CP-1 Command Pod: The VR Space exploration project

[SpaceHedgehog]

Dry assembling is going slowly but well:







I use some very large batons and 6cm screws for the connection into the base. This structure isn't going to shift or creak:

[emphatic]

Hella nice, fella.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks again emphatic 

That's me done for today. Just a couple of batons I needed to complete but I will do those tomorrow:



The seat raiser will need to be re-cut. It's too wide.

[SpaceHedgehog]

It needs straightening up a bit but I have put some additional padding in the main seat panel:

[SpaceHedgehog]

I've made the first blanking panel for the front of the seat.

Shaped the pieces:



Applied some craft foam to provide an amount of give and also to round off the edges:



Covered with material:



In-place:

[SpaceHedgehog]

The second pad has been fitted along with the centre console:

[yamatetsu]

You totally should add tank tracks to the sides, mount a battering ram in front, add a joystick for steering and then drive around town with it.

[SpaceHedgehog]

That would work ... but with a mini gun instead 


I've completed the top shoulder sections for the seat. There's a lot of filling to do here and I've cut some recesses into the tops as the displays I will be fitting to a panel which will be attached are too deep. There's a lot of filling to do once the glue has dried. I will need to sort out the 2 top seat pads as well.







The internal and eternal faces of the side pieces have been beveled:

[Slippyblade]

Good lord man, what's that thing weigh in at?  It looks amazing, but that much MDF and bondo has got to weigh a ton!

[ChanceKJ]

At least it will be sturdy.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Good lord man, what's that thing weigh in at?  It looks amazing, but that much MDF and bondo has got to weigh a ton!

It does I'd estimate somewhere between a 1/2 to 2/3 of the the R-Pod MkII at present.

At least it will be sturdy.

Yes, I'd rather go sturdy and rigid than light and have it flexing that's for sure I really should look at plywood next time ...

[Fursphere]

Yes, I'd rather go sturdy and rigid than light and have it flexing that's for sure I really should look at plywood next time ...

I use plywood on my cabinets.  I have two major complaints:

1) Chipping - random pieces can chip off during cutting, just because of the way the ply was bonded.  It just happens.
2) Finishing - Wood grain can be a major pain to cover / smooth out.  Looks of filler, priming and sanding.  MDF seems like a dream in comparison.

[BorgDog]

Yes, I'd rather go sturdy and rigid than light and have it flexing that's for sure I really should look at plywood next time ...

I use plywood on my cabinets.  I have two major complaints:

1) Chipping - random pieces can chip off during cutting, just because of the way the ply was bonded.  It just happens.
2) Finishing - Wood grain can be a major pain to cover / smooth out.  Looks of filler, priming and sanding.  MDF seems like a dream in comparison.

3) Routing - goes along with finishing but it is very difficult to get that nice of chamfered or other routed edge on plywood.

[Fursphere]

Good point.  Requires lots of bondo to fill in all the imperfections and smooth it out. 

For the kind of work done here, I think MDF is the only way to go.   

[ChanceKJ]

Agreed. Work like this speaks to MDF or solid hardwood.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Good to know I made the right choice then! Thanks for the heads up on working with plywood, it saved me some pain and time by the sounds of it. I guess I could have used it for some of the non-visible areas such as the seat base but it's going to be monumentally heavy anyway so probably wouldn't make too much of a difference weight-wise 

[dkersten]

MDO, plywood with the outer surfaces made of MDF mixed with resin.  Waterproof, lighter, paintable surface, and no blowouts or chips.  Edges are still not as good though.  And it is expensive.  I don't recall what it is called, but I used something similar a decade ago on a project, only it was regular mdf in the outer layers, not resin impregnated MDO.  Still was about 30% more than MDF, but great stuff to work with, especially if you are making panels that need to be painted but want the structure and weight of plywood. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

That MDO sounds like it could be useful for pieces which aren't beveled at the sides. I'll check the prices.

The side panels have been completed:



With LED bezels and cap head bolts (I will be using slightly larger ones when they arrive):

[SpaceHedgehog]

Panel fitted to the side:

[rovingmind]

I saw the last picture and thought to myself, if it was large enough (since i'm 6'5") that would be an awesome custom home theater chair.  That brings up my next question.  Since you are playing a space sim with this, that includes combat and explosions, are you going to add Aura Bass shakers to the underside/inside of that chair to enhance your game play experience for tactile feedback?

[SpaceHedgehog]

I'm 6'2" so a fair bit shorter and I am slim. The seat is certainly nice and large and was I comparing the size with a lounge armchair - probably quite similar dimensions.

I will be fitting a Buttkicker LFE (the big one) to this at some point when funds allow. I have 4 mini LFE's on my R-Pod but I think a single, larger one would be better for this project 

[SpaceHedgehog]

The top handle / display panels have been made:

[SpaceHedgehog]

I've been keen to fill the sections where the side panels meet the shoulder panels just to ensure that everything lines up correctly.

Before:



After a first pass of filler:





One of the new panels fitted:



Powered:



The balance of the design will be improved when the headrest is made. These will have the cutouts/windows which will use the ribbed rubber sheeting.

[emphatic]

Love it.

[Bones]

Awesome monkey rocker.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Cheers emphatic [again] 

I had to look that up bones. Very rude 

[SpaceHedgehog]

I've made the panel for the front of the seat. This will have an additional 6mm panel bolted onto it using threaded inserts so I have those showing rather than screws. It will be covered in blackboard vinyl:

[shrunkenmaster]

Dude, your work is excellent. Have you thought about doing a video of your woodworking? I reckon a lot of people would love to see you in action 

I myself wouldn't mind seeing any jig/clamping/routing setups.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks shrunkenmaster, that's very kind I try and work outside where possible and the light isn't particularly great at the moment. If I'm working on another project next summer, I'll give it a go.

I've started working on the stow-able console mechanism. I've been giving the design of this a great deal of thought and wanted to come up with something attractive, simple and stable. The design you see here will have a rod running between the aluminium bars and the long, upright piece - the rod will be embedded in the main centre section towards the top. The bottom will have 2 additional pieces made - small sections will be cut and include a hole which will then be further cut into taking about 90 degrees out of the circle making it open. The idea will be to allow this to rest on another lower, circular rod embedded in the main centre section which will be further forward from the upper rod. To stow, I can then lift the mechanism up, push it forwards and drop it down. Simple.

The rear upright will have some convoluted sheathing (which I have split) to accommodate 2 or 3 cables - lightning, USB / mini USB.

As these parts are small, I will be filling, shaping and finishing by hand. They're too small to work with a router. The top piece shown in the picture is not attached yet. I will epoxy in place one everything has been prepared. Once dry, I will used thin screws to further secure the pieces together - I don't wand these to split so will drill pilot holed beforehand.





Edit: This approach will also ensure a natural tilt to the upper part of the platform.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Fiddly, small bits for the bottom of the stow-able console:



These will fit into a dowel rod embedded into the main section:



Another rod will pass between the aluminium and the back of the unit:



This is going to need to be precise to achieve a level platform. Some retro adjustment will be possible to address any imbalance if necessary.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Loose fit of the mechanism in action. Lot's of things need to be tightened, painted glued yet.

Up:

[SpaceHedgehog]

Just to give an idea of using the mount with an iPad mini:







I've ordered some aluminium for use as a top plate for the mechanism.

[rovingmind]

the pics just before you put the ipad on it..... my thought was "NUT KICKER"  awesome practical joke potential.

[SpaceHedgehog]

A  Buttkicker and a Nutkicker for an added dimension of tactile feedback. I should have made it spring loaded as well

[Slippyblade]

[Santoro]

just wow. 

Subscribe!

[rockyrocket]

Still looking great! .

Just saw this other guys rig, and thought about my earlier comment about a mouse platform for the upcoming SC FPS stuff.
Anyway his stick removes and a keyboard tray swivels over as a mouse surface - thought it may be food for thought?
http://gearburn.com/2014/09/star-citizen-inspires-monster-gaming-pc-cockpit-32gb-ram-four-radeon-r9-290x-gpus-and-one-buttkicker/

Keep it up!.

[Superfrog]

Any news on the horizon 

[SpaceHedgehog]

I'll be back on this on the 31st Jan. Had a nasty cough and cold which I've only just got rid of. Catching up with those I didn't get around to seeing over Xmas for the next couple of weekends.

[Superfrog]

I wish you well and a creative 2015