometer                 10k 9mm Lin pot    (need a smaller one like this 9mm one, the 16mm and bigger are to big for what we need)
- Protoboard                                            protoboard

- 16 core rainbow ribbon 1m                  ribbon cable
- 5*5*5mm rare earth magnet *2          rare earth magnets  (its not a bad idea to get extra, these things are strong and disappear when stuck to tools etc, i also wouldn't go any smaller)

Attached are the plans for base unit, mains shaft and friction block. The measurements are based on using KP000 pillow blocks - spec sheet also attached.

As you will see I dont give a diameter for the holes in the top of the base unit; you should always pilot first with a small dirll bit like 2mm and then expand out to the size you need for your bolts.

With the Main shaft hole (marked by angle hatch) I drilled the 4 corners out starting at 2mm and then going out to the biggest drill size my chuck could take. Hence I have marked the hole centers at the corners shifted inside. The fore-aft relationship between the Main shaft hole and the pillow block holes is critical for determining the angular range of motion for the main shaft. What is presented here is slightly conservative and the Main shaft hole can be filled out to refine the angle limits.

Also special attention needs to be payed to which side the cut out is made to allow the axle to run out into the friction block, The plans are drawn from a right perspective but the cutout goes on the LEFT side.

AS ALWAYS MEASURE ONCE CUT TWICE all images can be clicked on for full size










Reference Images

Holding post for construction

Holding post for wiring and coding

holding post for anything else I forgot

Thank you Frenchy, As a pit builder in the past, I know how much time it takes to complete a project of this quilty. You have great workmenship my man...I will be looking to do this project in the coming winter, so hope to see more detail pictures of the twist throttle and inside the aluminum base.

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Thank you for doing this Frenchy - I for one am extremely grateful and hope to put one together soon.

Double Thumbs up mate!!

Bloody good job m8!

Cool stuff Frenchy. Always been interested in doing something like this just never knew where to start. Looking forward to the rest of the guide!

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback, after seeing how polished the Komodo product is I was a little down on my DIY job, but this feedback always helps the ego  and for the price its hard to beat.

Im pretty slammed with Uni the next 2 weeks travelling interstate for physics and astronomy lab intensives but i will see what I can crank out tuesday/wednesday before I leave.

Hey guys, I have taken a break from my maths work writing programs to generate numerical solutions to 2nd order non-homegenous 2nd order differential equations using centered difference equations (any engineers?)   to add the Design section to how to.

I hope its clear enough, I'm not the best at drafting. I think it will make more sense once I add the construction section, what do you guys think?

STL 3D printing files uploaded, go here and look in the parts section

Thanks man, I've been watching this like a hawk. I promise once I get some spare dosh I will make a generous donation for your workcc

(C/229) Steggles wrote:Thanks man, I've been watching this like a hawk. I promise once I get some spare dosh I will make a generous donation for your workcc

Glad I could help Steggles