FFB Yoke v1 Instructions

Greetings fellow simmers.
I have abandoned PDF format for this tutorial simply because of a large amount of editing that comes with a comprehensive document like this.

So, let's get started

Here's the shopping list of parts to begin with. Just copy and paste individual items into eBay search.  Content within the brackets specifies sub-option which you'll need to select in those particular listings. Please make sure to get the second and third item from the same supplier!  I purchased these from two separate stores and the parts didn't work well together. Also, note that the prices are only approximate!

eBay components
Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick............................................................................£30 - £50
SC12UU 12 mm Linear Ball Bearing Slide Unit CNC 3D Printer SCS12UU  [Qty - 4]........................£16
12mm Diameter Rods Stainless Steel Round Bar Metal 3D Printer CNC  [D12, L350 or 400]........£13
25MM OD X 21MM ID (2MM WALL) 316 SEAMLESS STAINLESS STEEL TUBE  [400mm]............£19
SBPFT205 or SLFT25 25MM Triangle Pressed Steel 3 Bolt Bearing & Housing  [Qty - 2]..............£12
HTD Timing Belt 3M 3mm Pitch 6mm Wide  [501mm].....................................................................£5
HTD Timing Belt 3M 3mm Pitch 6mm Wide  [405mm].....................................................................£5
Idler Pulley Wheel for 6mm Belt 4mm bore – 3D Printer – RepRap Mendel Prusa........................£5
Bochen WXD3-12  5 turn Potentiometer  [10KΩ]...............................................................................£4
CABLE TIES x 100 Pack Nylon Zip Ties Black  [3x100mm]..............................................................£1
Stainless Steel Hose Clips Pipe Clamps - Jubilee Type  [32mm].....................................................£2
2 pin C8 IEC AC inlet mains panel socket......................................................................................... £3
Rocker Switch DPST ON-OFF 15A 250V............................................................................................£3
Two-Part Epoxy Resin Adhesive....................................................................................................... .£3

Bolts and nuts
M6x60 Button Head [Qty - 6]
M6x30 Cap Head [Qty - 1]
M6x20 Button Head [Qty - 4]
M5x16 Cap Head [Qty - 16]
M4x20 any Head [Qty - 1]
M4x16 Button Head [Qty - 10]

M6 Flanged Nut [Qty - 18]
M6 Hex Nut [Qty - 4]
M4 Hex Nut [Qty - 4]
M4 Flanged Nut [Qty - 4]

Download FFB-YOKE_STL.zip folder and print all the files within.
Rail_Bracket.stl  needs to be printed four times! All the others, just one of.

If you are comfortable printing with ABS I would highly recommend it (especially for Hack-Mod), otherwise, use PLA.

My 3d printer settings
Infill - 20%
Infill Layer Height - 0.20mm
Infill Pattern - Linear
Layer Height - 0.20mm
Number of Shells - 2
Roof/Floor Thickness - 0.80mm

Now, you've got all the necessary parts, let's make the "enclosure box".
This is also a good time to check out this assembly video which will guide you throughout the build.

I wanted to keep it real simple so I used 9mm thick MDF offcuts I had laying around.
Cut, drill and assemble the enclosure according to the following drawing.

Carefully dismantle your Sidewinder Joystick (be aware that you may damage the device doing so)
Keep in mind the joystick is powered by mains 220V so if you're not confident working with electronics like this, maybe ask someone more experienced for help.
Proceed farther at your own risk!

Dismantle the stick, unplug and remove everything that is attached/wired to the main PCB.
You should now have five PCBs (mainboard, PSU, IR sensor board, button board, little LED board), three loose potentiometers and both motors.




Remove the motors along with the metal brackets.
These brackets will need some modifications, cutting and drilling. As we do this, motor magnets will attract unwanted debris/shavings so I would recommend wrapping the motors in a piece of plastic and tape it sealed.

Note the letters Y and X stamped into the brackets.
We'll start the mod with bracket Y (pitch control)
 
Using a flat screwdriver, carefully pry off the washer and remove big cogwheel.




Drill out the back of the farther pin using 5mm drill bit. Grab the pin with pliers to remove it.

Using M4x16 bolts with M4 flanged nuts, assemble the two brackets together and attach Idler Pulley Wheel as shown below.
You should also install Pot_bracket_pitch part at this point. Take out the motor screws, drop the pot bracket over the cog wheel and re-fit the screws.




Take the bigger cogwheel you removed earlier and printed part Pulley_HTD-3M-21T.  Make sure the pulley can fit onto the cogwheel's lower gear.
Different printers have different accuracy so you may find the pulley being too tight. In that case, just grab round file and remove some plastic from its inner diameter.    
Use two-part epoxy adhesive and glue these two parts together. Finally, fit the cogwheel back on the bracket's pin and secure with the original washer.  

Install Bochen WXD3-12 Potentiometer into the pot bracket, fit Pot_gear_pitch and secure with drop of two-part epoxy. Again due to the different printing accuracy, you may need to alter gear hole diameter. When the glue is set, loosen two motor screws to adjust the position against the big cogwheel.




Congratulations, you just finished your Pitch Assembly

Now for the Roll Assembly, repeat the steps removing big cogwheel, glue on Pulley_HTD-3M-21T part and cut the metal bracket X like this.




Before you re-fit the big cogwheel back onto the pin and secure with washer, please make sure to insert HTD Timing Belt [405] between the two gears!
The belt is a closed loop so this is your only chance to get it in.




Remove metal shield cylinder from the motor!  Slide the motor into printed Motor_Bracket_Roll part, secure with two M4x16 bolts and two M4 hex nuts.
Just like that, your Roll Assembly is ready as well

You will need to extend the wires for both motors and potentiometers so go ahead and disconnect/unsolder the two pairs of wires on the motor side (red, black, yellow, white)
and simply cut Roll & Pitch potentiometer connections about 30mm from the pots.
That should allow you to comfortably install all the components before we start connecting them back to the main board.

Following the Assembly Video put everything together accordingly (cut the two 12mm Stainless Rods to 333mm length prior to the assembly)

There are still a few details we'll get back to later in this tutorial so don't panic if you have some bits and bobs left on your desk..

At this point, we're gonna install necessary PCBs to the enclosure box.
Use the original small black screws from Sidewinder joystick to attach PCB Leg 01 to the Mainboard (longer legs) and PSU board (shorter legs).
You may also notice from the following pictures that I removed "figure eight" socket from PSU board and replaced it with two "push on" connectors.
These will connect directly into the front panel's Rocker Switch to act as an emergency stop.




Turn the enclosure box on its side and glue (two-part epoxy) the PCB legs onto the side panel. Make sure they don't stick out of the box!




One of the PSU legs (close to the pencil tip) has a hole all the way down. The purpose of that is so we can fix the PSU board with a countersunk bolt and nut all the way through the side panel. Obviously, we need to drive 4mm drill bit through the leg into the panel then countersink from the outside.
It's just a precaution as the glue may eventually fail and the last thing we want is a lose 220V component in a box full of metal

In the next step, we remove the Z-axis potentiometer and attach the IR sensor board along with the small LED board to the side panels using Double Sided Foam Tape.
Z-axis pot is connected to the IR sensor board. Unsolder/disconnect the three wires from the board apply foam tape and place the two boards as shown in this picture.




Insert Rocker Switch DPST into the front panel. Use the two-part epoxy to fix 2 pin C8 IEC AC inlet into the bottom cut-out of the rear panel.