Parts hack, adjustability, cleaner build and more for Flight Simulator

thingiverse

Thank you Tom Stanton for designing this awesome flight simulator project. However, some of the parts used in the project are quite hard to obtain. So I designed a few hacks to get around that issue and make it work with more easily obtainable parts. Also I made some modifications to some of the original parts to make the build look a bit cleaner. Bolt shoulders : As the kind of shoulder bolts mentioned in the original design were out of my reach, I designed a few sleeves that fit onto regular 8mm alan head bolts of the corresponding length to make them shoulder bolts. The sleeves are a very tight snug fit, especially if they get elephant footed. May require some force to install. Under magnet : As I couldn't get 8*8*8 mm neodymium magnets but I had a lot of 4*4*4 mm, I designed a piece that allows me to use those in groups of 4 to fit in the spaces of the original parts. Since this way the magnets are a bit weaker, the full range of the hall effect sensor can't be utilized, only about 2/3 of the range. However after a calibration of the rig through the Windows built in calibration tool, it works just as fine. 2040 Joiner : I could not get 4040 aluminium extrusions in my region, so I had to use 2040s. I designed a part that allows 2 pieces of equal length 2040s to be joined in order to work as a single 4040 extrusion. Cable tiedown : Just a simple piece used to tie the USB cable so it does not pull itself from the Aruino. It can also be used to tie down the cables going to the sensors. Tip for the springs : If you are like me and can't even get the appropriate springs for the project, just a tip, I used the Spring Factory designed by vbaillet https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5171637 and its remix by Gunboong https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5240559 to make springs from wire. They work surprisingly well. Idle parts : These parts are like the original except the holes for the sensors are filled in. This way the sides that don't contain a hall effect sensor won't have empty holes. Extrusion plug : Just a piece to be glued on the end of the extrusion pieces used for the rudder pedals to cover up the sharp ends. 2020_45_degree_joint_adjustable: This joint allows the upper portion of the joystick to be adjusted (raised or lowered) according to your chair heigth. This part is NOT symmetrical like the original, so you have to mirror it in your slicing software to get the part for the other side. This remix is basically for getting away with materials shortage and still making the project work, maybe even improving it on the way. If you are in a similar situation, good luck using my parts.