Foldable PVC Cockpit Design

[P_Lav]

I currently have a wooden cockpit, that works fine, I designed it as I was building it, it was intended to fold, but didn't work out too well, and over time, the cheap wood I used fell victim to the FFB. So I'm planning on building a PVC cockpit, because my welding skill lacks, and I'm not sure if my school will allow me to have a full out build in their shop. Some parts intend on being flat metal stock, and will be inserted into a cut groove on the PVC to enable the cockpit to fold. I've never worked with PVC, so I'm posting to get some input on my design before I start buying materials. I'm not sure if this will be rigid enough with the current layout, I can always add more cross members for strength, but the less I need, the better.

Another idea instead of the slotted grooves, is I could make the supports going from the bottom frame, to the wheel frame cut in half, and bolted in the center, with a tab preventing it from bending past 180 degress, much like a foldable table, which might make it more durable in the long run.

To fold, the supports would either be slid down, or bent in, which ever I decide to go with, the table folds backwards, reducing overall length, then the wheel table folds down towards the frame, and finally, the seat folds forwards, on top of the whole unit allowing it to fit in a closet, or against a wall with the seat right side up, and the frame facing up.

Slotted Groove Design

Over-Center Hinge Design

If anyone has any suggestions, or criticism I appreciate both.

 

[P_Lav]

Pick up a seat today: Sparco Sprint for $120. Working on finalizing the design, measurements are done, just need to work on final details like shifter table shape, designing the supports for the seat.

Also decided to go with the over-center hinge style, the grooves would aid in the ease of folding the cockpit, but in the end, wouldn't be as sturdy.

Edit: final design, measurements are on paper, just need to gather the materials, beige parts are plywood, red dots are hinges, thicker lines are PVC, thinner lines are flat metal bar, whatever I can get for cheap. What do you guys think before I start the build?

 

[jdmbb]

not trying to thread jack just giving an idea. i made this stand that can convert into a cockpit and is easily foldable. the center post pivots and folds and locks in place with two pins on each side. to fold all you do is remove the legs and pins and itll fold semi flat. its very stable even without the legs.

 

[P_Lav]

No worries man, I'm looking for people to collaborate, that looks like a slick little set up, are those bungee cords that keep it up? I just wanted to see if anyone has made something similar, and was sturdy enough.

 

[AlPh4Kil1]

Very Interesting Design, Love to see the results at the end

 

[AlPh4Kil1]

Pick up a seat today: Sparco Sprint for $120. Working on finalizing the design, measurements are done, just need to work on final details like shifter table shape, designing the supports for the seat.

Also decided to go with the over-center hinge style, the grooves would aid in the ease of folding the cockpit, but in the end, wouldn't be as sturdy.

That's a nice seat, where did you get it from?

 

[trk29]

I made this out of wood. I used it on my sofa at home. But could be shortened and used with a seat. I copied my old rig from the wheelstation pro. http://wheelstationpro.com/

 

[P_Lav]

That's a nice seat, where did you get it from?

Just local classifieds, guys was building a EG Civic for the track, and now has a child on the way so he was unloading a bunch of parts, the seats not perfect, has a few spill stains, and whatnot, but for my use, is more than adequate.

@ trk29 I seen your setup in another thread, looks decent, how well does it handle the FFB of your wheel?

 

[jdmbb]

No worries man, I'm looking for people to collaborate, that looks like a slick little set up, are those bungee cords that keep it up? I just wanted to see if anyone has made something similar, and was sturdy enough.

the bungee cords were part of phase 1 before i made the removable legs because the stand would fall back if they werent there since the pedals weigh so little. after adding some wood blocks to raise the angle of the pedals the bungees were not needed and the stand would not fall over any more so it works now with or without the legs.

 

[trk29]

@ trk29 I seen your setup in another thread, looks decent, how well does it handle the FFB of your wheel?

It worked well for what it was the base is nice and flat and the hinges helped give it support. I actually gave this rig away a few months ago since it was collecting dust.

 

[P_Lav]

Update, started the build yesterday, coming along nicely. Debating on changing a few things in my design, and I may have to add a support that goes from beside the seat to the table, I don't think it will be sturdy enough with the metal hinges holding it up.

Also if anyone has worked with PVC before, what did you use to keep it together? Did you screw the pieces together or did you glue? I've been using one screw on top of each connection point, and it works some what, but when I put wieght on it it flexes a bit.

Just a couple of progress pictures, should be done in a week, I'll try to keep everyone updated.

Showing how everything sits, I'm thinking about changing the hinge point for the front table supports, I don't like the look of it being wider, and also thinking if it's bolted, might be more rigid.

And how it looks folded, the clearances are a bit tight at the moment, but I might take a 1/2" off the table supports to make it fit more loosely. Overall it folds real nice, will fit in a corner beautifully.

Still have to make the metal hinges for the table out of 1/8" flat steel bar, and I'll probably be adding a support for the pedals, at the moment it flexes a lot when I try to depress the brake.

 

[trk29]

Nice work it looks good.

 

[P_Lav]

After several weeks, a lot struggle, re-designing, and noise complaints from my land lord, I've finished (almost). I ditched the original hinge design with the 90 degree PVC turn, I had in my previous post. I fabricated 2 over-center hinges that we designed to support the table and allow for easy folding, but the 1/8" steel I used wasen't thick enough, and made the table really loose. So I chopped up my $20 Tilt-A-Table, and stole the collapsible legs from it. Plus adding pedal supports, this design has changed alot from my original plans. But, overall I'm really happy with the way this turned out.

I'll give you a run down on some features.
-Shifter table can be moved from LHD to RHD position
-Shifter table is perfect size for keyboard
-Wheel table is tiltable
-Wheel table is height adjustable
-Folds to be around the floor area of the seat by pulling apart the collapsible supports in a relatively short time
-Seat can be removed for use on a couch (without shifter table though)
-Surprisingly sturdy!

And of coarse; Photos!

This was not cheap build by any means, it took way too long for my liking, and I wasted money on parts that didn't work, and that I didn't even need, for a student, this was not ideal, my planning should have been better, but when designing something new and complex with basic hand tools, and a drill, some errors are bound to happen. Cost was probably in the $300-400 range, someone could make this cheaper had they not made design flaws.


I still have to finish up a few things:
-Nothing is glued at the moment, I used screws for ease, and in case I made a mistake, or something was too flimsy. So I have to take it apart and cement all of the pieces.
-Folding at the moment is a little hard, clearances are too tight in the hinges, and the supports need a longer groove to achieve the angle they need to fold up without sticking out.
The shifter table is really wobbly, so I need to figure out how to make it more sturdy, but still be allowed to change the side its on.
And lastly, I need to mount an e-brake to the shifter table (my last rig had one, so my G27 is already wired for it)

 

[P_Lav]

Mounted E-Brake today. Still have to increase the clearances so it can fold properly, but I'll probably do that while I cement everything together.

Pics of the e-brake

Used some pipe left over from the Tilt-A-Table for the handle, and cut up a $2 shovel from a surplus store for the grip. Just bolted to a block of wood, and another bolt with washers for a stop. The flat part acts on the button switch thats tied down with zip-ties, which is then wired to the g-27 shifter at the circuit board so it activates the circle button, and the button still functions completely normal.

 

[VINCE__]

Looks like it is coming along nicely. It does however seem to be looking more like a non folding, permanent stand though. I think I would just mount some casters to it and roll it to a hiding spot.

 

[P_Lav]

I'll post some pictures of it folded once its complete and cemented, it does fold quite nicely, I also thought of the caster idea, but I have hard wood, and I also live in an apt, so I predict the people living below me wouldn't appreciate it rolling all over the place.

 

[occasionalracer]

You can buy casters with a hard rubber material (kind of tyre-like) that roll quietly...but that defeats the whole purpose of what you're doing with the folding design.